A key energy efficiency law is back on the U.S. books after a legislative fix four years after the original bill that drew ire from the security industry professionals.
U.S. President Barack Obama signed the revised bill into law after lawmakers agreed to rewrite provisions that restricted security industry operations because of a blanket rule designed to satisfy energy efficiency standards.
Changes were made after a vigorous campaign by a Security Industry Association-led coalition. The revised legislation will provide electronic security companies relief from what critics called an onerous and misguided energy efficiency requirement.
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 required electronic devices to meet certain efficiency standards while in "no-load" mode.
SIA campaigners pointed out that the law was written in such a way that the requirements apply even to security life safety devices — such as video surveillance, intrusion detection and access control systems — even though such equipment must always be in "active" mode.
To correct this, SIA pulled together a coalition of security industry and environmental groups to redraft legislative language and push for a correction. Environmentalists in the coalition included representatives from the Natural Resources Defense Council.
In addition to SIA and the NRDC, the bill was supported by the Alliance to Save Energy, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, the Appliance Standards Awareness Project and the Electronic Security Association.
H.R. 5470 from U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Roy Blunt, R-Mo., makes sure that while providing an exemption from the "no-load" requirements for security and life safety products the law retains "active" mode efficiency standards for those devices.
The House passed the bill Dec. 8, and the Senate passed it Dec. 21. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., led the drive for change.
"This is a very important fix for the security industry," SIA Director of Government Relations Don Erickson said. "It's a common sense measure that is good for both business and the environment, as is demonstrated by our coalition partners. We thank President Obama for signing the bill and Senator Bingaman, Congressman Pallone and Congressman Blunt for working so hard to get the legislation to the president's desk."
SIA is the leading trade group for businesses in the electronic and physical security market. The association says it is creating open industry standards that enable integration, advancing industry professionalism through education and training, opening global market opportunities and providing sole sponsorship of the ISC Expos, the world's largest security trade shows and conferences.
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