- March 25, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the March/April 2020 issue of electroindustry.
by Neil Egan, Director, Communications, Acuity Brands Lighting
Back in the 1990s, thanks to the internet, online shopping emerged, bringing with it profound innovations, including the now-dominating mobile platform.
With this mobile platform, shoppers have taken control. They search, research, choose, pay, and ship—all whenever and wherever they want. Still, when they enter a physical brick-and-mortar store, they’re provided the same level of control as was available 40 years ago. This
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- March 24, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the March/April 2020 issue of electroindustry.
by Alex Boesenberg, Senior Manager of Regulatory Affairs, NEMA
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), an important subordinate entity within the White House Office of Management and budget (OMB), recently published1 its final report on the national impacts of significant rulemakings by Federal agencies from 2006 to 2016. Federal law mandates that OMB review any proceedings that may involve an estimated economic impact (benefit or cost) of approximately
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- March 23, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the March/April 2020 issue of electroindustry.
by Craig Updyke, Director, Trade and Commercial, Affairs, NEMA
Following positive bipartisan votes in the House of Representatives and Senate, in January the President signed into law legislation to implement the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), which will replace the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The House approved USMCA 385-41 on December 19; the Senate voted 89-10 on January 16.
“USMCA provides greater certainty for NEMA Members working with partners in
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- March 23, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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There are 16 critical infrastructure sectors in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. While electrical equipment manufacturers are considered “Critical Manufacturing,” they also directly support every other sector by making the products needed to assure the reliable and consistent flow of electricity. Without on-demand electricity, which depends on a steady supply of equipment for maintenance and upgrade of existing systems and construction of new buildings and capabilities, our nation’s current situation would go from bad
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- March 20, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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by David Woodward, Head of Standards & Regulations Americas, Signify
LiFi, the technology where light is used to provide broadband connectivity in the most secure and stable way, is developing rapidly. Some of the larger lighting companies have already clocked more than 100 pilot projects around the world. Use cases include offices, the hospitality sector, government institutions, and education. But its use isn’t strictly earthbound, and companies are continuously developing new business models to accelerate the mainstream use of this groundbreaking
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- March 18, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the March/April 2020 issue of electroindustry.
by Phil Squair, Vice President, Government Relations, NEMA
In some ways, the 116th Congress has been one long tease for those interested in energy/climate and infrastructure policy. But this situation changed over the course of a 24-hour period on January 28-29, 2020, with the release of two major proposals in the House of Representatives. These two proposals contain provisions that would, if enacted, be some of the most significant new
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- March 16, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the March/April 2020 issue of electroindustry.
From the moment we wake up until the time we switch off our bedside lamp, lighting is an integral part of many of the daily things we do. On-demand lighting is something that we rely upon and expect to be available as a matter of course. Writing this column made me reflect on how much we take modern lighting for granted.
The inventions that have shaped our world, such as
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- March 13, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the March/April 2020 issue of electroindustry.by Steve Mesh, Principal, Lighting Education & DesignMr. Mesh teaches a full-day class on networked lighting controls on behalf of the DesignLights Consortium (DLC)Lighting controls save energy. That’s why many electric utility companies incentivize people for installing them, and, in some cases, they also incentivize manufacturers for making them. Any time a control device switches off or dims a light, it
reduces energy use. Saving energy
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- February 24, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the January/February 2020 issue of electroindustry.
The Power of Choice
Florida voters could face a difficult choice at the ballot box in November 2020: whether or not to completely overhaul the state’s electric utility market. Florida is currently a “vertically integrated” market, meaning electric utilities own generation, transmission, and distribution assets. Those that own generation and transmission supply to their private distribution networks while also selling electricity to other distribution utilities through bilateral contracts. The consumers
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- February 21, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the January/February 2020 issue of electroindustry.
Gustavo Dominguez Póo, Director, NEMA Latin America and Craig Updyke, Director, Trade and Commercial Affairs, NEMA
Mexico’s transition and transformation continues under President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, popularly known as AMLO, who took office in December 2018. While his predecessor, Enrique Peña Nieto, had pursued reform and partial privatization of the electricity sector to promote efficiency and new renewable generation, in his first year, AMLO demonstrated his objective of retaining
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- February 17, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the January/February 2020 issue of electroindustry.
Ann Brandstadter, Manager, Standards Publications and Marketing, NEMA
EV Charging Network Interoperability Standard—A Contactless RFID Credential for Authentication (UR Interface) addresses the credentials part of a complex Standardization system allowing electric vehicle (EV) drivers to recharge their vehicle batteries across different EV charging networks.
NEMA EVSE 1-2018 is available for $160 in hard copy and in electronic download at no cost.
ANSI C137.1-2019 American National Standard for Lighting Systems—0-10V Dimming Interface for
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- February 14, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the January/February 2020 issue of electroindustry.
Ben Schuler, Founder and CEO, Infinitum Electric
In a world of constant technological advancement and evolution, the electric motor has managed to remain virtually unchanged since its invention over a century ago. When I founded Infinitum Electric in 2016, I set out to change that. Much like the NEMA commitment to advancing industry Standards, Infinitum prides itself in raising the electric motor bar when it comes to efficiency, durability, physical
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- February 12, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the January/February 2020 issue of electroindustry.
Philip Squair, Vice President of Government Relations, NEMA
As this article is being written, the nation’s capital and much of the country are watching congressional hearings on the possible impeachment of the President. Amid this, NEMA continues to promote significant initiatives to implement policies that help NEMA Members be successful and profitable.
In recent months, NEMA has engaged in two significant grassroots campaigns. The first campaign urged passage of the U.S.–Mexico–Canada
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- February 7, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the January/February 2020 issue of electroindustry.
Beth Trombold, Commissioner, Public Utilities Commission of Ohio
Commissioner Trombold, who serves as Vice- Chair of the PUCO and Co-Vice-Chair of the Task Force on Comprehensive Electricity Planning, has focused her work extensively on grid modernization and regional electric transmission issues.
Innovation and technology are rapidly changing the world as we know it, and the electricity sector is no exception.
Consumers want control and access to information; many are constantly on their
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- February 7, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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Clark Silcox, General Counsel, NEMA
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Annual Energy Outlook 2020 was released last week, updating 2019 estimates and future projections for domestic electricity generation and use. On the generation side, EIA projects for the first time that renewable energy sources will lead electricity generation, taking over for natural gas at some point between 2040 and 2050. By 2050, EIA projects that renewable energy will represent 38 percent of the energy sources for electricity generation and natural
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- February 3, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the January/February 2020 issue of electroindustry.
How to Modernize the Grid to Accommodate the Integration of Renewable Energy and Enable the Decarbonization of Society
Audrey Wang Gosselin, Engineer, ABB Inc., and Gary Rackliffe, Vice President, Smart Grids and Grid Modernization, ABB
Mrs. Wang Gosselin is an engineer in the LEAD Early Career Program. She is bringing business development opportunities to ABB with the Smart Grids and Grid Modernization team. Mr. Rackliffe is Chair of the NEMA Utility
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- January 27, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the January/February 2020 issue of electroindustry.
Jack Lyons, Northeast Field Representative, NEMA
It is the start of the 2020 National Electrical Code® (NEC) adoption season, and Massachusetts is on track to kick off with a January 1, 2020, adoption date. The Board of Fire Prevention Regulations (BFPR) will have met December 5, 2019, to promulgate the 2020 NEC as the electrical installation regulation for the commonwealth. If the process goes as planned and the amendments that
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- January 24, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the January/February 2020 issue of electroindustry.
Steve Griffith, Industry Director, NEMA
About a quarter of worldwide railroad systems are electric. In the United States, it’s less than 1 percent.
Most analysts agree that long-haul transportation is more efficient and less expensive by train than by truck. The physics of steel rolling on steel is much more effective from an energy transfer perspective than that of rubber on concrete. Trains are also more efficient aerodynamically than trucks. A
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- January 20, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the January/February 2020 issue of electroindustry.
Neil Chatterjee, FERC Chairman
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has a wide-ranging portfolio of regulatory and oversight responsibilities when it comes to wholesale electricity and natural gas markets. Just as each of us requires 20/20 vision to be productive, FERC needs sharp vision going into 2020 because our work is profoundly important to our nation.
Why? Energy is what makes us strong. In fact, in 2017, total end-use energy expenditures
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- January 15, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the January/February 2020 issue of electroindustry.
Alex Boesenberg, Senior Manager of Regulatory Affairs, NEMA
Despite the recent departure of Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Rick Perry, DOE staff seem to have maintained their stride. The Administration continues to focus on improving regulatory proceedings, particularly in terms of transparency and fairness of analytical review.
For example, after a very modest number of “no new Standard” decisions in the previous 25 years of DOE regulatory review (five total; NEMA
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