- 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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- January 11, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the January/February 2020 issue of electroindustry.
Happy New Year!
I am pleased to welcome you to this issue of electroindustry devoted to “Changing Energy Markets.” The start of a new decade is a fitting time to consider how the dramatic shift in the energy market seen over the last 10 years is expected to evolve over the next 10 years.
Currently, there are one million e-vehicles on the road in the U.S. By 2030, that number could
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- January 8, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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Phil Squair, Vice President, Government Relations, NEMA
On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020. This law included a provision extending the Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Deduction originally authorized under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT) through December 31, 2020. With this extension, new installations or retrofits placed in service after December 31, 2017, through December 31, 2020, that meet the requirements can claim the tax deduction.
In general, the Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Deduction
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- January 6, 2020
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the January/February 2020 issue of electroindustry.
Doug Staker, Vice President of Utility Business Development, Enel X
Mr. Staker is a pioneer in the world of smart grid technologies, with a focus on smart metering and intelligent energy storage.
Today’s electric power industry is migrating through various elements of change. The integration of renewable power at a scale that competes with traditional generation is impressive. Endorsed by renewable supporters and condemned by businessas-usual promoters, the reality is that
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- December 27, 2019
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the November/December 2019 issue of electroindustry.
Fred Ashton, Economist, NEMA
Electrical construction is a primary end market for the electrical manufacturing industry. This market is prone to booms and busts as business cycles wax and wane. The Great Recession, which centered on overleveraged housing investments, ushered in an unprecedented era of stagnant household formation and tepid demand for housing. Households struggled to unwind big bets on home appreciation while the economy tanked.
After more than 10 years
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- December 23, 2019
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the November/December 2019 issue of electroindustry.
The electricity sector may account for only 2 percent of U.S. GDP, but the other 98 percent of the economy depends on it virtually 100 percent of the time. Behind the electronics and electrical products that power modern life are essential—but largely out-of-sight—building infrastructure technologies. Said differently: “What’s behind your walls?”
The impact these quality products have on modern commerce and society cannot be restated often enough—NEMA Members power our
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- December 20, 2019
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the November/December 2019 issue of electroindustry.
Craig Updyke, Director, Trade and Commercial Affairs, NEMA and Gustavo Domínguez Poo, Director, Latin America, NEMA
On August 23, the Economy Secretary of Mexico announced an initiative that could result in the replacement of the country’s Federal Metrology and Standardization Law with a new Law on Quality Infrastructure (LIQ). In summary, the proposal aims to reduce the time needed to develop new Standards and keep the government at the head
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- December 18, 2019
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the November/December 2019 issue of electroindustry.
Bryan P. Holland, Southern Region Field Representative, NEMA
Energy conservation, efficiency, and sustainability have become fundamental considerations in the building environment. The effective use and conservation of energy for a building no longer take a back seat to code requirements related to life and fire safety. This change is due to advancements in technology being incorporated into the development of national energy codes.
Evidence of this can be found in the
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- December 16, 2019
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the November/December 2019 issue of electroindustry.
Ann Brandstadter, Manager, Standards Publications and Marketing, NEMA
American National Standard for Gauges for Electric Lamp Bases and Lampholders is a lighting industry Standard that now includes updated specifications for base gauges (caps) and lampholders for electric lamps, including ANSI and IEC lamp base (cap) and lampholder gauge sheets. ANSI C81.63-2019 is available for $500 in hard copy and electronic download.
NEMA 260-1996 (R2004, R2019) Safety Labels for Pad-Mounted Switchgear and
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