NEMA Currents

Bad News on Jobs

Gill, Tim — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:16:00 GMT

Even as numerous indicators suggest that the economy is emerging from recession, one of the most important of all continues to worsen. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that the unemployment rate rose to 10.2% in October (subscription required), its highest since April 1983. Statistics like this don’t auger well for optimistic predictions of a snappy V-shaped recovery.

Hoping for help from Uncle Sam? Steve Pearlstein, in this WaPo piece, gently suggests that it will be difficult for the government to fill the “jobs gap,” among other things.

Touting "No Layoff" Companies

golds — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:45:00 GMT

Economic times are tough for all U.S. manufacturers, and many have had to lay off employees. But some advanced manufacturing facilities have opted not to fire anyone, event if it means switching their roles until production picks back up.

You can count NEMA members among the companies that are keeping their workforces intact. In a radio segment today, NPR highlighted two of them, Hypertherm of New Hampshire and Lincoln Electric of Cleveland, whose CEOs (*** Couch and John Stropki, respectively) sit on NEMA's Board of Governors.

As Couch says, "Once you have a highly skilled workforce, the last thing you want to do is lay them off. This isn't altruism. It's good business."

Hope for Faster Permitting in Siting Transmission Corridors

golds — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:00:00 GMT

The federal government took steps recently to speed up the approval process for electricity transmission lines. Or at least, to speed up the permitting on federal lands. An agreement between the White House and eight federal agencies puts one agency in charge of the cumbersome process of approving transmission corridor permits -- a change from the traditional multi-agency hurdle that transmission developers have had to maneuver. This is good for our manufacturers -- streamlining the cumbersome permitting process for transmission lines is one way to help bring life back to the struggling U.S. manufacturing sector.

And we'd like to think we had something to do with this change of heart. NEMA CEO Evan Gaddis has discussed this topic with FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff and NIST Director Patrick Gallagher, and recently dropped a note on the subject to the new manufacturing czar, Ron Bloom.

The federal agency agreement doesn't resolve the challenge of siting transmission lines on private lands, but it's a huge step in the right direction. And it's sign that the administration understands the importance of this issue -- especially if the Obama administration wants to connect renewable energy sources (like wind and solar) to the electricity grid. Efforts to hook up renewable energy to the grid have been delayed and blocked by environmental groups and community activists, with the result that it has taken years to move a permit through the process.

For now, the permitting process should move more smoothly for lines that cut across federal lands. Next stop: Streamlining the process for private lands.

It's Time to Consider Nano-Electrotechnology Standards

leibowitzm — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:29:00 GMT

If they haven't already started, NEMA Sections need to be forward thinking and begin working with the U.S. TAG's that represent their products in the IEC to create a road map for integrating nanotechnology standards that will compliment the end-product standards in the appropriate IEC Technical Committee and their Section's scope. Delegates at the recent IEC TC 113 (Nano-Electrotechnologies) plenary meeting in Tel Aviv were presented such a road map from TC 86, Fiber Optics, and standards for the nanotechnology aspects of fiber optic cables were included.

NEMA Sections whose products can benefit from nanomaterial technology should work with their U.S. TAG to map out such a strategy, bring this to the international level and collaborate with the TC 113 TAG along the way.

Congressional Unveiling of Major Energy Savings and Carbon Reduction...

Hansen, Dain — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:22:00 GMT

Do you want to save 4.48-7.95 million metric tons (MMT) of carbon annually (equivalent to removing approximately between 3-5.4 million automobiles annually)?

Do you want to save 25 to 42 Terawatt hours (billion kWh) per year (equivalent to 3 to 6 nuclear power plants or 6 to 10 coal-fired plants)?

Do you want to drive innovation and spur technology?

If you do, see NEMA’s newly unveiled consensus agreement outdoor lighting standard.

Today, Senator Bingaman, Senator Murkowski, Senator Pryor, Representative Harman, Representative Upton, NEMA’s President and CEO Evan Gaddis, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and the National Resources Defense Council announced a consensus agreement for federal outdoor lighting standards. For the first time ever, pole-mounted outdoor lighting will have federally mandated efficiency standards.

For many months, NEMA has led negotiations with manufacturers, energy advocates, utilities, lighting designers and others to develop thoughtful and thoroughly vetting consensus standards. As you can see from the statistics mentioned, this agreement will have a monumental impact on energy savings, carbon reduction and technological innovation.

A Plug-in Pilot

goodwina — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:44:00 GMT

I just heard about The EV Project, which officially launched last month. The Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation (eTec), using a $99.8 million grant from DOE, plans to install 11,210 chargers for electric vehicles in five states. During the 36-month project, chargers will be installed in Arizona, California, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington State to power 4,700 cars.

I’m really curious to see how this pilot will progress. Electric cars are coming [back], and the question is how, when, and how effectively it will develop. The website offers the chance to suggest locations for charging stations; it’s neat that public input will be part of the process, since the infrastructure needed for electric cars will affect just about everyone.

It’s likely that the importance of standards will emerge as a key finding in The EV Project—standards for the cars, charging stations, etc. For the pilot, there will only be one type of car, but that will obviously not be how electric cars will roll out on a global scale. I like how a blog at cars.com mentioned that plugging in a car will not be like plugging in a hair dryer. This idea was also touched on in October’s issue of ei.

One Step at a Time

Lego, Brian — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:07:00 GMT

This week we saw something that hadn’t happened in over a year: growth in real GDP. Indeed, real GDP expanded 3.5 percent on an annualized basis during the third quarter, bolstered by consumer spending, business equipment spending, housing construction and exports. In a bit of a statistical quirk inventories declined sharply yet again, but since the rate of liquidation was smaller than in Q2, it actually contributed a bit to topline growth. The results weren’t a complete surprise given the temporary boosts engendered by federal stimulus spending (“cash for clunkers”, the tax credit for first-time homebuyers, etc.) and a decelerating inventory sell-off. At this point, our concerns should be focused a few quarters down the road because once the impacts of these sweeteners fade, consumer spending, capital expansion, exports or some other macroeconomic driver will need to be strong enough to ‘step up’ and fill in the gap.

Thermostat Recycling Corporation Increases Awareness and Participation

Bilicki, Bobby — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:45:00 GMT

Do you recycle? Are you interested in recycling? Questions like these encouraged a wide variety of answers at the 2009 Ace Hardware Convention in Atlanta, Georgia this past weekend. The Thermostat Recycling Corporation (TRC) participated in this massive expo for Ace Hardware retailers with one goal in mind: raise awareness of the manufacturer supported collection program and the opportunity for thermostat retailers to act as collection points.

TRC, at Ace Hardware’s invitation, spent 3 days promoting the program to 5,000 Ace Hardware store owners and managers. TRC’s Executive Director, Mark Tibbetts, was thrilled by the positive response the program received and looks forward to continued expansion of TRC’s retail program.

TRC is simple to participate in—pay a one-time fee of $25 and a collection site receives a green collection bin for end-of-use mercury thermostats. All recurring costs to ship and recycle the waste are absorbed by TRC.

For more information on thermostat recycling please go to www.thermostat-recycle.org

Spreading Smart Grid Across North America

golds — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:53:00 GMT

As evidence of NEMA's continued influence in international markets, the Commerce Department announced this week that our organization received one of five new Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP) awards for 2010-2013. This is NEMA's second MDCP award from Commerce -- the first, which runs from 2007-2010, was given for NEMA to promote U.S. electrical standards and products in Central America.

While MDCP's are designed to promote American competitiveness overseas, this Commerce Department award reflects the Obama administration's interest in modernizing the electrical grid. Electricity doesn't stop at our borders -- we buy and sell power to Canada and Mexico, but our electricity distribution systems are not particularly compatible. With this MDCP award, NEMA's goal is to help the United States, Canada, and Mexico coordinate their efforts in developing a North American Smart Grid, so that North America has a more secure, robust, and reliable electrical distribution system.

This news represents a twofold win for NEMA's members: First, it supports NEMA's efforts to promote advanced U.S. electrical products to our two largest trading partners; and second, it clearly shows that this association has significant respect and support in key federal agencies.

AFCI’s - A Little Opposition Can be Good

Winstanley, Gerard — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:40:00 GMT

Each cycle of State adoptions of the National Electrical Code ® tends to focus on a couple of key changes in the NEC. For NEC 2008 those key changes are Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCIs) and tamper proof receptacles. Surprisingly this is having significant benefits for the electrical industry. Opposition to these devices has come from state home builders associations who have often used their political connections to sway the decision of the state board responsible for setting the electrical code. Support for these devices have come from fire marshals, electrical inspectors, contractors ESFI, CPSC and others.

For AFCIs the debate has reached TV News and newspapers and on a couple of occasions called for the intervention of Governors. All this has served to educate the public on the benefits of these devices. Homeowners now know there is a device sitting in their home constantly monitoring the circuits for arcing which will shut of the circuit and prevent an electrical fire from starting. Electrical contractors, who initially had concerns about unwanted tripping, have been reassured about the ability of AFCIs to reliably filter out noise and operate when needed. Even home builders are finding that, as buyers focus on value, safety can become a selling point.

For more information of AFCIs please go to www.AFCISafety.org