Legislation that has that been introduced in the United States Senate would provide a fix to a mandate in theEnergy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) that some groups argue harm security companies.

The questionable provision in EISA mandated that external electronic power supplies meet certain energy efficiency standards in active, off, and no-load modes. However, many security appliances (such as surveillance cameras and access control systems) are never inactive. Thus, changes would have to be made to those items despite the fact that the law is inapplicable.

The Security Industry Association (SIA) gathered a coalition of environmental and security groups together to lobby for a change to the law and to draft appropriate language for future legislation (read more about this in theFebruary 2010Security Management print article "Environmental and Security Groups Align").  

According to a release from SIA, the recommended measure has been included in theNational Energy Efficiency Enhancement Act of 2010, which was recently introduced by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM). 

From the release:

"We are very grateful to Chairman Bingaman for his leadership in developing this common sense, bipartisan proposal that has the support of some of the most widely respected environmental groups in the country and many SIA member companies," SIA Director of Research and Technology Mark Visbal said.  "This technical amendment from Chairman Bingaman and Senators Murkowski and Menendez strikes the right balance for all interested parties."

The measure would retain EISA's "active" mode efficiency standards for security and life safety products.

The bill is currently in the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and a hearing on the bill is scheduled for March 10.