03.18.14

Hoeven Tours NISC, Reviews Innovative Smart Grid Projects

Company's Cutting-Edge Work Dovetails with Senators Efforts to Forge a Comprehensive National Energy Plan

MANDAN, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today toured the National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC), a leading electrical industry software provider based in Mandan. Hoeven said the cutting-edge work NISC is doing in the field of conservation and “Smart Grid” technology helps to advance his efforts to forge an all-of-the-above comprehensive national energy plan that includes a conservation program.

The senator, for example, has introduced legislation to encourage the use of energy management systems and provide for those systems’ proper operation with commonsense energy efficiency incentives. A second piece of Hoeven legislation would enable rural electric power cooperatives and their members to continue using large, energy-efficient water heaters in “demand response” conservation programs.

NISC has more than 700 energy and telecommunications members in 48 states, American Samoa, Palau, and Canada. The company employs nearly 1,000 people and hires hundreds of programmers, who are writing state-of-the-art energy software used by utility companies across the country. Today’s tour was led by President and CEO Vern Dosch and Vice President and General Counsel Wally Goulet.

Company officials today highlighted the NISC’s leading edge work on mobile engineering and mapping software, meter data management software that helps to limit critical peaks in demand. NISC is also developing smart phone apps that enable consumers to manage their energy services remotely. The company has a full-time department of developers working on energy apps for co-ops and customers.

NISC programmers are also currently working with Lockheed Martin on an advanced demand response system to serve Great River Energy and two dozen of its distribution cooperatives.

“Innovative conservation programs like those being developed by NISC, use energy wisely, with multiple benefits, and are an important part of a comprehensive energy plan for the nation,” Hoeven said. “They help rural electric cooperatives optimize their energy management and benefit the environment because they promote energy efficiency . That’s good for consumers and good for the country.”

Hoeven Provisions in the Shaheen-Portman Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act

As a member of the Senate Energy Committee, Hoeven has worked to implement a states-first, all-of-the-above approach to energy development in America. Hoeven, along with Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), introduced the All-Of-The-Above Federal Building Energy Conservation Act of 2013, both as a standalone bill and as an amendment to energy efficiency legislation introduced by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio).

Among other things, the Hoeven-Manchin bill would ensure that alterations and additions to federal buildings meet minimum energy efficiency requirements, encourage the use of energy management systems and provide for those systems’ proper operation. The Shaheen-Portman bill is expected to be considered by the Senate in the coming weeks.

Also included in the Shaheen-Portman legislation is Hoeven’s Water Heater Efficiency Act, a bipartisan energy conservation bill that would enable rural electric power cooperatives and their members to continue using large, energy-efficient water heaters in “demand response” conservation programs.

The legislation would allow the continued manufacture of large “grid-enabled” electric-resistance water heaters only for use in electric thermal storage or demand response programs. It would also require “grid-enabled water heaters” to have a volume of more than 75 gallons, be energy efficient and work on grids that have a demand response program.