Energy Efficiency regulations covering induction electric motor are reaching a point of diminishing -and in some cases negative returns for consumers. The large increases in cost in product redesign and installation changes to accommodate larger motors, higher inrush characteristics, and supplementary control equipment often outweigh cost savings generated by the incremental increases of efficiency. Finding ways to save energy for products employing electric motors requires thinking about regulating motors in a new way. The focus must shift from increasing efficiency of a component to reducing power used. For variable torque loads such as fans, blowers and rotodynamic pumps, the ability to match the power use at lower speeds to the load required is significant While many efforts are underway to encourage adopting variable speed motors in these applications, there is currently no accepted standardized approach to measure fixed speed and variable speed motor energy use. The challenge is to develop a test and measurement method that allows comparison of power usage between fixed speed induction, fixed speed synchronous, and variable speed motor systems, which provides a consistent means for measurement or regulation. This paper reviews and summarizes recent efforts by motor and drive manufacturers (represented by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association) and energy advocates (with assistance from the Department of Energy) to develop a metric to quantify the energy savings benefits of variable speed motor-drive systems compared with conventional fixed speed motors.