A system and method for controlling an AC motor drive includes a control system programmed with an energy algorithm configured to optimize operation of the motor drive. Specifically, the control system input an initial voltage-frequency command to the AC motor drive based on an initial voltage/frequency (V/Hz) curve, receives a real-time output of the AC motor drive generated according to the initial voltage-frequency command, and feedback a plurality of modified voltage-frequency commands to the AC motor drive, each of the plurality of modified voltage-frequency commands comprising a deviation from the initial V/Hz curve. The control system also determines a real-time value of the motor parameter corresponding to each of the plurality of modified voltage-frequency commands, and feeds back a modified voltage-frequency command to the AC motor drive so that the real-time value of the motor parameter is within a motor parameter tolerance range.