Energy Department proposes hurdles for future appliance efficiency standards

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The Energy Department on Thursday proposed to put up hurdles for the creation of future energy efficiency standards for appliances.

While the hurdles would technically apply equally to any current or future administration, Democrats are more likely to want to tighten energy efficiency standards, and a future Democratic administration’s efforts could be hampered by the regulation if it’s finalized.

The proposal would require that any future effort to force appliances to be more efficient would have to meet strict criteria.

This includes requiring future regulations to inspire either a 10 percent reduction in energy use over a 30-year period or save a large quantity of energy — two quadrillion British thermal Units — over that period.

It would also require the use of an “early assessment” that would add an extra step before tightening existing regulations.

“Every time you change a rule, you impact manufacturers all around the world,” Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson told The Hill in a brief interview Thursday.

“Changing a rule should be difficult. It should benefit consumers by having meaningful, significant energy savings, and significant energy savings is something that wasn’t defined before,” Robertson added.

Opponents of the rule, however, criticized the thresholds proposed by the Trump administration.

“Unless a standard saves at least $35 billion you can’t even consider it, even if it had zero cost,”  said Andrew deLaski, executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project.

“If it had been in place historically, it would have eliminated many of the standards in place today that are reducing utility bills in people’s homes,” deLaski said.

Democrats have long been proponents of tightening energy efficiency requirements, saying it can both save consumers money on energy use and help the planet. While in past decades, the issue had some bipartisan support, more recently, many Republicans have decried what they’ve described as a war on household appliances such as gas stoves.

Meanwhile, a future administration could overturn the process rule and then proceed to carry out its agenda. However, overturning rules can take time and the process rule could serve as a barrier holding up a future administration from starting to tighten energy efficiency rules.

“The process is long to have a rulemaking — as it should be,” Robertson said, adding she believes the rule could slow down a future administration.

DeLaski said that for a future Democratic administration, getting rid of the Trump administration rule “would be high on the list.” He said it’s something “they’d have to do relatively quickly when they came into office.”

Ultimately, Robertson said, the administration’s efforts are about “choice.”

“Maybe paying a little more in your operating costs is the right trade off for having a much lower entry price,” she said.

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Energy Department

Energy efficiency

gas stoves

Utility bills

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