Latest news with #EnergyPolicyandConservationAct
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Americans may be staring at $43 billion in higher utility bills as the US government plans to rollback several energy policies in "largest deregulatory effort in history"
The Trump administration's push to dismantle 12 energy efficiency standards may face significant legal hurdles due to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act's (EPCA) anti-backsliding provision, which prohibits weakening established efficiency rules. Environmental and consumer advocacy groups are expected to challenge the rollbacks in court, arguing that the Department of Energy's (DOE) actions violate federal law. According to a report in The Verge, the DOE's proposals, part of what it calls its 'largest deregulatory effort in history,' have already sparked controversy, with critics warning of long-term economic and environmental consequences. On May 1, 2025, President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum instructing the DOE to halt enforcement of several efficiency standards targeted for revision or elimination. This directive aligns with the administration's broader deregulatory agenda but has drawn criticism for undermining decades of progress in energy conservation. The DOE has not yet responded to inquiries from The Verge regarding the rollback plans or their potential impacts. Energy Star Program may be 'killed' Adding to the controversy, reports surfaced in May 2025 that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to terminate the Energy Star program. This voluntary certification, which identifies energy-efficient products, reportedly saves the average household in America approximately $450 annually on energy bills. The program's potential closure, combined with the DOE's rollbacks, signals a broader retreat from energy efficiency initiatives. Consumer Costs vs Promised Savings The Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP) estimates that scrapping these 12 standards could cost households and businesses $43.2 billion in higher electricity bills over the lifetime of affected products. This figure starkly contrasts with the DOE's claim that deregulation would save $11 billion by eliminating 'burdensome and costly' rules. ASAP's deputy director, Joanna Mauer told The Verge, 'The department is looking at the savings these rollbacks would provide while completely ignoring the costs. It turns out that the costs would be nearly five times greater than the savings.' How Efficiency Standards Work and Why They Matter Energy efficiency standards set minimum performance requirements for appliances, ensuring they consume less energy while maintaining functionality. These rules cover a wide range of products, including microwave ovens, cooking tops, air purifiers, dehumidifiers, battery chargers, and portable air conditioners. For example, the 2020 efficiency standard for portable air conditioners was projected to cost consumers $1 billion upfront due to higher purchase prices but save $4.1 billion in energy bills over 30 years, yielding a net savings of $3.1 billion. ASAP's analysis, reportedly based on DOE's own data, shows that the 12 targeted standards would collectively deliver $43.2 billion in net savings. DOE's Deregulatory Agenda Divides In a recent announcement, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright defended the rollbacks, stating, 'We are bringing back common sense — slashing regulations meant to appease Green New Deal fantasies, restrict consumer choice and increase costs for the American people.' The DOE argues that eliminating these standards reduces manufacturing costs and provides consumers with more affordable, less efficient options. However, ASAP contends that this approach ignores the long-term financial burden of higher energy consumption, particularly for low-income households that spend a larger share of their income on utility bills. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Epoch Times
13-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
Energy Department Proposes to Slash 47 Rules Amid Deregulatory Push
The Department of Energy (DOE) on May 12 proposed to eliminate or roll back 47 regulations in what it called the first step in America's 'largest deregulatory effort in history.' The move is expected to save the nation $11 billion by eliminating regulations that it said were 'driving up costs' and 'lowering quality of life' for the people, 'Thanks to President Trump's leadership, we are bringing back common sense—slashing regulations meant to appease Green New Deal fantasies, restrict consumer choice, and increase costs for the American people,' DOE Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement. The proposals, The department proposed streamlining administrative procedures for natural gas imports and exports, as well as the authorization process for transmitting electric energy to other countries. DOE also proposed removing certain products, including portable air conditioners, fans, and blowers, from the list of covered products under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. Related Stories 5/5/2025 3/25/2025 It also sought to rescind regulations for loans for minority business enterprises seeking DOE contracts, along with reporting requirements and DOE review for voluntary greenhouse gas reporting. The move came just days after President Donald Trump In his 'Efficiency standards render other American appliances like clothes washers and dishwashers less useful, more breakable, and more expensive to repair,' the president stated. 'The federal government should not impose or enforce regulations that make taxpayers' lives worse.' The memo directs Wright to review and rescind rules limiting water use in showerheads, faucets, dishwashers, toilets, urinals, and washing machines, or return these rules to the bare minimum required by the Energy Policy Act of 1992. Andrew deLaski, executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, warned that the DOE's proposals could increase the operating costs of products targeted for rollbacks. 'If this attack on consumers succeeds, President Trump would be raising costs dramatically for families as manufacturers dump energy- and water-wasting products into the market,' deLaski said in a Joseph Lord contributed to this report.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's Energy Department unveils broad rule changes aimed at cutting red tape
(Reuters) -The U.S. Department of Energy on Monday proposed to eliminate or change more than 40 regulations and programs to align them with President Donald Trump's efforts to relax federal rules and gut diversity initiatives. The moves will save U.S. taxpayers $11 billion, the agency said in a statement, calling it the first step in its largest-ever deregulatory effort. "Thanks to President Trump's leadership, we are bringing back common sense - slashing regulations meant to appease Green New Deal fantasies, restrict consumer choice and increase costs for the American people," Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in the statement. The proposals were posted on a public government website and will be published in the Federal Register later this week. Many of the rule changes seek to promote Trump's energy dominance agenda, which seeks to boost production and use of domestic fossil fuels. One rule change allows electronic submissions of applications for natural gas imports and exports, and another simplifies the permit process for transmitting electric energy abroad. They also target federal energy conservation programs by removing water and energy efficiency standards for faucets, commercial ice makers, microwave ovens, clothes washers and other appliances. They also remove products including portable air conditioners, fans and blowers from coverage under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which directs DOE to set efficiency standards for certain consumer goods. Trump has often criticized energy- and water-efficient appliances, saying they do not work well and limit consumer choice. The agency is also rescinding several rules that seek to protect against discrimination on the basis of age, gender and disability. It is also eliminating a rule to support minority businesses seeking grants or contracts. Those changes are part of Trump's broad effort to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the federal government.
Epoch Times
05-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
Energy Department Revokes Biden-Era Rules on Outdoor Heaters, Decorative Hearths
The Department of Energy (DOE) has lifted regulations on decorative hearths and outdoor heaters that imposed 'burdensome' energy conservation standards on these items, the agency said in a May 2 The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) grants the DOE the authority to add consumer products to a list of 'covered items,' said a department In February 2023, the DOE finalized coverage for miscellaneous gas products (MGPs), which include decorative hearths and outdoor heaters. On May 2, the DOE announced it was withdrawing miscellaneous gas products as a covered consumer product under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. As such, these items won't be subjected to 'a range of unnecessary regulations on their manufacture and sale,' it said in the statement. The updated policy 'will allow the market for these products to freely develop without needing to account for new conservation standards from DOE,' it said. The department's decision comes after President Donald Trump Related Stories 5/5/2025 5/3/2025 The action aims to 'alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens' on Americans. It asked agencies to identify at least 10 existing regulations to repeal for every newly proposed regulation. Commenting on the DOE decision rescinding rules on miscellaneous gas products, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said that 'under President Trump's leadership, the Department of Energy is returning to common sense—and that means giving the American people the ability to choose which heaters they use in their own backyards.' 'To date, rescinding or delaying unnecessary consumer regulations such as this has saved the taxpayers nearly $24 billion—and we're just getting started,' he said. The DOE said the rule was withdrawn after considering comments on the matter from various parties, according to the notice. In an April 14 The items are 'a mishmash of materially different products that cannot reasonably be treated as a single product for purposes of regulatory analysis or coverage,' it said. For instance, 'decorative hearth product' consists of various items such as vented gas fireplaces, indoor log sets, and fire tables,' the association said. Activist groups Earthjustice and the Appliance Standards Awareness Project dismissed these arguments in an April 14 posted EPCA names 'motors and pumps' as a single type of covered equipment, even though 'these products have functions that overlap just as decorative hearth products and outdoor heaters do,' the groups said. Similarly, EPCA also groups battery chargers and external power supplies under a single heading, even though the functions of these products vary, the comment said. Nonetheless, the groups concluded by saying, 'We do not object to the proposed action,' while asking for better oversight procedures. After assessing comments, the DOE eventually concluded that outdoor heaters and decorative hearth products 'are not similar enough in function to be grouped together for the purposes of establishing a new type of covered product.' As such, it decided to withdraw the miscellaneous gas products rule. Crackdown on Regulations Under the Trump administration, agencies have taken action against various regulations on a host of appliances and other consumer products. On March 25, the DOE further postponed the effective dates of three Biden-era home appliance mandates related to central air conditioners and heat pumps, walk-in coolers and freezers, and gas instantaneous water heaters. The decision was aimed at lowering costs and expanding options for Americans, the DOE said at the time. In 2023, consumer watchdog Alliance for Consumers estimated that then-President Joe Biden's regulations on appliances such as water heaters, air conditioners, gas stoves, and other devices cost the average American household more than $9,100. More recently, on April 9, Trump Trump criticized the rules for high-efficiency water faucets, saying they essentially use the same amount of water as the products targeted for replacement. 'It's ridiculous. And what you do is you end up washing your hands five times longer, so it's the same [amount of] water,' Trump said. The same day, the president signed an executive order instructing 10 agencies to add a one-year expiration date to all existing energy regulations. 'Agencies will extend only those regulations that affirmatively serve American interests. The rest will expire, resetting the regulatory landscape,' said a White House Fact sheet.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Donald Trump Deregulates Showerheads…Again
On Wednesday evening, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that repeals the Biden administration's December 2021 definition of a showerhead—saying instead that the Oxford English Dictionary's definition of showerhead will do for the purposes of federal regulations. "I like to take a nice shower to take care of my beautiful hair. I have to stand under the shower for 15 minutes till it gets wet," said Trump in the Oval Office Wednesday before signing the order. The president's latest order is part of his longrunning pressure campaign against the appliance regulations of the Obama and Biden administrations. But the root of the issue goes back to the presidency of George H. W. Bush. The 1992 amendments to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) require that showerheads emit a maximum of 2.5 gallons of water per minute. To route around that limit, some manufacturers created multiheaded shower units. Each showerhead produced no more than 2.5 gallons of water per minute, but added together, they emitted far more water. The Obama administration ended this regulatory arbitrage by issuing regulations establishing that the entire shower unit had to comply with the 1992 water flow limits. Trump took a number of swipes at this rule during his 2016 campaign. In the waning days of his first term, he issued a new rule reversing the Obama administration's definition. In December 2021, the Biden administration reversed course again and reapplied the Obama-era regulations saying that whole shower units, regardless of headcount, had to comply with the 2.5-gallon limit. Trump has now reverted things back to his 2020 standards. "Directionally, it's the right thing to do. Unfortunately, there's less to it than meets the eye," says Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), which has long been critical of energy efficiency standards for household appliances. Lieberman notes that no executive regulation can repeal the statutory requirement in the EPCA that showerheads emit just 2.5 gallons of water. Very few Americans have multiheaded showers that Trump has deregulated with his order, he says. Trump's executive order also declares that his definitional change does not need to go through the standard notice-and-comment period typically required by the Administrative Procedure Act. That could make it more vulnerable to legal challenges. In order to fully deregulate shower flows, Congress will need to act, says Lieberman. In his Oval Office remarks, Trump did say he wanted Congress to "memorialize" his order and take on other energy regulations affecting toilets and faucets. In addition to repealing more rules than the president can unilaterally, congressional deregulation of appliances would likely give manufacturers more confidence to actually invest in superior deregulated products. The regulatory seesaw between Democratic and Republican administrations leaves companies unsure of whether deregulated, free-flowing shower units they produce one year will be banned again in the next. Ironically enough, appliance manufacturers were at first critical of the Obama administration showerhead regulations (because they limited the products they could make) and the Trump administration's showerhead deregulations (because it'd require them to invest in creating newly legal products). That latter industry critique of showerhead deregulation is obviously pure cronyism. Companies didn't want to have to spend money to compete with upstart multiheaded shower unit makers. Enshrining showerhead deregulation in statute would get industry back on the side of free markets and allow free markets to deliver more choice to consumers. The post Donald Trump Deregulates Showerheads…Again appeared first on
