HR4626-119

What This Bill Does

This bill amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act rules for covered product energy-conservation standards. It lets the Energy Secretary publish proposed standards based on the statutory criteria and procedures, requires a final amended standard within two years after a notice, and applies amended standards only to products manufactured at least five years after the final rule. It also changes the petition process so the Secretary must grant a petition to determine whether standards should be amended or revoked when the petition presents evidence that the standards impose additional consumer costs, do not significantly conserve energy or water, are not technologically feasible, and make the product commercially unavailable to all consumers in the United States.

The bill separately bars DOE from prescribing any new or amended energy-conservation standard for distribution transformers after enactment, while preserving standards already issued. It also clarifies that DOE may prescribe new or amended design requirements or performance standards for clothes washers and dishwashers, including minimum or maximum energy and water-use metrics.

Who Benefits and How

Home appliance manufacturers benefit from a longer five-year lead time before amended standards apply and a clearer petition path to amend or revoke costly or infeasible standards. Consumers prioritizing lower upfront appliance costs and broader product choice benefit if standards that raise costs or limit availability are revised. Distribution transformer manufacturers benefit from a bar on new or revised transformer standards. Electric utilities and grid equipment buyers benefit if transformer availability improves. Petitioners challenging appliance standards benefit because the bill lists specific evidentiary grounds for review.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Department of Energy appliance-efficiency rulemaking staff must administer the revised notice, final-rule, applicability, and petition procedures. DOE transformer standards staff must stop new or amended transformer standards while preserving existing ones. Energy-efficiency advocates and conservation-focused utilities bear policy risk if weaker or revoked standards reduce energy or water savings. Dishwasher manufacturers and clothes washer manufacturers may still face design or performance standards under the bill's appliance-specific provisions.

Key Provisions

• Allows DOE to publish notices of proposed energy-conservation standards for covered products.
• Requires final amended standards within two years after a notice.
• Provides a five-year delay before amended standards apply to manufactured products.
• Requires DOE to grant petitions to review standards that impose costs, lack significant savings, are infeasible, and reduce availability.
• Bars new or amended energy-conservation standards for distribution transformers.
• Authorizes design and performance standards for clothes washers and dishwashers.