Bill Seeks Changes to DOE Appliance Efficiency Program

In recent years, manufacturers have voiced concerns that DOE’s efficiency requirements have raised appliance costs while yielding minimal savings for consumers, a press release from Lee’s committee said.

“Climate alarmism turned ordinary appliances into political targets,” Lee said. “Under the Biden administration, regulators repeatedly pursued standards that narrowed consumer choice without adequately accounting for performance or cost. The Energy Efficiency Reform Act changes that approach by requiring the government to prove that a new standard is achievable and economically justified before American families are required to live with the consequences.”

The Energy Efficiency Reform Act of 2026 would:

• Codify the Process Rule that governs how DOE conducts its analyses and determines whether new or revised standards are technologically feasible and economically justified.

The 2020 Process Rule included several changes intended to provide greater stability to manufacturers. The Biden administration rolled back many of those provisions in 2021 and 2024.

The bill would require DOE to finalize the proposed new Process Rule released July 7, 2026, within 270 days. If the energy secretary fails to finalize the rule, the regulations would revert to the 2020 Process Rule.

• Remove the requirement that DOE review product standards every six years to determine whether they should be updated.

In practice, DOE often takes so long to issue new standards that another review is required before manufacturers are able to implement the new standards, the press release said. DOE also regularly misses the statutory deadline and is then subjected to litigation, the release said.

The bill would remove the six-year review requirement, while maintaining the ability of the public and industry to petition DOE for a new or amended standard. However, it would raise the evidentiary standard for those petitions to ensure there is sufficient evidence that a standard should be increased or lowered.

• Add requirements DOE must meet, and issues it must consider, before creating a new product class.

DOE regulates covered products through product classes. These classes can affect consumer choice by eliminating features or prioritizing efficiency over performance, the press release said.

• Strengthen EPCA’s preemption of state laws that set standards for covered products that are inconsistent with federal standards.

Some states have passed laws banning covered products based on their fuel source, or imposing state standards where federal standards have been repealed. The bill would clarify that states may not ban covered products based on their fuel source or their emissions, or impose their own standards in the absence of a current federal standard. In cases like the latter, the previously issued federal standard would remain in effect.

“AGA applauds Chairman Lee’s introduction of the Energy Efficiency Reform Act of 2026, critical legislation to return the Energy Policy and Conservation Act back to its original intent of ensuring fuel-neutral energy efficiency standards that improve energy efficiency without placing an undue cost burden on American families and small businesses,” said American Gas Association president and CEO Karen Harbert. “For too long, EPCA has been manipulated to force changes that raise costs and eliminate options for cooking, clothes drying, and heating. This bill rolls back harmful standards that would eliminate access to natural gas furnaces and water heaters while ensuring future efficiency standards focus on saving energy and money rather than playing politics and eliminating consumer choice.”