As both a citizen and president, Donald Trump opposes modern dishwashers, washing machines, light bulbs, shower heads and toilets, claiming that nasty government regulations make them effective and expensive.
Since returning to the White House in January, he has turned his anger into a dict.
On April 9, Trump issued an executive order directing a laundry list in energy production regulations, including those covering appliances, to “incorporate sunset clauses” into certain federal agencies. A month later, he issued a memorandum entitled “Removing useless water pressure standards.”
It followed, on May 12, the Department of Energy announced it was preparing to eliminate or change 47 federal regulations that “reduce costs and reduce the quality of life for Americans.”
Many of the regulations are covered by the Energy Protection Act (EPCA). This is a decades-old law mandating energy efficiency and water conservation standards for home appliances and plumbing fixtures.
Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency said it plans to eliminate the Energy Star program. The Energy Star program is a popular and voluntary initiative that we employ to rank appliances to rank appliances based on energy savings and cost savings, and appears in the blue labeling familiar to retailers as a comparison guide.
Trump’s actions are filled with a mix of resistance from consumer protection groups and appliance manufacturers, and support from the secrets of the deregulation Hawks and nanny state. And while the administration continues to review current standards and seek comment before considering official changes, the legal challenges to efforts are weighed down.
A new era of “attention to buyers” in electricity bills
Originally passed in 1975, the EPCA ensures that all of the products covered by the law meet basic levels of energy and water efficiency performance reflected in various prices. A major example is the ubiquitous yellow energy guide stickers attached to appliances that show annual energy usage and cost.
“Consumers who shop at prices, if not primarily exclusive, also get reasonable efficiency (information),” said Andrew Delaski, executive director of the U.S. Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, non-professional research institute-based environmental and consumer groups, utilities, and the coalition of state governments and Appliance Standards Awareness Project.
Without that level of regulated consumer protection, Delaski said, “Buyers should be careful.”
Consumers will face the risk of inefficient appliances entering unregulated markets, he said, “And you’re not going to know that until you get (more) electricity bills.”
Separately from the EPCA, it was established by the EPA in 1992 as a public-private partnership by the EPA. Controlled and jointly funded by the DOE, this energy efficiency standard sets energy efficiency standards that manufacturers can choose to display on electrical appliances, building products, electronics, lighting fixtures, HVAC equipment and other products as a way for consumers and businesses to make informed purchasing decisions.
The EPA estimates that 90% of households are aware of the Energy Star label, saving 5 trillion kilowatt-hour electricity over 33 years, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 4 billion tons and saving $500 billion in utility costs. The program’s operating budget for 2024 was $35.7 million. To date, all the dollars spent have saved nearly $350 in energy costs.
Americans support energy-efficient equipment efforts
Consumer Reports conducted a national survey in March, finding that 87% of respondents support energy-efficient residential appliance standards. Almost a third said savings on the energy bill would motivate them to buy larger residential appliances that are more efficient.
Last month, in response to plans to shutter the Energy Star, the organization issued a statement urging the EPA to save the program. “Losses will be particularly hard hit when people are dealing with unpredictable energy bills and are trying to cut costs,” said Shanika Whitehurst, associate director of the Consumer Report’s Product Sustainability, Research and Testing Team.
The nonprofit alliance for energy conservation, a bipartisan coalition of consumer, environment, business and government groups, suggests that the EPCA and energy stars will actually lower family energy bills and promote the White House’s goal of dominating national energy. “When we start to dismantle our energy efficiency programs, American households will pay for it,” said Jason Lott, senior manager of ASE’s policy. “Energy control begins at home by eliminating energy waste.”
The association of home appliance makers, representing more than 150 manufacturers, has historically supported efficiency regulation, but has opposed the Biden administration’s latest update on EPCA standards for gas stoves, refrigerators, dishwashers and other appliances. The law requires DOE to review the standard at least once every six years. This is the process that led to changes in the rules.
“We were always able to produce products at a higher level of efficiency,” said Jill Nottini, Vice President of Communications and Marketing at Aham.
“We are extremely grateful for the intent behind (President Trump’s) goals of deregulation action,” Nottini said. “After seeing how far they have come when it comes to our products and how far they have come when it comes to energy efficiency and water use, our industry needs it,” hints at eight rounds of EPCA reviews, updates and revisions over the years.
Already at or near peak efficiency, the industry says
According to Notini, today’s appliances lie above or near peak efficiency, which is the result of federal standards and the investments in technology and innovation from manufacturers. “Therefore, we need to be aware that we cannot stay on this path, continue to set standards and expect high-performance products,” she added.
Aham prefers to revise the EPCA standards based on technological advancements rather than the six-year requirements, she said. What the association doesn’t support, however, is Trump’s request to abandon the federal government’s preemption of state regulations regarding water efficiency in shower heads, faucets and toilets.
“We are concerned with us that we may not have a federal outlook, creating the certainty the industry is looking for,” Notini said. The federal government’s first move: “It really made energy efficiency a success.”
AHAM member LG Electronics USA has a variety of views on its efforts to roll back the EPCA, according to Senior Vice President John I. Taylor. “Deregulation is generally good for business, but there are some concrete things in the EPCA that are beneficial to American consumers and the American economy,” he said. “We are a leader in promoting energy efficiency, so regardless of how regulations end, we will keep our feet on that accelerator.”
In March, nearly 30 industry groups and appliance companies, including the Chamber of Commerce, Bosch, Carrier, Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Research Institute (AHRI), sent a letter to EPA administrator Lee Zeldin, urging them not to end the Energy Star. In April, the US Green Building Council, along with more than 1,000 signatories (LG, Miele and Samsung Electronics America), wrote to Zeldin to express concern about the cuts proposed by the EPA, including Energy Star.
According to the retail sector, energy stars are extremely popular with consumers
Meanwhile, major appliance retailers, etc. Lowes, Home Depot and Best Buyhas not publicly commented on any of these pending regulatory changes. It is one of several consumer product, manufacturing, real estate and retail organizations that sent a letter to a bipartisan group of Congress leaders on June 6th, calling for “strongly support the continuation of non-regulated and non-political energy star programs.”
“Consumers are overwhelmingly saying they support voluntary environmental standard setting programs like Energy Star,” says Scott Case, Vice President and Executive Director of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability at NRF’s Center for Retail Sustainability. And that’s why trade group retailers “want to allow them to share the benefits of these programs with consumers,” he said.
Trump’s hardships with energy efficiency and water conservation standards reflect libertarians and free market people who maintain their regulations, often representing government overreach and limiting personal choices. For example, the libertarian Kato Institute calls energy stars “a very coarse energy information” to develop more accurate methods for developing more accurate methods for measuring energy operation costs.
“I’m a big advocate for energy efficiency, but I don’t think there’s a need for a federal government that prioritizes the choices and preferences that consumers may have when purchasing appliances,” said Nick Loris, vice president of public policy at a conservative energy think tank. He said rolling back the EPCA standards was “a step forward to reducing government interventions in decisions that are best suited to producers and consumers.”
If legal challenges are facing
Tweeting around the EPCA this year, like many of the actions the Trump administration has done, from tariffs to immigration, is expected to be challenged in federal courts. The law includes so-called anti-backsliding clauses, which prevents rollback of already-defined standards. Nrdcv, the 2004 incident mentioned by Delaski. Abraham supported this provision. “Once the DOE standard is updated to the federal register and published, it cannot be retreated,” he said of the precedent.
The administration can seek legal authority to enact these deregulation orders by citing exceptions to “legitimate causes” of administrative procedures as a way to avoid the APA’s disclosure notice and comment process. However, legal experts, environmental groups and the state attorney general have warned that in order to skip the APA procedures, it is likely to be deemed “arbitrarily and whimsical” and illegal, particularly to undermine the energy and water usage standards covered by the EPCA.
Ultimately, given the success and popularity of the EPCA and Energy Star with consumers, manufacturers and retailers, it is possible that both will remain intact, as well as the legal foundation, even with some tweaks. “In some way, we’re expecting both,” Taylor said.
“We know that consumers want information. The interesting thing about consumers is that they are both voters and their constituents,” Case said.
