From the DAILY CALL
Nick Pope
Contributor
The Biden administration locked down the gas stove rule on Monday after insisting it was not trying to ban gas stoves, rejecting efforts by opposing organizations to nix the rule.
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) efficiency rules for gas stoves, announced in January, will take effect as expected in January 2028, according to Monday’s entry in the Federal Register. The finalized rule is less stringent than the 2023 proposal that was later abandoned, and nuances in the rulemaking process allow the agency to withdraw parts of the regulation if it receives too many negative public comments on the docket, according to E&E News. , but the DOE has moved forward with the rule over objections from several state attorneys general and Republican state advocacy groups, including the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI).
The DOE launched the rule as an “immediate final rule,” meaning there is no published proposal for the policy, according to E&E News. The “direct final rulemaking” process also allows groups like CEI to leave comments on the rule with a chance for the agency to release the rule. (RELATED: Forget the Stove! Biden Admin Working Overtime to Get Rid of All Your Gas Appliances)
“The Federal Register is only publishing a confirmation notice — it’s a procedural step in our process for an immediate final rule,” a DOE spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We are only following the process directed by law for the direct final standard rule on cooking,” said the spokesperson, adding that “the final rule reflects the combined recommendations received from various stakeholders, including the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, the Consumer Federation American, and energy efficiency advocate.
In its comments, CEI asserted that the newer and less aggressive regulation is indeed watered down from the 2023 proposal, but should be withdrawn because it represents federal overreach and remains a policy that will increase costs for American consumers, according to E&E News. and Federal Register entries. In addition to CEI and several Republican attorneys general, the Antonin Scalia Law School’s Administrative Law Clinic and other groups also commented against the DOE rule.
The DOE contends that the government’s desire to ban gas stoves is a “myth” and “misinformation.” In particular, Biden administration officials submitted an amicus brief asking a federal court to reverse a decision that denied Berkeley, California’s ban on gas connections in new buildings in 2019, a policy that would have banned the installation of gas stoves in newly constructed buildings.
“President Biden is committed to using all the tools available to his administration to lower costs for American families and deliver healthier communities – including the energy efficiency measures announced today,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said of the administration when it was released last week. January.
DOE regulations apply to electric stoves, gas stoves, stand-alone electric stoves, stand-alone gas stoves and ovens. The rule may increase the cost of certain models in the future, but the Biden administration insists that the policy will save Americans money on bills over time by reducing the volume of use of electric stoves, according to The Washington Post.
“The new standard also requires only a small part of the model to make a modest improvement to energy efficiency that corresponds to the level of efficiency already shown by the majority of the market today,” the agency said in a January press release announcing the rule. “For example, approximately 97 percent of gas stove models and 77 percent of seamless electric stove models on the market already meet these standards.”
Nearly 70% of respondents oppose a policy that would actually ban gas stoves, according to a June 2023 Harvard CAPS Harris poll. More than 80% of Republican respondents and 71% of independents oppose a policy that would ban gas stoves, as do 55% of Democrats surveyed.
Beyond stoves, the DOE is also pushing energy efficiency rules for everyday items like water heaters, furnaces and pool pump motors. The Biden administration has also spent hundreds of millions of dollars to help state and municipal governments develop building codes intended to “decarbonize” buildings.
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