Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Senate voted 53-44 on Thursday to undo a Biden-era rule and eliminate energy efficiency standards for new gas tankless water heaters. The House passed the measure in February.
- The American Gas Association celebrated the Senate vote, saying Biden’s water heater rules had banned the sale of the instantaneous, gas-fired appliances. But consumer and efficiency advocates say many manufacturers supported the rules, and the rollback will wind up costing consumers about about $3.1 billion on their utility bills over 30 years.
- Republicans say former President Biden “waged war on our home appliances” and are looking to undo energy efficiency rules and standards. The U.S. Department of Energy in March announced it would withdraw or delay several efficiency standards and rules. And on Wednesday, President Trump signed an executive order allowing shower heads to use more water.
Dive Insight:
Most tankless water heaters sold today already meet the stricter standards, but rolling back the rule will have a big impact on consumers nonetheless, according to the Appliance Standards Awareness Project.
The standards were set to take effect in 2029, requiring new gas tankless water heaters to use about 13% less energy than today’s least efficient models and lowering a household’s total costs by an average of $112 over the life of the product, the group said.
“American families are going to face higher bills because the Senate sided with a group of gas utilities and one particular manufacturer,” ASAP Executive Director Andrew deLaski said in a statement. “This is going to keep an outdated version of this technology on the market, with homeowners and renters paying the cost.”
Gas industry officials called the vote “a victory for working-class Americans.”
“President Biden’s block on certain natural gas appliances was deeply flawed legally and practically,” AGA President and CEO Karen Harbert said. “The water heater rule would have removed consumer choices, placed a disproportionate financial burden on seniors and low-income Americans and pushed financially vulnerable consumers toward less efficient electric products likely to raise their energy bills.”
The Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval regarding the standards passed with bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress. The DOE finalized the rule in December.
“The DOE should focus on promoting energy efficiency without unnecessarily driving up costs and limiting consumer choice,” National Association of Home Builders Chairman Buddy Hughes said in a statement.
The measure approved Wednesday by the Senate was introduced in the House by Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala.
“I applaud the Senate on passing this legislation to protect not only gas water heaters, but consumers,” Palmer said. “For four years, the Biden-Harris administration waged war on our home appliances. ... With a unified Republican government, we must reduce costs by reversing these regulations.”
