H.R. 4626: Don’t Mess With My Home Appliances Act

This bill, known as the "Don’t Mess With My Home Appliances Act," proposes changes to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act regarding energy conservation standards for household products. Here are the main points of the bill:

1. Amendments to Energy Conservation Standards

The bill seeks to amend the criteria under which the Secretary of Energy can prescribe new or amended energy conservation standards.

• Feasibility and Justification: Standards can only be established if they are technologically feasible and economically justified.
• Consumer Cost Consideration: The legislation emphasizes that new standards should not lead to additional costs for consumers.

2. New Standards Procedures

The Secretary must issue a final rule for any new standards within a specified timeframe after announcing proposed changes:

• A final rule must be published within two years of a proposed standard notice.

3. Criteria for Setting Standards

Critical criteria include:

• A determination that standards will not result in significant additional costs to consumers.
• Confirmation that the product will remain widely available and not affect competition negatively.
• Disclosure of any meetings with entities with ties to certain foreign countries regarding energy standards.

4. Petitions for Amending Standards

The bill allows for petitions to assess whether existing energy standards should be amended or revoked based on:

• Inflation of consumer costs.
• Lack of significant conservation of energy or water.
• Technological infeasibility causing unavailability of products.

5. Evaluations of Existing Standards

After new standards are implemented, they must be evaluated to determine their feasibility and justification within two years.

6. Specific Mention of Distribution Transformers

New energy conservation standards for distribution transformers cannot be prescribed once the bill is enacted. Existing standards will not be affected.

7. Consideration of Economic Impact

The Secretary is required to conduct an economic analysis of any proposed new or revised standards, considering:

• Potential effects on consumer costs and benefits.
• Impact on employment.
• Lifecycle costs associated with the products in question.

8. Prohibition of Social Costs in Justification

The Secretary cannot include social cost estimates related to greenhouse gas emissions when determining whether a standard is economically justified.

9. Transparency Requirements

The bill mandates that the Secretary disclose meetings with entities involved in lobbying or studying energy regulations before setting new standards.

10. Required Energy and Water Savings

Standards must result in either a substantial reduction in energy use over 30 years or at least a 10% reduction in energy or water consumption.

11. Timing for Rulemaking

If standards are revoked, the Secretary must publish a final rule within 180 days to confirm the revocation or maintain the standard.

Relevant Companies

None found