Insights

As the Biden Administration enters its third year, now with a party split in Congress, it seems likely that the Administration will redouble its focus on executive branch regulatory tools that can be used to achieve energy-related policy objectives, including with respect to energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. For manufacturers and importers of appliances and certain other consumer, lighting, plumbing and commercial and industrial products, that means the potential for additional scrutiny of their products’ compliance with the Department of Energy’s (DOE) conservation standards for energy and water efficiency. It also likely means a commensurate increase in DOE enforcement activity for non-compliance with the applicable efficiency standards or the associated test procedures required to demonstrate compliance, as well as registration and labeling requirements. Given the magnitude of the penalties associated with violating efficiency standards, currently $503 per violation, which can quickly run into multiple millions of dollars across noncompliant units, manufacturers and importers should consider refamiliarizing themselves with DOE’s conservation standards regime.

The U.S. Department of Energy has issued its third Request for Information (RFI) since the beginning of the new administration, again seeking comment on possible changes to the federal appliance standards program. As described in our client alerts regarding DOE’s First and Second RFIs, DOE administers the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), which requires the Department to set and enforce minimum energy conservation standards for a variety of products (“covered products”) and to establish test procedures for demonstrating compliance with those standards.

For the second time in a week, the U.S. Department of Energy requested comments on its ongoing efforts to redesign the energy conservation standards program for appliances and other commercial and industrial products. The first RFI asked for input on a proposal for the possible replacement of the existing compliance and enforcement regime with a more market-oriented program. The second RFI, issued on November 28, 2017, seeks input on reforms in appliance standard development and test procedures used to assess companies’ compliance. As DOE moves forward with its plans to reshape the energy conservation standards program, it is important for manufacturers and importers of appliances and other affected products to understand how their businesses may be impacted, and to protect their interests by participating in the DOE rulemaking process.