Nevada opposes energy standards rollback

Published on May 30, 2019 by Douglas Clark

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Nevada lawmakers have adopted legislation designed to resist efforts to roll back energy-saving light bulb standards by adopting federal standards into state law.

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak has signed AB54 into law, with officials noting the action safeguards millions of dollars in consumer savings from the federal government’s position on efficient light bulbs.

“Nevadans are helping to hold the line against the administration’s proposed rollback of light bulb standards,” Jennifer Amann, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE)’s buildings program director, said. “This bill will not only save Nevadans more than $85 million in electric bills, but it will also help reduce carbon equal to a year’s emissions from 60,000 cars from entering our atmosphere and destroying our climate.”

Nevada becomes the fourth state after Vermont, Washington, and California to put the federal light bulb standards into state law.

“Just when the Trump administration seems dead set on a senseless rollback of federal light bulb standards, Nevada is joining other states in stepping into the breach to ensure their residents will get the energy and bill saving benefits of these common sense standards,” Andrew deLaski, Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP) executive director, said.

The ASAP maintains that, in 2025 alone, Nevada’s action of keeping the light bulb standards in place will reduce global warming CO2 emissions by 280,000 metric tons, equal to a year’s emissions from 60,000 cars and saves an average of $80 per household.