Electrical Manufacturers Association advocates for market freedom in light of proposed DOE ruling
In response to a proposed ruling by the Department of Energy (DOE) that would impose exclusive adoption of LED bulbs, executives from the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) recently filed written comments emphasizing the need for plurality of consumer choice as a swift change to the market takes place as a result of rapidly falling prices for LED bulbs.
“Market transformation occurs and in fact is enhanced when consumers have a range of technology choices among quality lighting products,” Kevin J. Cosgriff, NEMA’s president and CEO, said. “Rather than the DOE prescribing one technology over all others by fiat, this seems like a good time for government to let the citizens decide the composition of lighting products’ use in their homes, the pace of change to more efficient options, and how best to manage their own pocketbooks.”
The energy efficiency standard imposed by the proposed DOE ruling would effectively eliminate other types of bulbs from the market, including compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs and a variety of specialty incandescent bulbs for which adequate LED replacements do not yet exist.
“Most specialty bulbs are installed in too few sockets and consume too little electricity to meet Congress’ threshold for DOE regulation,” Kyle Pitsor, NEMA’s vice president for government relations, said. “The cost to produce additional efficiency improvements in the general-service halogen bulb cannot be economically justified because over a real-world expectation of bulb life consumers will never see a positive payback in lower energy bills.”
Sales of LED bulbs have been rising more quickly than anticipated, overtaking CFL bulbs for the first time in the first three months of 2016.
