NEMA calls for end of EPCA regulation mandating mature energy products
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) presented before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and Power on Friday, saying that the Department of Energy’s (DOE) serial rulemaking for energy products negatively impacts citizens and energy companies alike.
NEMA President and CEO Kevin. J. Cosgriff spoke before the Energy and Power Subcommittee regarding the DOE’s Energy Conservation Standards program’s Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA). Cosgriff said that the legislation’s mandated serial rulemaking on energy products, particularly mature products, has a negative return on energy savings.
“The EPCA was written 40 years ago, and many of the covered products have since achieved then-unimagined levels of efficiency,” Cosgriff said. “It is time to sunset several of the mature products from the burden of additional rulemakings. These products have been through multiple iterations of energy conservation standards, and they are now witnessing diminishing returns in energy savings. These marginal returns are costly for citizens—consumers, employees, and employers alike.
“We are in a central position in this dialogue, given that 20 of the 63 products covered in the DOE program are made by NEMA members. Moreover, another 30 covered products contain components made by NEMA members.”
Cosgriff said that the electric industry believes that future opportunities for more energy efficient products should also include energy-use systems, in addition to individual products. NEMA members also feel that serial regulations limit consumer choice in a consumer-based market.
