The Biden Admin watered down its gas stove crackdown by issuing less strict regulations. This was confirmed after the Department of Energy published the rules on Monday, Jan. 29.
Before this, the DEO's original proposal back in February 2023 aimed to impact around 50% of the existing gas stove units in the United States.
U.S. President Joe Biden waves to the press as he walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House July 28, 2023 in Washington, DC. President Biden is traveling to Auburn, Maine to discuss manufacturing and his "Bidenomics" economic plan.
The rules in the proposal were supposed to take effect in 2027. However, since the regulations were too strict, Republicans, as well as consumer advocacy groups, criticized the Biden Administration.
Because of the serious backlash, the U.S. government had to adjust its proposed rules for gas stove models in the U.S. Here's what Americans need to know.
Biden Admin Waters Down Gas Stove Crackdown
According to Fox News' latest report, the Biden Administration finalized its gas stove regulations, which are expected to become fully active as early as 2028.
"President Biden is committed to using all the tools at the Administration's disposal to lower costs for American families and deliver healthier communities - including energy efficiency measures like the one announced today," said Jennifer Granholm, the U.S. Energy Secretary.
Granholm added that the DOE is dedicated to cooperating with the stakeholders and industry partners throughout 2024. She explained that this is needed to improve appliance standards.
Aside from this, working with industry partners and stakeholders is also needed to address a backlog of congressionally-mandated energy efficiency actions, which delay an estimated $1 trillion in consumer savings.
Because of this, the Biden Admin decided to settle on energy levels that would retain performance and features that American consumers heavily rely on a daily basis.
"We do see this as a win for consumers - we retained the features, all the things that we were very concerned about, that we felt like under the original proposal would be lost," said AHAM's spokesperson Jill Notini.
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New Gas Stove Regulations
Blue flames rise from the burner of a natural gas stove June 11, 2003 in Orange, California. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, testifying as an energy expert, told a U.S. House committee June 10 that high natural gas prices resulting from increased demand and shrinking domestic production.
The Hill reported that the new regulations of the Biden Admin's gas stove crackdown effort are significantly weaker than the initial proposal.
The Department of Energy said that this is because 97% of gas stoves and 77% of electric stove units sold on the market already meet the requirements in the proposal.
Here are the specific changes that happened in the gas stove regulations of the Biden Administration:
- Gas stove models were affected down to 3% (regulations originally aimed to target 50% of gas stoves).
- Gas stoves that will be sold in the future are now allowed to have more than 1,770 kBtu per year (rules originally aimed to require only 1,204 kBtu).
The DOE clarified that the new rules will only apply to gas stoves that will be sold when the regulations are implemented, meaning that existing units in American households will no longer need to meet the said requirements.
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