Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

May 8, 2024

The Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act modifies how the Department of Energy establishes energy conservation standards for household appliances and consumer products. It eliminates a requirement that DOE issue a new proposed rule or notice every six years regarding whether standards need updating, instead allowing DOE to propose new or amended standards at any time. The bill establishes criteria for revoking or amending existing standards, including whether they increase consumer costs, fail to conserve significant energy or water, are not technologically feasible, or result in products becoming unavailable to consumers. It also specifies that new or amended energy conservation standards must be both technologically feasible and economically justified.

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Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act This bill modifies the process by which the Department of Energy (DOE) amends, revokes, or implements energy conservation standards for certain consumer products (other than automobiles), such as household appliances. First, the bill eliminates the requirement under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act for DOE, within six years of issuing a final rule establishing or amending such standard, to issue a new proposed rule or publish a notice that the standard does not need to be amended. Instead, the bill allows DOE to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking for prescribing a new or amended energy conservation standard for a consumer product at any time. Next, the bill specifies that DOE may grant a petition to revoke or amend energy conservation standards if it finds that the standards (1) result in additional costs to consumers, (2) do not result in significant conservation of energy or water, (3) are not technologically feasible, and (4) result in a product (e.g., gas stoves) not being commercially available in the United States to all consumers. Finally, the bill modifies the criteria used to prescribe new or amended energy conservation standards. For example, new energy conservation standards must be technologically feasible and economically justified.