Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed another public comment opposing the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) latest rule to set new efficiency standards for consumer water heaters.
The DOE’s rule, proposed in July, would “prescribe energy conservation standards for various consumer products and certain commercial and industrial equipment, including consumer water heaters,” according to the department.
TN AG Skrmetti again pushes back on the federal government’s war on household appliances. Read more: https://t.co/0IclGKAag4 pic.twitter.com/W2CMJqMpbZ
— TN Attorney General (@AGTennessee) September 28, 2023
In his letter to DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm, sent Tuesday, Skrmetti argued the proposed rule is part of the Biden administration’s “unprecedented effort to prohibit droves of existing products that are ubiquitous in American homes.”
Skrmetti noted the DOE’s attack on other consumer appliances, including clothes washers and dryers, microwave ovens, stoves, ceiling fans, refrigerators, dishwashers, dehumidifiers, and more.
“At this point, the Department seems dead set on dictating the products Americans can use in nearly every aspect of domestic life,” Skrmetti said.
Skrmetti further argued the DOE’s proposed rule is “unlawful” for the following four reasons:
- The Standards Improperly Rely on Faulty Social-Cost-of-Carbon Estimates;
- The Standards Dismiss Federalism Concerns in Violation of Executive Order 13,132;
- The Standards Overlook EPCA’s Constitutional Problems; and
- The Standards Fail to Adequately Consider Important Rulemaking Factors Like Lost Consumer Utility and Strain on the Energy Infrastructure.
“Notwithstanding Tennessee and other States’ previous objections, the Department continues to publish new energy-efficiency standards at a breakneck pace. Tennessee again requests that the Department cease and desist in its campaign to micromanage Americans’ access to effective and affordable appliances that are central to daily life,” Skrmetti concludes.
Skrmetti’s letter comes one week after Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) introduced the Hot Showers Act to nullify the same DOE-proposed rule, as previously reported by The Tennessee Star.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Background Photo “Water Heater” by Tony Alter. CC BY 2.0.
