The U.S. Department of Energy rolled back stringent energy efficiency lightbulb standards that were set to take effect in 2020, a move some said increases consumer costs and dims the prospect of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
In a final rule published in the Federal Register on Sept. 5, the DOE rescinded regulations that effectively would have banned the sale of most traditional incandescent and halogen lightbulbs beginning Jan. 1, 2020, in favor of compact fluorescent lightbulbs, or CFLs, and LED bulbs.
Specifically, the DOE scrapped an Obama-era decision to extend to additional types of lightbulbs — including candelabra-base, reflector and round-globe bulbs — the stricter standard applicable to more traditional pear-shaped lightbulbs. The agency also determined that an even more stringent minimum efficiency standard for all covered lightbulbs will not go into effect.
While newer CFLs and LED bulbs are championed by many as being more efficient and economical than their predecessors, a DOE spokesperson said retaining the existing standards will prevent a "cost burden on American consumers and businesses."
The Obama-era regulations at the heart of the issue were finalized in January 2017 and crafted in response to mandates of the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act. The DOE's Sept. 5 final rule, which was criticized by a group of 37 utilities as a "backward step" after it was proposed in February, said the prior administration's decision to reclassify some previously exempted bulbs as general service lightbulbs subject to a stricter standard was "not consistent with the best reading of the statute."
According to the agency, the final rule "will result in measurable effects on the markets for certain incandescent lamps."
Additionally, the DOE found that a congressionally mandated backstop 45-lumens/watt minimum efficiency standard for all general service lightbulbs would not go into effect because the agency has not yet completed a required rulemaking aimed at determining whether the standard should be amended. Contrary to the assertions of many — including various environmental organizations, utilities and state attorneys general — the agency insisted that the backstop is not "self-triggering" and the Energy Independence and Security Act "does not establish an absolute obligation on the secretary to publish a rule by a date certain."
The National Electric Manufacturers Association, which fought the tougher standard and sued the DOE over the 2017 regulations, said it "welcomed" the move. The DOE's action to expand the definition of general service lightbulbs "misconstrued the statute," and the agency's newest final rule "will not impact the market's continuing, rapid adoption of energy-saving lighting in the next few years," the group said.
However, the National Resource Defense Council said the DOE has acted "without any sound technical, economic, or legal justification." NRDC Senior Energy Communications Strategist Pat Remick said in an email that the dismissal of stricter standards would lower annual electricity savings by 81.3 billion kWh, the equivalent of 27 500-MW coal power plants running at 70% capacity.
"If you wanted folks to pay a lot more than they should on electric bills, this rollback would be a pretty good way of doing it," Jason Hartke, the president of the Alliance to Save Energy, said in a news release.
A joint analysis released in July by the Appliance Standards Awareness Project and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy noted that under the more stringent standards, carbon dioxide emissions would have decreased by 60 million tonnes.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., said in a statement that lightbulbs manufactured to more strict standards use 75% less energy and last at least 10 times longer than traditional incandescent lightbulbs.
"By trashing these standards and allowing inefficient products to remain on the market, the Trump administration is significantly increasing carbon pollution, exacerbating the climate crisis and costing consumers more on their electricity bills," Pallone said in a news release.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's Annual Energy Outlook 2018, energy efficiency standards have led to the "rapid adoption of LED and CFL lighting in the near term" while lowering related customer costs.
