Update on the Gas Industry Legal Challenge of the DOE Final Rule Requiring a Minimum Efficiency Condensing Requirements for Consumer Gas Furnaces, Commercial Gas Storage Water Heaters and Re-establishing Separate Product Classes for Non-condensing and Condensing Gas Vented Products,  Court Oral Hearing Scheduled for Thursday, November 21.

Back on July 12, we reported that AGA along with its allies, filed a reply brief (attached) in the ongoing lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) appliance standards, on the minimum efficiency regulations for residential gas furnaces and commercial gas storage water heaters. As previously reported in BECS Committee weekly updates, DOE’s actions on resident furnaces and commercial storage water heaters ban non-condensing types of these natural gas appliances and equipment from the market and AGA, the American Public Gas Association (APGA), National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), Thermo Products and Spire have asked the court to vacate the rules. The reply brief points out that the law is clear that DOE is explicitly forbidden to set a minimum efficiency standard that eliminates an entire class of appliances from the market. Despite this, the Department’s new rules would remove efficient gas furnaces and commercial storage water heaters options from consumers, raising costs for those who can least afford it including senior citizens and low-income households. The brief explains that energy efficiency is a top priority for the American Gas Association and the natural gas industry, but issuing a flawed rule is not the way to advance energy efficiency goals and provides the details of the errors in the DOE technical and economic analysis that the department used to justify the elimination of non-condensing versions of these products covered by the regulation. In addition, the brief points out that the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) directly prohibits amended standards that are likely to eliminate generally available “performance characteristics” from the market, including design-and installation-related features. EPCA was intended to protect consumers from undue harm, however DOE’s final rules fail to adhere to this provision. In DOE’s latest filing (attached), the agency conceded these final rules would eliminate appliances from the market and result in “difficult” renovations to retrofit or restructure existing homes and buildings to accommodate condensing instead of noncondensing appliances. In the case of DOE’s final furnace rule, 55% of U.S. households would be affected according to AGA analysis based on DOE’s data. That performance characteristic is protected from elimination by the plain text of EPCA.   In summary, the brief request that the court should vacate the December 2021 Interpretive Rule, Consumer Furnace Rule, and Commercial Water Heater Rule.  Oral arguments on the petition are scheduled to be heard as one of 3 hearings before a 3-judge panel beginning at 9:30 AM on the morning of this coming Thursday, November 21, 2024 in Washington.

You can access the oral arguments of the hearing for this Case# 22-1030 through the courts youtube channel, https://www.youtube.com/USCourtsCADC .  We will report on the court’s decision on the petition when available.

State Codes Activity Update.

Attached is a weekly feature of the “Friday Update” covering state code calendar activities as presented by the online utility “Fiscal Note,” which is sponsored by APGA and AGA Code and Standards. Please review the update and determine if there are state code activities that impact your service territory or organization.