Reminder – The next BECS committee meeting will be held next week on May 7-8, 2025 at the “Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach Hotel”, 100 Coronado Dr, Clearwater, FL 33767.
Department of Energy (DOE) Issues a Stay of the Compliance Date for Section 433’s Clean Energy for New and Renovated Federal Facilities rule, with a New Compliance Date of May 1, 2026.
As background on this issue, on last April 30, 2024, the DOE issued the Final Rule for implementation of Section 433, the Clean Energy for New Federal Buildings and Major Renovations of Federal Buildings Rule, linked here . Section 433 became law in 2007 as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act, which required 100% reduction in fossil fuel use in federal buildings by 2030 with phased reductions beginning in 2010. At that time, DOE had failed to meet its statutory timelines laid out in the bill related to phase-down timelines. That issued rule requires federal agencies to phase out fossil fuel usage in new federal building construction or major renovation by achieving a 90% reduction in fossil fuel use for new projects started between FY 2025-2029 and eliminating on-site fossil fuel usage in new projects beginning in 2030. AGA believes the rule is in direct contradiction to the statute, which uses the phrase “fossil fuel-generated energy consumption of the buildings” to mean only fossil-fuel generated energy consumed from on-site sources, which is contrary to the plain text, context, and the history of the statute. In the rule, DOE has attempted to focus only on-site energy considerations rather than full fuel cycle, which, in addition to being concerning, adds confusion about the eligibility of hydrogen and possible requirements for proving hydrogen for use in federal property. AGA’s legal team reviewed the rule for these and other questions about which Department of Defense facilities might be impacted. According to DOE, the rule would increase overall energy consumption and likely greenhouse gas emissions. The federal building energy standards in this final rule are projected to result in an estimated national increased energy use of 29,000,000 MMBtu which would also see increased energy costs for impacted buildings. DOE had established the effective date of the rule as May 1, 2025. Yesterday, DOE issued a stay of the compliance date for Section 433’s Clean Energy for New and Renovated Federal Facilities rule, with a new compliance date of May 1, 2026. According to the announcement, DOE states that “Because the compliance date for these provisions is stayed, Federal agencies are not required to comply with these applicable energy performance standards during this time.”
DOE Withdrawals its Determination of Miscellaneous Gas Products as a Covered Consumer Product.
In the March 14, 2025 Update on End Use Codes and Standards, we reported that DOE had issued a Federal Register Notice proposing to withdraw a previous determination that “miscellaneous gas products” are covered products subject to DOE minimum efficiency requirements. “Miscellaneous natural gas products” cover several indoor and outdoor “decorative” gas appliances such as fireplace log sets, gas lights, etc. as well as outdoor heaters including patio heaters. As background, on April 8, 2022, AGA and the American Public Gas Association (APGA) filed joint, timely comments (attached) on the Department of Energy’s February 7, 2022 preliminary determination that a number of miscellaneous natural gas products are covered products and therefore subject to possible minimum efficiency requirements. That notice proposed to cover the indoor and outdoor “decorative” gas appliances as well as outdoor heaters including patio heaters as outlined above. Our comments recommended that DOE implement the recommendations from the recent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (“NASEM report”) into all its appliance rulemakings, whether for test procedures or energy conservation standards. The NASEM report comprehensively evaluated the agency’s appliance rulemaking process and identified several key areas in which DOE can improve its rulemaking process. We urged the DOE to address these recommendations as it considers possible requirements and considers developing efficiency test procedures for these gas products. Our comments also challenge the DOE contention that these miscellaneous gas products are a “covered product” under federal legislation and that there would be the possibility of substantial energy savings with a minimum efficiency requirement. Unfortunately, DOE ignored our comments and issued a final determination on September 6, 2022 Federal Register Notice in which they determined that they could cover these products. The March 13 Federal Register Notice proposed to reverse that determination and would keep those natural gas products outside the list of natural gas products subject to DOE efficiency regulations. AGA, the American Public Gas Association (APGA) and the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) submitted comments (attached) supporting the DOE proposal and is pleased that today, DOE announced the official withdrawal of the determination of miscellaneous gas products as a covered consumer product reversing its previous determination.
AGA Sponsors the International Code Councils (ICC) Building Safety Month.
Again, this year, AGA is a Foundation Sponsor of the ICC’s Building Safety Month (BSM) held each May. Details of the events and programs that will be held during May can be found here: 2025 Building Safety Month – ICC (iccsafe.org) . Below is a summary of the purpose of the ICC’s BSM:
About Building Safety Month
“Building Safety Month is an international campaign that takes place in May to raise awareness about building safety. This campaign reinforces the need for the adoption of modern, regularly updated building codes, and helps individuals, families and businesses understand what it takes to create safe and sustainable structures.
The International Code Council, its members, and a diverse partnership of professionals from the building construction, design and safety communities come together with corporations, government agencies, professional associations, and nonprofits to promote building safety through proclamations, informational events, legislative briefings and more. We come together to support Building Safety Month because we understand the need for safe and sustainable structures where we live, work and play.
All communities need building codes to protect their citizens from disasters like fires, weather-related events, and structural collapse. Building codes are society’s best way of protecting homes, offices, schools, manufacturing facilities, stores, and entertainment venues. Code official’s workday in and day out to keep the public safe.”
AGA is proud to support and participate in the ICC’s BSM to further demonstrate our and our members commitment for maintaining and improving safety provisions for the built environment.
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.
