NAM Applauds Process Rule Changes, Pushes for More Certainty

The Department of Energy should consider additional changes as it works to finalize a recently proposed rule that would dictate the process for setting energy-efficient standards under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, the NAM and more than a dozen other industry groups told the DOE last month.

What’s going on: In July, the DOE issued a proposal to update the Process Rule—its requirements and test procedures for consumer appliances and some commercial equipment—to reflect changes that were offered in 2020 as well as new considerations.

• Large parts of the 2020 changes were reversed in 2021.
• “The NAM supports the DOE’s efforts to restore elements of the 2020 Process Rule through this proposed rulemaking” because it would increase predictability for manufacturers and “provide commonsense deference to existing industry testing standards that have a proven track record,” the NAM told the DOE in late August in response to an agency request for information on the draft changes.

What it would do: The proposed changes would require the DOE to follow stricter protocols when issuing new regulations intended to increase energy-efficiency standards.

Why it’s important: “[R]evising the Process Rule is one of the best ways to ensure consumers can continue choosing from a variety of affordable and efficient products,” the NAM and aligned organizations told the DOE.

What else should be done: The NAM asked the agency to take some additional steps, including:

• “[D]efine the precise criteria for how ‘deregulatory actions’ will be handled and to consider if the procedures for these actions should also be mandatory”; and
• Clarify how expanded opportunities—including the reinstatement of a 75-day comment period for proposed-rulemaking notices—“would be treated in conjunction with the Energy Policy and Conservation Act’s (EPCA) statutory timing requirements to reduce legal risk and uncertainty for manufacturers.”

In addition: While the NAM and allied business groups “support the great majority” of the proposed Process Rule changes, they also urged the DOE to:

• Refrain from making the proposed carve-out for deregulatory actions apply retroactively to already finalized standards;
• Ensure that thresholds finalized by the DOE for evaluating proposed standards “remain objective and reasonable”; and
• Continue its annual request for comments on rulemaking prioritization.

Be heard: Questions or concerns on the proposed rulemaking? Contact NAM Senior Director of Energy and Resources Policy Michael Davin.