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The administration is right to keep ENERGY STAR as a federal program under the purview of the Department of Energy, the NAM and 33 allied groups told the agency this week.

What’s going on: “ENERGY STAR fits well within the goals of DOE’s recent reorganization and [Energy] Secretary [Chris] Wright’s objectives to ‘lower costs for American families and businesses, and ensure the responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars,’” the multisector coalition told the DOE Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation.

• The DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency—which for three decades managed the voluntary consumer goods efficiency-standard setting program—signed a 10-year agreement on March 3 to move operation of the NAM-supported ENERGY STAR program, a public–private partnership.
• The change follows Congress’ January decision to fully fund it at $33 million for FY2026.

Why it’s important: ENERGY STAR has saved U.S. families and businesses over $500 billion in energy costs since its 1992 start, the group said, and it should continue.

• “[T]axpayers receive a tremendous return on their investment as this program drives the critical bipartisan objective of energy affordability. In fact, in 2020 alone, ENERGY STAR saved the equivalent of approximately 47 million homes’ energy use for a year.”

The details: The memorandum of agreement signed by the two agencies “outlines a 90-day period in which the program’s ‘activities … partnership agreements, trademark(s), as well as IT systems and databases’ will move from EPA to DOE” ( Facilities Dive).

NAM in the news: POLITICO’s Morning Energy newsletter (subscription) provided the first exclusive look at the groups’ message.

The last word: “Reducing energy costs and protecting energy choices for American families and businesses should remain a central priority,” the groups concluded.

• “ENERGY STAR is the federal government’s primary voluntary program for delivering real cost savings to American families and businesses.”