The withdrawal or delay of the Trump administration’s restrictions “saves nearly $24 billion to taxpayers,” the Energy Secretary said.
In February 2023, DOE confirmed coverage of other gas products (MGPS), including decorative hearths and outdoor heaters.
On May 2, DOE announced that it had withdrawn other gas products as targeted consumer products under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. As such, these items are not subject to “a set of unnecessary manufacturing and sales regulations,” the statement said.
The updated policy states that “the market for these products will be free to develop without taking into account new maintenance standards from DOE.”
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This action aims to “reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens” on Americans. It asked the agency to identify at least 10 existing regulations in order to eliminate all newly proposed regulations.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright commented on the DOE decision rules, and Secretary Chris Wright said, “Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Energy is back to common sense. It means giving Americans the ability to choose the heater they use in their own backyard.”
“To date, taxpayers have saved nearly $24 billion by withdrawing or delaying these unnecessary consumer regulations.
The DOE said the rules were withdrawn after considering comments on the issue from various parties, according to the notice.
The item states “a mishmash of a substantially different product that cannot be reasonably treated as a single product for regulatory analysis or coverage purposes.”
For example, “decorative hearth products” consist of a variety of items, such as vented gas fireplaces, indoor log sets, and fire tables,” the association states.
The EPCA names “motors and pumps” as a single type of covered equipment, despite “these products have the same overlapping features that decorative hearth products and outdoor heaters do.”
Similarly, the EPCA groups battery chargers and external power supplies under a single heading, despite the different features of these products, the comments state. Nevertheless, the group concluded by saying they would not oppose the proposed action, and called for better monitoring procedures.
After rating the comments, DOE ultimately concluded that outdoor heaters and decorative hearth products “does not have similar functions sufficient to group together to establish a new type of targeted product.”
Therefore, we have decided to withdraw the other gas product rules.
Regulation crackdown
Under the Trump administration, agencies are taking action against a variety of regulations on many appliances and other consumer products.
On March 25th, DOE also postponed the valid dates for three Biden-era home appliance mandates related to central air conditioners and heat pumps, walk ink and freezers and gas instantaneous water heaters.
The decision was aimed at reducing costs and expanding options for Americans, the DOE said at the time.
In 2023, the Consumer Watchdog Alliance estimated that then-President Joe Biden’s regulations on home appliances such as water heaters, air conditioners, gas stoves and other devices would exceed $9,100.
Trump criticized the rules for high-efficiency water faucets, saying they essentially use the same amount of water as replacement products.
“That’s ridiculous, and what you’re doing is that you’re supposed to wash your hands five times longer, so it’s the same (amount of) water,” Trump said.
On the same day, the president signed an executive order directing 10 agencies, directing all existing energy regulations to add a one-year expiration date.
“The agency will only extend regulations that will actively serve America’s interests. The rest will expire and reset the regulatory environment,” the White House fact sheet states.
