Department of Energy (DOE) Sued for Trying to Block Energy Efficiency Rule for A/C

July 5, 2001

(Boy does this burn me up!! It's for sure the DOE isn't working for the

best interests of consumers on this issue. We need the highest SEER we can

get to save us money, as well as energy. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham

has turned out to be just what we don't need - one more people working

against the best interests of our pocketbooks and our environment.!)

U.S. GOVERNMENT SUED OVER RULING ON AIR CONDITIONERS

NEW YORK, New York, June 26, 2001 (ENS) - A legal challenge has been filed

against the Department of Energy (DOE) over the agency's attempts to block

an energy efficiency rule for air conditioners.

The state attorneys general of New York, Connecticut and California have

joined the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Consumer Federation of

America and the Public Utility Law Project in filing suit against Energy

Secretary Spencer Abraham for his department's attempt to weaken a rule made

in the final days of the Clinton administration.

" This is a time when the federal government should be doing everything

possible to encourage the efficient use of energy, " said New York Attorney

General Eliot Spitzer. " Instead, the Bush administration has dramatically

weakened one of the most effective ways to conserve energy. With this

lawsuit, we are seeking to compel the administration to adopt a more forward

looking course that will help lower energy bills and reduce air pollution. "

In separate lawsuits, the plaintiffs charge that the DOE has illegally

attempted to delay and weaken a final rule that set the minimum energy

efficiency standard for residential air conditioners and heat pumps at a

Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio of 13. That SEER represents an efficiency

increase of 30 percent from the previous federal standard of 10.

The Bush administration wants to weaken the air conditioner standard from 13

to 12 SEER. NRDC calculates that the roll back would increase peak electric

demand in the U.S. by 18,000 megawatts (MW) by 2030, forcing the

construction of 60 new power plants of 300 MW capacity.

Total annual electricity consumption by U.S. households would increase by 11

billion kilowatt hours by 2020 and over the period from 2006 to 2030, U.S.

consumers would pay a total of $18.4 billion more to run air conditioners.

Emissions of carbon dioxide would also increase by 45 megatonnes.

" Secretary Abraham's plan to weaken the air conditioner efficiency standard

is in blatant violation of federal law, " said NRDC attorney

Kennedy. " Under federal energy law, DOE can't change an energy efficiency

standard to make it weaker, so DOE is trying to act as if the Clinton

Administration's final rule was just a proposal and make it go away. "

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