WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), John Barrasso (R-Wyo), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) introduced the Natural Gas Appliances Standards (Natural GAS) Act of 2023. This legislation will block any rulemaking by the Department of Energy that could have the effect of outlawing the sale of a range of natural gas appliances. Studies have shown that in residential applications, when evaluated on a full-fuel-cycle basis, natural gas results in significant reductions in energy consumption, consumer energy bills, and air pollutant emissions as compared to other fuels.
“The Biden administration has taken aim at gas appliances that help feed millions of Americans and keep their homes warm. The Natural GAS Act will keep the government out of your kitchen and away from your furnace by protecting Americans’ ability to use and buy natural gas appliances,” said Risch.
“The Democrat war on natural gas is relentless. President Biden’s Climate Czar John Kerry wants Americans to stop using natural gas in eight years or less. The Democrat governor of New York is about to eliminate gas in new buildings. Now the Biden Administration is working to take away your gas appliances,” said Barrasso. “Gas is clean, efficient, and secure. Our reserves will last more than a century. My legislation will prevent the Department of Energy from using regulation to kill popular gas stoves, water heaters, and boilers.”
The Natural GAS Act would:
- Require that DOE certify that any stove, water heater, or furnace energy efficiency rule would not result in fuel switching from natural gas to electric appliances;
- Specify that DOE may not put forward a rule that would limit the features of gas stoves, such as quick boil times, number and size of burners, and design of grates;
- Exempt small manufacturers from future energy efficiency rulemakings for stoves, water heaters, and furnaces; and,
- Require that existing energy efficiency labels displayed at the point of sale disclose full-fuel-cycle efficiency, rather than just point-of-use energy consumption. This comprehensive analysis would consider energy consumed to extract and transport fuels, energy losses in power generation, and energy losses in transmission and transportation.
