WASHINGTON, DC - The Energy and Power Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), today held a legislative hearing examining committee member Rep. Renee Ellmers’ (R-NC) H.R. __, the EPS Improvement Act of 2016. This bipartisan legislation would exclude certain lighting technologies, namely drivers for light-emitting diodes (LED), from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) external power supply rule, providing certainty and clarity to manufacturers and ensuring consumers have continued access to the best lighting technology on the market.
Rep. Ellmers commented, “This regulation will not only stifle innovation, but inject uncertainty into the manufacturing sector while creating less energy efficient products and higher energy prices for consumers. Without Congressional action by February 10 this rule could unintentionally threaten thousands of jobs."
Dr. Pekka Hakkarainen, Vice President of Lutron Electronics stated, “This necessary fix has wide support: not only does it have bipartisan support but it also has support from both manufacturers and the energy efficiency community."
Jennifer Amann, Buildings Program Director at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy added, “The provision in the bill explicitly granting DOE authority to set future standards on these products is critical to ACEEE’s support for the bill. Absent passage of this technical correction, manufacturers would be at risk of selling LED lighting products that cannot be shown to meet the standard."
Chairman Whitfield added, “The Obama administration Department of Energy has enacted 34 energy conservation standards since 2009. Many of these standards are not perfect and contain flaws that need to be corrected. I thank my colleagues Renee Ellmers and Diana DeGette for their draft bill that would address this issue and benefit both the manufacturers and users of these products."
See Also
* #RecordOfSuccess: House Clears Three Bipartisan Bills to Update Nation’s Energy Laws for the 21st Century
* #SubEnergyPower Forwards a Dozen Bills That Say #Yes2Energy to Full Committee
* #SubEnergyPower to Vote On a Dozen Energy Bills THIS WEEK
* Committee Clears 15 Bills That Say #Yes2Energy
