January 1, Biden’s Latest Power Grab: New Appliance Regulations Set to Cost Consumers Billions

The Biden administration has once again imposed their heavy-handed environmental regulations on American consumers, this time targeting their air conditioners.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has finalized energy efficiency standards for home air conditioning units and portable air cleaners, claiming it will cut air pollution and save billions of dollars via energy savings. But critics are calling it federal overreach and unnecessary, arguing that the industry has already improved technology without government intervention.

Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, blasted the regulations for compromising product quality and enforcing an inefficient level of efficiency.

“What these mandates, what these standards do is enforce a level of efficiency that doesn’t make sense,” Lieberman said. “And they compromise product quality. We’ve already seen this to an extent with cost of clothes washer standards.”

Meanwhile, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) has warned that the actions would particularly harm low-income households and decrease overall product quality. Jill Notini, a spokesperson for AHAM, recently spoke out, saying that taking into account the higher costs of appliances, the estimated savings from the energy efficiency rules “don’t add up right now during this time of high inflation.”

“We worked to advance the air cleaner rule within DOE, but we remain concerned that DOE is going too far on other products without any real savings to consumers, at a time when people are looking for relief,” Notini told Fox News Digital.

But the DOE remains steadfast in its efforts to promote innovation and lower costs for families while tackling the climate crisis. The DOE claims that the new energy efficiency standards will save Americans about $1.5 billion annually and curb carbon dioxide emissions by 106 million metric tons over three decades.

“DOE will continue to engage with our public and private sector partners to finalize additional proposals like today’s that lower household energy costs and deliver the safer, healthier communities that every American deserves,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.

Only time will tell if these regulations will truly benefit American consumers or harm them. One thing is for sure – the Biden administration’s focus on environmental regulations will continue to be a hot-button issue for years to come.

Source: Fox News