On September 13, APGA and other trade associations submitted a letter to the Department of Energy (DOE), asking that DOE respond to questions that were not addressed during a recent public webinar. The webinar was intended to help the public better understand the underlying data spreadsheets that DOE uses to justify its proposed minimum appliance efficiency standards for residential furnaces – also known as the Furnace Rule.
In response to
an earlier request from APGA and others, DOE released an updated data spreadsheet, extended the comment period until October 6, and held a public webinar on September 6 to discuss the Furnace Rule. Despite asking DOE to address certain issues through an
August 29 letter, DOE staff deemed many of these topics outside of the scope of the webinar. Through the September 13 letter, APGA and co-signors ask DOE to hold another webinar to respond to the unanswered questions, else scheduled a meeting with the letter’s signatories to discuss. Such action is warranted, as the information will enable all stakeholder to better develop meaningful comments in response to the rulemaking.
The Furnace Rule proposes to set minimum efficiency standards at a condensing-only level for the appliance. While APGA is generally supportive of improved efficiency, we remain concerned that this proposed rule will have negative effects on consumers, primarily because condensing furnaces are not an easy one-for-one swap out with an existing non-condensing furnace. Due to venting incompatibilities, replacing older furnaces under this new rule will require costly retrofits – if even possible – else require fuel switching. Accordingly, APGA continues to oppose this proposed rule.
APGA will continue to weigh in on DOE’s appliance efficiency rulemakings that impact gas-fired appliances, as APGA members provide the energy needed to fuel these appliances, thus making public gas systems critical stakeholders in these rulemakings. The American Gas Association (AGA), National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), Atmos Energy, and Spire also joined APGA in this request. A copy of the letter is available
here.
For questions on this article, please contact Renée Lani of APGA staff by phone at 202-464-0836 or by email at
rlani@apga.org.