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The Trump administration wants to eliminate or weaken 47 Department of Energy regulations, including some efficiency standards for appliances. One problem, though - efficiency advocates say that would be illegal, as NPR's Jeff Brady reports.
JEFF BRADY, BYLINE: President Trump has long complained about energy-efficient appliances and water-saving faucets.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You wash your hands, and in my case, I like to take a nice shower to take care of my beautiful hair.
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TRUMP: I have to stand in the shower for 15 minutes till it gets wet. It comes out drip, drip, drip. It's ridiculous.
BRADY: That was Trump last month, signing an executive order to roll back Biden-era efficiency standards. Now the Department of Energy is announcing what it calls the largest deregulatory effort in history. Energy secretary Chris Wright says the administration is slashing regulations that he claims restrict consumer choice because less-efficient versions can no longer be sold. He plans to rescind conservation standards for kitchen appliances, washers and dryers, room air conditioners and more. The department claims that will save Americans billions of dollars in coming years. But Andrew deLaski with the Appliance Standards Awareness Project says that's wrong.
ANDREW DELASKI: What the Trump administration is doing is they're only counting the cost and telling you to ignore the savings.
BRADY: DeLaski says that more efficient products often are more expensive, but consumers end up saving a lot of money with lower utility bills. DeLaski also says the changes the Energy Department is proposing violate the law.
DELASKI: When Congress enacted this law way back in 1987 and President Reagan signed it, the law very specifically says that no new standard can be weaker than the one on the books today.
BRADY: So if these changes the Energy Department is proposing are finalized, deLaski predicts they likely will be challenged in court.
Jeff Brady, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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