The natural gas industry says a new proposal by the Department of Energy to increase furnace efficiency would harm low-income consumers and defeat the goals of the president’s sweeping climate agenda.
The new standards for furnace efficiency are “irresponsible” and a step backwards for lowering greenhouse gases, which scientists say are the main cause of man-made climate change, the American Gas Association said Thursday.
The proposed rule sets a nationwide efficiency standard of 92 percent for “non-weatherized” gas furnaces in homes as well as mobile home furnaces throughout the country. The previous rule had proposed different standards for different regions of the country, and at lower levels.
The rule would drive up the cost of replacement furnaces and make it harder for low-income homeowners to buy the new products, forcing them to use less optimal devices for heating, according to industry groups. In turn, the proposal would end up lowering efficiency and potentially drive up emissions.
The Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute questioned why the new standards are necessary when four years ago the department enacted similar standards for furnaces, setting efficiency at 80 and 90 percent depending on the region. The trade group argues that if that level was good enough for 2011, it should be just as good for 2015.
The agency says the proposed rule is in response to a court ruling that sent a previous 2011 version of the rule back to the agency.
The American Gas Association, which represents local gas-distribution companies, argues that the standards would interfere with the current switch to natural gas use that is lowering carbon dioxide emissions, thought to be a driver of man-made climate change.
A statement from American Gas Association policy adviser Kathryn Clay said only 34 percent of the public will benefit from the change in standards. At the same time it would reverse “a trend towards more efficient full fuel-cycle energy use that is decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.”
The full fuel cycle is the direct use of natural gas in homes, compared with using gas to produce electricity that homeowners buy from a power company. The group argues that this use of natural gas already achieves the goal the Energy Department lays out in the proposal for 92 percent efficiency.
“Much of the technical analysis behind this rulemaking has been kept from us, but what we have seen appears to be grossly out of touch with market realities,” she said, pointing out it would place an undue burden” on low-income customers.
“We are speaking up for our customers throughout the nation that do not want to be forced into decisions about how they heat their homes.”
The Energy Department published the new guidelines in the Thursday edition of the Federal Register, starting the clock for groups to submit public comments on the proposed regulations.
But based on initial reactions from trade groups, the Energy Department should expect a big fight.
The announcement comes as Secretary of State John Kerry made a speech earlier Thursday excoriating climate change skeptics, saying if they are wrong the earth is headed toward a “catastrophe.”
But if the energy industry is right, the furnace proposal is a step backward in achieving climate reductions necessary to curb utter calamity.
The agency will hold a public meeting March 27 on the proposed rule, with final action slated for December 2015.
