DC Court of Appeals fails to protect consumers from Biden’s DOE regulatory overreach, natural gas industry will continue to fight to protect American families

WASHINGTON – The American Gas Association, American Public Gas Association and National Propane Gas Association firmly rebuked a ruling from the United States Court Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit which saw two judges side against affordability and consumer choice for home heating in America as the country enters the winter season. The ruling, if left unchanged, will impact 55 percent of gas households and force expensive home and building renovations to accommodate appliances with vastly different venting and drainage systems. The rule will saddle families with higher energy bills or eliminate natural gas as a home heating option all together.

“The DC Circuit Court failed the American people today, making a decision that removes choice and could force up to 55% of gas households into expensive home renovations and higher energy bills,” said AGA President and CEO Karen Harbert. “Long standing U.S. law does not support this conclusion, and we strongly disagree with this decision. America’s natural gas industry will continue to fight to protect American consumers’ right to choose their appliances and energy sources.”

“APGA is deeply disappointed by the D.C. Circuit Court’s 2-1 decision against our petition challenging the U.S. Department of Energy’s rulemakings on commercial water heaters and residential furnaces. Public natural gas distribution systems believe Americans should have the right to install or replace home appliances that use the energy source of their choice. These choices should not require costly retrofits that effectively force consumers to switch energy sources. While energy affordability is a priority shared by all, today’s decision undermines that shared goal through what we believe is a significantly flawed interpretation of the underlying law,” said APGA President and CEO David Schryver.

“NPGA is disappointed in the decision of the majority, and agrees with the reasoned analysis of the dissent. The Department of Energy utilized flawed assumptions in its economic analysis and employed flawed reasoning regarding performance characteristics which will inevitably lead to product unavailability, and increased costs and burdens to millions of Americans. NPGA and its coalition partners will be taking all necessary steps in response to this ruling to ensure Americans can have energy choice without needless, excessive costs or government interference,” said NPGA President and CEO Stephen Kaminski.

“These standards run afoul of the careful balance Congress struck in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (‘EPCA’) between improving energy efficiency and preserving consumer choice,” reads the dissenting opinion from Circuit Judge Neomi Rao. “While EPCA empowers the Department to set efficiency standards, the statute also imposes a critical limit on that authority. The agency is prohibited from imposing an efficiency standard that will result in the ‘unavailability’ of a product with a ‘performance characteristic’ that consumers value… the ability to vent through a traditional chimney is exactly the kind of real-world feature Congress protected from elimination in the marketplace.”

The Biden-era furnace rule effectively bans the sale of non-condensing natural gas furnaces. Consumers who currently rely on efficient non-condensing furnaces will be forced to remodel their homes or businesses to accommodate a condensing appliance where possible or to abandon natural gas appliances altogether at a time when electricity prices are on the rise.

The U.S. Department of Energy data shows that 30 percent of senior-only households, 26 percent of low-income households and 27 percent of small business consumers will face higher costs as a result of the new regulation. For households with mobile home gas furnaces, 39 percent of consumers would be negatively affected by the proposed standard under DOE’s likely significantly underreported analysis.

Natural gas is the most affordable home heating option for Americans and is 3.5 times more affordable than electricity. It’s projected to remain one-third to one-half the price of other fuels through 2050. While electricity and other heating fuels may face higher costs this year, natural gas bills are expected to be 8% lower this winter than the prices consumers faced during the similar weather of the 2022-2023 winter season, according to AGA’s winter heating outlook. Switching to electric heating threatens Americans with higher home energy bills at a time when rising prices remains a top issue for the American public.