Stop Sen. Lee’s Attack on Energy Efficiency

The fossil fuel industry and its allies in Congress are coming after one of the easiest ways to cut climate pollution and lower energy bills: energy efficiency.

Senator Mike Lee’s so-called Energy Efficiency Reform Act of 2026 would gut the federal government’s ability to make appliances more efficient. The bill would roll back efficiency standards for furnaces and commercial water heaters, end requirements for the Department of Energy to regularly review standards, and make it harder to strengthen them as technology improves.

That means more wasted energy, more fossil fuel pollution, and higher utility bills.

Energy efficiency standards might not grab headlines, but they make a huge difference. When furnaces, water heaters, refrigerators, and other appliances use less energy to do the same job, families save money. Power plants burn less fuel. Demand on the electric grid falls. And we keep millions of tons of climate pollution out of the atmosphere.

Weakening these standards would take us backward just as climate-fueled extreme heat is driving electricity demand higher and families are already struggling with rising utility costs. Earthjustice Action warns that this bill could increase household energy costs by as much as $160 a year.

And the damage wouldn’t stop there. By making it harder to update efficiency standards in the future, this legislation could lock inefficient appliances and unnecessary fossil fuel consumption into our homes and businesses for years to come.

Congress should be helping Americans waste less energy and pay lower bills — not protecting inefficient technology at the expense of consumers and our climate.

Tell Congress: Oppose the Energy Efficiency Reform Act and defend strong energy efficiency standards.

The petition to Congress reads: The Energy Efficiency Reform Act would undermine commonsense efficiency standards that save consumers money, reduce strain on our electric grid, and cut the pollution fueling the climate crisis. At a time of rising energy costs and worsening climate impacts, Congress should be making our homes and businesses more efficient — not locking in more energy waste and fossil fuel consumption. Please reject the Energy Efficiency Reform Act of 2026 and protect strong federal energy efficiency standards that lower utility bills, reduce pollution, and safeguard our climate.
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Source:

https://www.eenews.net/articles/lee-introduces-bill-to-rewrite-energy-efficiency-rules/