A three-judge panel Tuesday rejected the Biden administration’s efforts to pass a streamlined rulemaking to set the first federal energy efficiency standards for consumer ovens, stoves and cooktops.
The decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is a win for a coalition of red states, which argued that the Energy Department improperly issued a direct final rule (DFR) in 2024, which did not provide the public an opportunity to comment on the rule before it was finalized.
The regulation, which would not have gone into effect until January 2028, aimed to replace an earlier unsuccessful effort to pass notice-and-comment rulemaking for the consumer products. Critics of the rule claimed the standards would effectively ban gas-powered cooking appliances.
The Biden administration had touted the rule for saving consumers $1.6 billion in utility bills over three decades.
