House Energy and Commerce subcommittee clashes over appliance and building-efficiency rules and costs

At a U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee subcommittee hearing in Washington, members and witnesses debated whether federal appliance and building-efficiency rules and related state and local actions are saving consumers money or driving up housing and utility costs.

The hearing featured four witnesses and more than a dozen members of Congress. Buddy Hughes, chairman of the board at the National Association of Home Builders, warned that mandates tied to model codes and appliance rules would worsen an affordability crisis for new-home buyers. Ben Lieberman, senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, argued that DOE regulations have repeatedly tightened over many rounds and that some rules have raised upfront costs without delivering commensurate savings for consumers. Cara Saul Renaudy, chief policy officer at the Building Performance Association, testified that "Energy efficiency in buildings and appliances lowers cost for families and businesses," and stressed the sector’s job footprint and rapid deployment potential. Jim Steffes, senior vice president of regulatory policy and advocacy at Washington Gas, told the panel that natural gas remains a critical reliability and affordability resource for the National Capital Region.

Why it matters: Members framed the issues around two common concerns — household affordability and grid reliability — and disagreed sharply about where federal, state and local responsibility should lie. The debate touched on the Inflation Reduction Act, DOE rulemaking under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), and section 433 of the Energy Independence and Security Act (the federal provision that directs fossil-fuel phaseout in remodeled and new federal buildings by 2030).

Most important testimony and…