US Appeals Court Voids DOE Efficiency Rule for Stoves and Ovens

A federal appeals court on Tuesday voided a Department of Energy (DOE) rule from the Biden administration that established new energy efficiency standards for consumer-grade stoves and ovens. The court ruled that the agency improperly used a fast-track process for a matter that was known to be controversial.

The Court's Decision

In a 3-0 decision, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans sided with a coalition of seven Republican-led states that challenged the regulation. The states argued that the DOE wrongly implemented the August 2024 measure as a "direct final rule" (DFR), a mechanism typically reserved for uncontroversial matters that bypasses standard public comment periods.

The challenge was brought by:

• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah

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The court found that the DOE was aware of significant opposition to similar proposals from 2023, making the use of a DFR inappropriate. "The idea that all that controversy could be elided using the DFR—a mechanism designed for consensus rulemaking—is untenable," wrote Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham in the opinion.

Rationale and Context

The now-voided rule was intended to limit the energy consumption of kitchen appliances and ban an older, less efficient technology known as linear power supplies. Judge Oldham, a Trump appointee, wrote that the agency failed to adequately consider whether making appliances more complex for efficiency's sake would reduce their reliability or increase costs for consumers.

The court dismissed the DOE's argument that support from industry groups, environmental organizations, and a few Democratic-led states constituted a national consensus. The ruling represents a setback for energy conservation mandates and aligns with the current administration's stated goal of restricting efficiency rules that it says "raise costs and disrupt consumer choice."