The Department of Energy brought the gas stove debate back to the fore on Wednesday by proposing new efficiency standards for consumer kitchen appliances.
The proposal comes just weeks after a consumer safety official at another agency provoked backlash from Republicans, as well as some Democrats, by raising the possibility of banning new gas stoves.
The proposed standards, which focus on energy consumption, would require both gas and electric stoves to meet certain efficiency thresholds. The proposal also suggests new standards for gas and electric ovens.
“As required by Congress, the Department of Energy Proposes Efficiency Standards for Gas and Electric Cooktops; We are not proposing bans for either,” a department spokesperson said in a statement. “The proposed standards would not go into effect until 2027 and would cumulatively save the nation up to $1.7 billion. All the major manufacturers have products that meet or exceed the requirements proposed today.”
The department said in the proposal that it had “tentatively concluded” that the proposed standards represented significant gains and were “technologically feasible and economically justified, and would result in significant energy conservation.”
He also said the proposed changes would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions linked to kitchen appliances.
The standards would be a change from existing rules, which prohibit constantly burning pilot lights on gas stoves, but place no limits on energy use.
Richard Trumka Jr., a member of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, drew the ire of Republican lawmakers last month when he suggested in an interview with Bloomberg News that gas stoves, which he said pose a “hidden danger” in American homes, could be banned. A commission spokesman later clarified that there was no official proposal.
Republican lawmakers quickly seized on comments by Trumka, a Biden candidate, and argued that the Biden administration and government bureaucrats were coming for the stoves of the Americans. Responding to the uproar, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that President Joe Biden does not support a ban on gas stoves.
The Department of Energy said the proposed conservation standards overall would save a “significant amount” of energy, most likely resulting in estimated national savings that are “the equivalent of the electricity use of 19 million residential homes in one year.” .
If adopted, the standards would apply to products manufactured in or imported into the US three years after the publication of any new rule.
