When progressives can’t pass their agenda through the front door in Congress, they sneak it through a regulatory back window. That’s what the Biden Administration is doing with gas stoves, as the Energy Department this week proposed new rules that amount to a gradual de facto ban.
A Biden appointee on the Consumer Product Safety Commission ignited a firestorm last month by threatening to ban gas stoves. After criticism from West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and others, the CPSC chairman rejected the idea, and White House officials...
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When progressives can’t pass their agenda through the front door in Congress, they sneak it through a regulatory back window. That’s what the Biden Administration is doing with gas stoves, as the Energy Department this week proposed new rules that amount to a gradual de facto ban.
A Biden appointee on the Consumer Product Safety Commission ignited a firestorm last month by threatening to ban gas stoves. After criticism from West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and others, the CPSC chairman rejected the idea, and White House officials said they didn’t support banning gas stoves.
Then why has the Energy Department proposed new efficiency standards that would ban the sale of most gas stoves currently on the market? The stated purpose of the rule-making is to reduce energy consumption and save consumers money. But these benefits are meager. The department estimates the proposed rule would reduce energy use by a mere 3.4% from the status quo, and consumers on average would save $21.89 over a cook-top’s lifetime.
Even this assumes the standards are technically achievable without compromising performance. A spokesperson for the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers tells us that gas cook-tops would have to be completely redesigned to comply. Burners might have to become smaller and heavy grate designs altered, which would increase cooking times.
Twenty of the 21 gas stove-top models that the Energy Department tested wouldn’t comply with its proposed standards. Manufacturers would have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars redesigning stoves, if they bother.
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Those costs would be passed to consumers in higher prices. The Energy Department estimates increased appliance prices will be offset by lower energy bills as well as climate and health benefits. But these benefits are speculative while higher product costs and reduced performance will directly harm consumers.
Making appliances more energy efficient involves trade-offs. Consumers and manufacturers may choose to make them, but they shouldn’t be forced. Recall how federal energy-efficiency standards reduced the performance of dishwashers. Machines that once washed and dried dishes in an hour now take two to three, and often still don’t get the job done.
Biden officials claim the proposed gas efficiency standards are feasible. But that’s what they also say about their stringent fuel-economy mandates, which effectively force manufacturers to produce more electric vehicles. In both cases the Administration is using regulation to impose policies and coerce behavior they can’t get Congress to endorse.
The new rules betray that the Administration is trying to eliminate gas stoves by whatever regulatory means possible. The Biden CPSC was preparing to use the Federal Hazardous Substances Act as a pretext to ban them before the public uproar. Richard Trumka Jr.—the commissioner who floated the ban last month—claimed that emissions from gas stoves are a “hidden hazard.” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm
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flogged a dubious study claiming that 12.7% of childhood asthma cases in the U.S. are attributable to gas stoves.
The Inflation Reduction Act also includes a $840 rebate to buy electric stoves plus $500 to convert from gas. Yes, Americans, they really are coming for your gas stoves.