In 2017, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association appealed a Department of Energy ruling on general-service incandescent lamps. In a series of blog posts in September 2018, NEMA’s Clark Silcox explains why. DoE, he contends, has gone far beyond the text of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 by incorporating other lamp types (such as reflector lamps, traditionally separately regulated) into their rulings authorized by the Act.
Why did NEMA appeal the DOE rule? Because the Department issued a rule that vastly expanded the types of lamps to be regulated beyond the standard light bulb to include specialty lamps with unusual lamp bases that do not fit in a standard “medium” screw base socket, lamps that operate at non-standard voltages, lamps that narrowly focus a beam of light on a small area and do not provide “omnidirectional” lighting like a standard light bulb provides, lamps that operate only at low wattages and provide very low light output instead of the wide range of light outputs that standard light bulbs provide, and a host of other niche lighting products that are not used in lighting applications served by the standard incandescent lamp. The DOE’s rule redefining general-service lamps was a regulatory expansion that relied upon an interpretation of Congress’s text that, in our view, can only be described as legally erroneous.
The appeal was settled with DoE agreeing to reconsider their ruling. DoE also resumed its rulemaking process for general-service incandescent lamps, which will involve the department reviewing current market conditions to determine whether further energy standards are necessary and which lamp types should be covered.
One big issue at stake is the energy act’s 45 lumens/W backstop provision, which may go into effect in 2020. The Act says that if DoE did not issue new energy conservation standards by a certain date, a backstop energy conservation standard of 45 lumens/W would apply, which would effectively eliminate halogen A lamps. Silcox argues this is unnecessary, as the marketplace is rapidly transitioning to LED lamps, which largely didn’t exist back when the energy act became law.
In his third blog post, Silcox writes:
Did Congress mandate a 45-lumen-per-watt standard for general service-lamps by 2020? No. The language of the statute and its legislative history confirm that Congress did not mandate that all general-service lamps meet a 45 lumen-per-watt energy conservation Standard by January 1, 2020.
And in his first:
A sales ban for general-service incandescent lamps effective on January 1, 2020 … does present a host of problems for retailers, consumers and manufacturers. It would be a perverse interpretation of the statute’s backstop clause to conclude that the statutory “last resort” was triggered when Congress’s energy savings goals are met. DOE needs to examine this issue and reach an interpretation of EISA that is not at war with itself.
DoE is expected to address these issues soon via its ongoing rulemaking. Silcox writes:
The questions of 1) the proper definition of a general-service lamp, 2) whether to amend or not to amend general-service incandescent lamp standards, 3) whether to end exemptions for certain incandescent lamps, 4) whether or not to adopt a 45 lumen per watt standard for general-service lamps or a sales ban in 2020, or 5) whether to adopt standards for general-service LED lamps or amend standards for CFLs are all pending in the ongoing DOE rulemaking. Congress directed the Secretary of Energy to make these decisions, and we expect to see these decisions forthcoming in the coming weeks and months.
Click here to read this post. Click here to read Part 2 and here to read Part 3.
