There's a new sheriff in town: DOE means business on energy efficiency standards

Last year, DOE formed a new unit in its general counsel’s office to prioritize enforcement of appliance energy efficiency standards.  This is a big step forward for DOE and signals  that the days of foot dragging  on efficiency are long gone. This is the first time the agency has pursued a meaningful enforcement strategy for energy efficiency.  President Obama and Secretary Chu clearly see the benefits of energy efficiency and have moved quickly to pursue it. 

Already the new unit at the general counsel’s office has made significant progress. Here are the major accomplishments so far this year:    

Obama and Chu’s DOE is clearly finding plenty of low hanging fruit for efficiency enforcement.  These actions bring meaning to the energy efficiency standards—ensuring that the standards save billions of dollars, millions of tons of greenhouse gases, and protect consumers’ wallets and public health.  My guess is that the violations DOE has found so far are only the tip of the iceberg and that more and improved testing will uncover many more.  If you have information on efficiency violations, bring them to DOE. They have an open door policy.  Of course, feel free to share them with NRDC, too.