AHAM's Blog

Joe McGuire: Be Aware of State Legislation

In a recent column published in appliance DESIGN magazine, AHAM President Joseph McGuire highlights AHAM’s legislative accomplishments at the state level over the past year as it fought hard for its members and worked on a variety of policy issues including Extended Producer Responsibility, energy efficiency and other issues.  

Says McGuire, “Companies most often keep their finger on the pulse of Washington, D.C., for insight into legislation and regulation that may be become law and impact their business. While the focus on Washington should remain sharp, companies should not neglect the potential of state agencies and legislatures to quickly enact laws, many times without the benefit of technical justification.  AHAM has amped up its presence in the states to counter unproductive and harmful state legislation that impacts the home appliance industry and to encourage measures which would promote and provide consumer rebates, tax credits and holidays for the purchase of efficient products.”

Click here to view the entire column.

AHAM Supports MA Bill That Would Provide Consumer Tax Credits for Energy Efficient Appliances

Today AHAM's Government Affairs Director Kevin Washington provided testimony before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Revenue in favor of H. 1675, which would provide tax credits to residential consumers who purchase clothes washers, clothes dryers and dishwashers. AHAM also recommened to the Committee that the bill be amended to include other energy efficient appliances that are designated ENERGY STAR appliances.

Said Mr. Washington, "The typical household spends $1,900 a year on energy bills. With ENERGY STAR products, Massachusetts residents can annually save up to 30 percent – nearly $600. This amount of consumer savings adds up to lower energy production and greenhouse gas emissions equal to 50 power plants."

The complete testimony can be found here.

AHAM takes on EPR at state conferences

AHAM is attending the 38^th summer legislative meeting for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), one of the three larger organizations representing state legislators around the country. The meeting in New Orleans this year is the largest ALEC conference by attendance in its 38 year history; I would eyeball somewhere around 1000 legislators, staff, and industry representatives like AHAM. The forum is proving to be an important chance for AHAM to educate and gain early support of policymakers who will be writing and voting on bills on topics affecting home appliance products this year and in 2012.

Among the main reasons we’re here is to discuss and educate lawmakers on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). Many states have toyed with the idea of creating product take-back programs at the end of a product’s lifecycle. While this may seem like a great idea, it is important for legislators to know that major appliances have a 90% recycling rate. We blogged about this achievement a couple months ago. The creation of additional state EPR programs may be a waste of state budgets dollars and a threat to state job markets in some cases – two issues that are definitely not lost on this assembly. But, in all cases, these decisions need to be made with a strong base of knowledge and
understanding of how some localities are handling waste.

I will report back from San Antonio next week, where I will be attending the NCSL – the National Conference of State Legislators.

AHAM President Testifies Before Senate on Consensus Appliance Efficiency Agreement

AHAM President, Joseph M. McGuire, testified yesterday before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in support of legislation to enact the appliance efficiency standards portion of a landmark consensus agreement among appliance manufacturers, efficiency and consumer advocates and state energy officials.  The bill, Implementation of National Consensus Appliance Agreements Act of 2011 (S. 398) would amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to improve energy efficiency of refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers, clothes dryers, dishwashers and room air conditioners. 

AHAM's testimony highlighted several ways the agreement will save energy and increase our energy independence:

• improve product energy efficiency saving more than 9 Quads of energy over 30 years
• save consumers billions of dollars in reduced energy bills
• require clothes washers and dishwashers to use nearly 5 trillion less gallons of water over 30 years
• reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 550 million metric tons of CO2

To read AHAM’s full written testimony, click here.  To view the webcast of the event, click here.  

 

LIVE: AHAM President Testifies Before U.S. Senate on Energy Standards

Click here between 9:30 and noon today to watch a panel, including AHAM president Joe McGuire, testify before the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

You can also copy and paste this link into your browser:

http://energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.LiveStream

 

Industry and Advocacy Groups Agree on New Efficiency Standards for Home Appliances

Home appliance manufacturers and energy efficiency advocates announced a major agreement offering major efficiency advancements for refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers, clothes dryers, dishwashers and room air conditioners.  The deal could save consumers BILLIONS of dollars on energy bills and reduce global warming emissions for decades to come!

The major energy-saving deal was announced today by AHAM, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and a nationwide coalition of energy and water efficiency supporters  who have called for new national minimum efficiency standards, production tax credits for super-efficient appliances and inclusion of “smart grid” readiness as a feature of future ENERGY STAR qualified appliances.

Based on Department of Energy (DOE) analysis, the recommended standards and tax credits will save more than 9 quads of energy over 30 years, or roughly enough to meet the total energy needs of 40 percent of American homes for one year.  The recommended water efficiency standards and tax credits for clothes washers and dishwashers will save about 5 trillion gallons over 30 years.  Global warming CO2 will be reduced by 550 million metric tons over the same time period, without considering the emissions reductions from smart appliances.  These reductions are equivalent to taking 100 million of today’s typical cars off the road for a year.

The official announcement along with more details of the agreement, including the proposed new minimum efficiency standards, is available on the AHAM website.

For some additional reading: NRDC blogger Lane Burt discussed the potential impact this agreement could have on appliance energy savings today on NRDC's Switchboard - read it here.  The Environmental Leader and Climate Wire also covered the news.

Breakfast with Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT)

I attended a small breakfast meeting this morning with Congressman Chaffetz, who is a Republican member from Utah and is a member of the Judiciary, Natural Resources and Oversight & Government Reform Committees.

Chaffetz is a freshman Member of Congress who says that his success in the election was due to grassroots effort and using social media outlets such as Facebook and YouTube.

I informed him about the recent release of funding for the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program, in which Utah may participate if the state energy office sends their initial application to the Department of Energy by August 15.  The Congressman was not aware of the release of the solicitation for this program and appreciated learning about it.  The Congressman, in jest, was disappointed, as he just purchased a new refrigerator and cooktop.  I reassured him that there is no reason for him to have buyer’s remorse because he would be seeing savings in his utility bill due to the fact that the average energy use of a new refrigerator is about the same as a 60W light bulb left on 24 hours a day.

BIG NEWS! DOE INITIATES APPLIANCE REBATE PROGRAM

Today the Department of Energy announced the funding for the Energy Efficient Appliance Consumer Rebate Program, which will deliver direct rebates to consumers for the purchase of ENERGY STAR appliances.  AHAM has been working with the DOE since this program was first announced in the stimulus bill, a.k.a the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, as we believe it is the most practical and effective step a homeowner can take to increase energy efficiency of their home and immediately reduce utility bills.   

 

Now, it is up to each State Energy Office to register its interest in obtaining funding for this program.  Several states already have announced that they will be applying for the funding.  Arizonans could get $6.2 million for appliances!   Missouri and Kansas are lining up for their share of the funding.  Residents of New Mexico are ready to help stimulate the economy and decrease their energy bills with their share of the funding, amounting to $2 million.  

AHAM encourages the states to submit their plans to DOE early to put money in their residents’ hands as quickly as possible.   

If you are in the market for a new appliance, tell us what you think, and which appliance you will buy first. 

The Need for Balanced Federal Energy Legislation

Congress is spending significant time this year on energy efficiency legislation, with a keen focus on appliance efficiency.  Both houses of Congress have committees developing new provisions relating to the development of appliance efficiency standards while the Department of Energy is struggling to comply with a federal court ordered schedule to complete work on several appliance standards.  This is while the agency is also attempting to adhere to additional new requirements on appliance efficiency included in laws enacted in 2005 and 2007.  AHAM is involved in influencing the outcome of the 2009 energy legislation to ensure an adequately funded federal program that blends national efficiency requirements, and education and incentive programs that encourage manufacturers and consumers to seek even higher efficiency products.

While AHAM is encouraged that the new legislation embraces the potentially game changing application of smart grid technology to home appliances, we are nonetheless concerned that portions of the legislation will do more harm than good to a well thought out national appliance efficiency program.  

Will Climate Change Reach Pennsylvania Avenue?

It is safe to say that the momentum is not behind the enactment of a broad climate change bill this year.  However, the more important question is whether it will happen next year.

For those who are still unsure whether the climate change bill will be completed this year, let me provide a few reasons it is unlikely:

• Chair of the Senate Committee with jurisdiction (Environment & Public Works) hasn’t released legislation yet.
• Midwest Democratic Senators have said they don’t see a bill moving this year.
• Congressman Van Hollen (D-Md.) has suggested a vote might not take place this year.  This is significant because Van Hollen is head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and is responsible for electing more Democrats to the House and ensuring vulnerable Democratic members get re-elected.  This tells me that there is a worry that a climate change bill may not be selling well in swing districts.
• Chairman Waxman is still struggling to find a majority of votes in his committee to pass a bill.

Using a crystal ball to look at the political landscape in 2010 – which is President Obama’s first mid-term election year—I see that politicians will be more risk averse the closer it gets to an election, and this one is just 6 months away.  Also, will politicians feel that the climate change “issue” is better to have at their side during the 2010 campaign rather than trying to campaign on the success of a compromised climate change bill, which no one may be excited about?  And what will the state of our economy be and will it provide fodder for the opponents of climate change legislation who characterize it as an energy tax?