GAS COOKING APPLIANCES REMAIN AT RISK DESPITE NEW DOE DATA

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03 Aug, 2023, 12:03 ET

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Valuable gas cooking features that consumers depend on remain at risk, despite revised data from the U.S. Department of Energy showing the department has reduced its estimates of what consumers would save under DOE's proposed standard. However, no new standard has been proposed, and consumers still stand to lose features and access to many currently available gas cooking appliance models – in exchange for saving only pennies each month – if the proposed standard takes effect.

DOE's data revisions were appropriately made in response to comments on its proposed standard for gas cooking appliances, and the department has made some progress towards improving its analysis. The newly released DOE analysis revises downward the potential energy savings from its original cooking product rulemaking proposal, showing that the savings are even less than DOE originally projected and are almost negligible. DOE's original proposal was to save consumers 13 cents per month in utility costs over the life of gas cooking products. The revised data reduces consumer savings to just 9 cents per month.

The changes in energy savings projected by DOE primarily result from DOE recognizing that the currently available cooking products are more efficient than its earlier analysis assumed.

Additionally, AHAM, in its original comments, pointed out several consumer features that need to be protected, such as high-input rate burners, simmer burners and continuous grates. AHAM also proposed approaches and efficiency levels to support these features.

AHAM urges DOE to reconsider the extremely stringent levels it proposed so that manufacturers can provide the features and performance that consumers expect at the costs they can afford.

The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) is the trade association representing manufacturers of major, portable and floor care home appliances and suppliers to the industry. AHAM is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and maintains an office in Ottawa. AHAM is the single voice providing the home appliance industry and its customers leadership, advocacy and a forum for action — developing and implementing credible solutions for public policy, standards and business decisions. You can visit AHAM's web site at http://www.aham.org or follow us on Twitter @AHAM_Voice and @AHAM_Policy.

SOURCE Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM)