Senate Introduces EPCA Legislation

On August 6, 2026, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Energy Efficiency Reform Act of 2026 (S.5338). This legislation reforms the Energy Policy Conservation Act (EPCA) of 1975, which Congress created to address energy conservation by allowing the Department of Energy to establish efficiency standards for consumer products and commercial equipment.

Over time, the Department of Energy has used EPCA to prescribe energy efficient standards that eliminate market competition and implement a one-size-fits-all energy approach for covered products. The Energy Efficiency Reform Act of 2026 seeks to reform EPCA by prohibiting the Department of Energy from prescribing any new or amended energy efficiency standards that are not economically justified, technologically feasible, and grounded in data-driven principles.

The legislation contains the following provisions:

1. Nullifies and voids the December 18, 2023 rule for energy conservation standards as it relates to consumer furnaces (88. Fed. Reg. 87502).
2. Nullifies and voids the October 6, 2023 rule for energy conservation standards as it relates to commercial water heating equipment (88. Fed. Reg. 69686).
3. Requires the use of full fuel cycle metrics to determine “significant energy savings”.
4. Eliminates the mandatory six-year lookback requirement to review appliance standards.
5. Requires the Department of Energy to establish separate product classes when covered products differ by energy source, qualifying performance-related features, or operating/venting characteristics that materially affect energy use and cannot be addressed through test procedure adjustments.
6. Preempts any State or local law, code, or regulation whether legislative or administrative in origin that prohibits, directly or indirectly, the installation or use of a covered product or requires removal or substitution of a covered product based on its fuel source or emission of any air pollutants.

NPGA has long advocated for meaningful EPCA reform with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and is grateful for Senator Lee’s leadership in introducing the Energy Efficiency Reform Act of 2026. Recently, NPGA sent Chairman Lee a letter thanking him for his leadership efforts on EPCA reform; you can view the letter here.

NPGA will continue to advocate for EPCA reform and the Energy Efficiency Reform Act of 2026 with lawmakers and their staff on Capitol Hill and looks forward to the Senate Committee on Energy and Commerce marking up the legislation in the coming months.

If you have any questions, contact Steven Dyke, NPGA’s Manager of Federal Legislative Affairs, at [email protected].