A new rule proposed by the federal Department of Energy governing energy conservation standards for distribution transformers is sparking opposition among the nation’s home builders.
The Energy Department announced the proposed standards at the end of last year, with Jennifer Granholm, Secretary of Energy, remarking in a statement that “efficient distribution transformers enhance the resilience of our nation’s energy grid and make it possible to deliver affordable electrical power to consumers in every corner of America.”
The Energy Department has estimated that if the new standards are finalized, CO2 emissions could be reduced by 340 million metric tons over a span of the next three decades. The Department has described that reduction as something akin to doing away with the annual emissions of up to 90 coal-fired power plants.
But industry experts have said that the new standards would also require manufacturers to change over to a different type of steel that would add to the current 16-month order waiting period.
Home builders have since met with the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy to voice their opposition to the new standards. In that conference, Rob Myers, former president of the National Association of Home Builders, remarked: “I am very concerned that these new rules will make the supply issues we have with transformers even worse. We can’t get the transformers we need now.”
In a press release, the NAHB has declared that the new standards would “add months to a lengthy order cycle that already takes more than 16 months to produce and deploy new transformers.”
The Energy Department has said that it is soliciting comments from builders on the proposed standards change, with a deadline of March 27.
By Garry Boulard
