EPA reconsiders axing Energy Star program

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is quietly reconsidering the agency’s plans to eliminate the Energy Star program, four people familiar with the matter told the New York Times. 

What’s happening: Zeldin is weighing options to maintain the program in “some form,” including transferring staff and funds to the Energy Department, which plays a role in running it, and requiring equipment manufacturers to pay fees to help cover the program’s costs, the people said. (The government shutdown could delay a final decision, they noted.)

Catch up quick: In early May, EPA director Paul Gunning told employees that Energy Star is being “de-prioritized and eliminated,” according to a meeting recording obtained by the Times. 

• Just two weeks later, Zeldin signaled a possible change of direction, telling a group of lawmakers at a hearing that it could be privatized instead. “This program… can be run outside the government,” he said. 
• Both moves drew pushback from dozens of business groups, including AHRI, which in June urged Congress to leave it alone, noting in a letter that the program has long received bipartisan support. 

State of play: Energy Star operates on an annual budget of between $30 and $40 million and saves U.S. households and businesses roughly $40 billion a year in energy costs, according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute. 

• Despite the EPA’s reported plans to eliminate it (the agency has yet to issue a formal statement on the matter), committees in both the House and Senate in July voted to fully fund the program for the next fiscal year. 

Looking ahead: The Trump administration is “committed to being good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” an EPA spokesperson told Homepros in an email, “and a program that essentially is a government-sponsored advertising scheme doesn’t seem like a good use of hard-working Americans’ money.”

• Yes, but: “No final decision has been made at this time,” the spokesperson added.