SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) — California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced April 3 that he has joined a coalition of state attorneys general in opposing the U.S. Department of Energy’s delay in enforcing several energy efficiency standards.
The coalition of attorneys general specifically challenge the department’s delay in issuing its Energy Conservation Standard for ceiling fans, which should have gone into effect March 20 but has been delayed twice. The coalition filed a petition in U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
The coalition also sent a 60-day notice of intent to sue to Secretary of Energy Rick Perry regarding the delay of five other standards for air compressors, commercial packaged boilers, portable air conditioners, walk-in coolers and freezers and uninterruptible power supplies.
“Energy efficiency standards are a win-win for consumers and the environment,” Becerra said. “Over the lifetime of energy-efficient products, consumers are projected to save billions of dollars in energy costs. And through reduced energy use, millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions will be eliminated. Secretary Perry and the Trump administration need to follow through on their obligation under the law to put these standards into effect without further delay.”
Joining Becerra in the petition were the attorneys general of Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, as well as the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the Corporation Counsel for the City of New York.