Energy Efficiency Rule Slowdown Expected as Trump Returns

The incoming Trump administration is expected to stagnate enforcement of energy efficiency standards and stifle the Energy Department’s authority over them in the process, according to attorneys and former department officials.

They also say the new Trump administration will likely find ways to undermine existing regulations they don’t like. That could take the form of creating new product classifications that allow for more energy consumption, delaying required updates for efficiency standards, and notifying federal courts that it no longer wishes to defend challenged regulations.

“One way for an administration to starve a piece ...