Senator Feinstein Urges President Bush to Fully Implement Energy Efficiency Standards for Air Conditioners
February 20, 2001

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today urged President Bush to fully implement environmental standards approved by the Clinton Administration to make air conditioners more energy efficient.

In a letter to President Bush, Senator Feinstein wrote: “As you know, electric prices have skyrocketed in California, and our grid has teetered on the edge of rolling power outages for over a month now. In California and most other states, air conditioning is the single largest contributor to summertime electricity demand. Because standards on new equipment sold take time to have their effect, your action on these standards will not solve the immediate problems in California. But it is a critical component of a balanced strategy for re-establishing electric system reliability in the years ahead.”

“Strong central air conditioner standards will set California and the nation on an affordable and environmentally responsible path for stabilizing our power grids, save consumers billions of dollars on their utility bills, and lock in reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. I am asking you to implement this critical energy-saving action as soon as possible.”

On January 18, 2001, the Energy Department issued four rules to increase the efficiency of new residential central air-conditioners and heat pumps by 30 percent. It is estimated that these rules would save enough energy to eliminate the need to build 91 400-megawatt power plants across the nation. About 5 percent of central air-conditioners sold now for home use already meet the new standard.

A copy of Senator Feinstein’s letter is available upon request.