In the final weeks of the Biden presidency, the Biden administration announced a ban on certain natural gas water heaters as part of its climate change agenda.
The new ban will remove non-condensing, natural gas-fired water heaters from the shelves by 2029 meaning that poor and elderly Americans living in smaller builders will have to shovel out more money to buy more expensive water heaters.
The regulation stipulates that the new tankless gas water heaters must use 13% less energy than today’s least efficient tankless models.
Furthermore, this regulation was released on the day after Christmas without any kind of announcement.
Clearly, President Biden didn't want Americans to notice that he had just made energy even more expensive for poor Americans so there was no announcement and the release was disguised on a day when many Americans were spending time with their families so as to attract as little time as possible.
This callous and cruel decision will cost elderly and poor Americans more upfront for energy costs for minimal savings in energy over the long term.
Matthew Agen, the American Gas Association’s chief counsel for energy, responded to the new regulation by saying, "The final rule is a violation of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), which prohibits DOE from promulgating a standard that renders a product with a distinct performance characteristic unavailable."
Hopefully, that accusation means that there will be an extensive legal battle coming to stop this regulation before it can take effect.
Agen continued by saying, "Forcing low-income and senior customers to pay far more upfront is particularly concerning. DOE’s decision to go ahead with a flawed final rule is deeply disappointing."
This decision from the Biden administration is yet another decision that will force Americans to pay more for energy in the name of combatting climate change.
Poor Americans now have to pay hundreds more for more expensive heaters to reduce emissions by some incalculably small amount. These kinds of decisions affect Americans living on fixed incomes the most while the elites will never feel the impact of these absurd regulations.
Furthermore, this regulation completely destroys Rinnai America, a company that has invested $70 million to build a 360,000-square-foot factory in Georgia to build non-condensing gas water heaters.
Frank Windsor, president of Rinnai America, told the Washington Free Beacon that, "When the rule goes into effect, all that manufacturing will basically be irrelevant. A lot of the major equipment that we've invested in will basically have to be scrapped."
So not only is this regulation putting more burden on poor Americans but it could destroy hundreds of jobs in Georgia should Rinnai America have to shut down.
When President-elect Donald Trump assumes office, he should immediately rescind this regulation and ensure that Biden's spiteful last regulations aren't allowed to impact the American people.
