Court Rules for Air Conditioner Efficiency

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City has rejected a Bush Administration plan to lower energy-efficiency standards for air-conditioners. The lawsuit,

Natural Resources Defense Council v. Abraham, was brought by NRDC, consumer groups, and attorneys general from ten states. Clinton Administration standards, which mandate that all new home central air conditioners must have a seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) of 13 by 2006, will be reinstated. The Bush administration had planned to replace the SEER 13 standard, which represents a 30% energy savings over the current SEER 10 standard, with SEER 12, which represents only a 20% savings. Explaining the Court’s decision, Judge James Oakes wrote: “It is inconceivable that Congress intended to allow such unfettered agency discretion to amend standards, given the appliance program’s goal of steadily increasing the energy efficiency of covered products.”