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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposes to codify the 45 lumens per watt ("im/W") backstop requirement for general service lamps (GSLs) that Congress prescribed in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, as amended. DOE proposes this backstop requirement apply because DOE failed to complete a rulemaking regarding general service lamps in accordance with certain statutory criteria. This proposal represents a departure from DOE’s previous determination published in 2019 that the backstop requirement was not triggered. DOE re-evaluates its previous determination that the backstop was not triggered in accordance with the review requirement under E.O. 13990, "Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science To Tackle the Climate Crisis,” 86 FR 7037 (January 25, 2021).

Statement of Need:

Under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), as amended, if DOE fails to complete a rulemaking regarding general service lamps (GSL’s) in accordance with certain statutory criteria, the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) must prohibit the sale of any GSL that does not meet a minimum efficacy of 45 lumens per watt.  In two final rules published on September 5, 2019 and December 27, 2019, DOE determined that this statutory backstop requirement for GSLs was not triggered.  DOE now revisits this determination and proposes to determine that the statutory backstop does not apply, consistent with its statutory obligations under EPCA. This action was triggered in part by Executive order 13990, which specifically instructed DOE to examine the GSL rules.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

Codifying the statutory standard, which would also prohibit sales of GSLs that do not meet a minimum 45 lumens per watt standard, is estimated to result in total net benefits of 3.3 billion to $4.9 billion per year.