Senate Votes Against Gas Furnace Ban

The Senate voted against proposed energy efficiency measures from the Department of Energy that would have essentially amounted to a ban on household gas furnaces.

Introduced by Senator Ted Cruz, the resolution to strike down the measure got the support of 50 Senators, including several Democrats.

This is not the end of the gas furnace ban, however, the Washington Examiner noted in a report on the news. Even before the vote in the Senate, the White House said President Biden would veto the resolution if it passed in the Senate.

The energy efficiency standards that the Department of Energy regularly updates “have already saved consumers an estimated $1 trillion on utility bills, with an average household currently saving $321 annually,” the statement said.

“The DOE residential furnaces standards are part of the Administration’s effort to issue updated standards across several product categories that could deliver an additional $1 trillion in savings over 30 years,” the White House also said.

According to opponents in Congress, however, the latest update of the standards would force consumers to either switch from gas furnaces to heat pumps or pay for much more expensive furnaces.

“This rule is a continuation of the Biden administration's capitulation to environmental radicals who value following climate dogma more than helping families actually provide for their kids and save for the future,” Sen. Ted Cruz said ahead of the vote.

After it, he accused the administration of waging a war against the oil and gas industry, saying “This rule was proposed and finalized by the Biden administration’s Department of Energy as part of a broader, radical campaign against fossil fuels, clean natural gas, and other sources of energy critical to the American economy and American families.”

Gas heating is a prime target for pro-transition governments on both sides of the Atlantic as they seek to significantly reduce the household use of oil and gas. Promotion of heat pumps is one approach but it has failed to lead to mass adoption, giving way to more radical moves such as effective bans.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

• Consumers Sue U.S. Shale Alleging Collusion to Boost Oil Prices
• Europe Needs To Address Intermittent Renewables Generation
• Millennials Drive EV Adoption in the U.S.