Washington, D.C. -  On April 3 more than 60 House members urged Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm to withdraw the Department of Energy’s proposed rule to increase conservation standards for distribution transformers

In December, DOE announced it was proposing new energy efficiency standards for distribution transformers. Since 2021, electric utilities have been communicating their troubles with procurement of distribution transformers to DOE, the letter from the House members noted.

The House members further stated that 16-months delays pose a significant problem for the resiliency and the reliability of the grid, and make it difficult for utilities to provide transformers to homebuilders, city planners, and economic developers to get power to end users in new development areas.

The efficiency standards for distribution transformers proposed by DOE would worsen current distribution transformer supply shortages, which have already reached critical levels, and, to the extent that they are even feasible, would impose significant costs on consumers, the American Public Power Association said.

Source: publicpower.org