For years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star program has helped consumers save a collective $40 billion in annual energy costs. Now, the Trump administration wants to wind it down, according to a report from CNN.
The Energy Star program, which has a budget of $32 million, is a public-private partnership that works with appliance and electronics manufacturers to certify energy-efficient products while also helping consumers find rebates to lower the purchase cost.
“Eliminating the Energy Star program would directly contradict this administration’s promise to reduce household energy costs,” Paula Glover, president of the nonprofit coalition Alliance to Save Energy, said in a statement. The program delivers a 350-to-one return on investment, she added.
Energy Star was created in 1992 under President George H. W. Bush, and it was reauthorized in 2005 under President George W. Bush, placing oversight for the program under the EPA and the Department of Energy.
The program’s signature yellow labels appear on appliances and electronics for sale throughout the U.S., informing consumers of how much they’ll spend on electricity or natural gas throughout a year of typical use.
Energy Star saves the average U.S. household about $450 on their energy bills each year.
Tim De Chant is a senior climate reporter at TechCrunch. He has written for a wide range of publications, including Wired magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Ars Technica, The Wire China, and NOVA Next, where he was founding editor. De Chant is also a lecturer in MIT’s Graduate Program in Science Writing, and he was awarded a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT in 2018, during which time he studied climate technologies and explored new business models for journalism. He received his PhD in environmental science, policy, and management from the University of California, Berkeley, and his BA degree in environmental studies, English, and biology from St. Olaf College.
