Announcement on Recent DOE Actions

The purpose of this communication is to provide IES members with updated and accurate information on the recent DOE rescission, and to inform members of a new public comment period on related issues. The IES will post more background information on the IES Outreach/Policy Briefs/Documents Section of our website here by close of business September 10, 2019.

On September 5, 2019 the U.S. Department of Energy’s Appliance and Equipment Standards Program published a Final Rule rescinding a January 2017 Final Rule to expand the scope of General Service Lamps (GSLs) to be regulated in accordance with the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA, sometimes referred to as the ‘incandescent ban’). The 2017 expansion was to have taken effect January 1, 2020 and would have increased the energy efficiency of the installed inventory of general service lamps in the US by regulating a broader spectrum of sources, such as decorative medium base lamps and MR type lamps. The DOE’s ultimate decision to rescind the 2017 expansion enforced a strict interpretation of the original 2007 statutory language, leaving the definition of general service lamp to include only those in the original EISA legislation. The 2019 Final Rule also clarifies that the EISA statutory 45 lm/W “backstop” has not been triggered. Industry sales data confirms that the majority of the products sold already exceeded this goal. 

The DOE has issued a Notice of Proposed Determination (NOPD) stating that it will initiate a rule making for GSLs that, among other requirements determine whether standards in effect for General Service Incandescent Lamps (GSILs, a subset of GSLs) should be amended. Written comments will be accepted on or before November 4, 2019, and the DOE will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, October 15, 2019 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm (See https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-09-05/pdf/2019-18941.pdf). We encourage participation from our lighting community to participate in this process.

ABOUT THE ILLUMINATING ENGINEERING SOCIETY (IES)

IES is the oldest and largest educational and scientific society in North America devoted to lighting. Founded in 1906, the mission of IES has been to improve the lighted environment by bringing together those with lighting knowledge and by translating that knowledge into actions that benefit the public. A broad variety of programs, including publications, conferences and education, have been established to accomplish this mission. IES publishes and distributes the finest lighting literature authored by committees with the most experienced minds in industry and academia today. For more information about IES, go to www.ies.org.