A Look at Projected and Actual Costs of Efficiency Standards
WASHINGTON — A new study by Steven Nadel and Andrew deLaski examines the estimated benefits of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) appliance standards relative to the estimated costs, finding DOE only sets standards that it finds are cost-effective to consumers.
The study compares the projected and actual costs of nine appliance- and equipment-efficiency standards, finding across the nine rulemakings that DOE estimated an average increase in manufacturers’ selling price of $148. On average, the actual change in price was a decrease of $12. At the median change, DOE estimated $108, but the actual was only an increase of $10. DOE estimated the new standards would increase product prices by an average of 35 percent, but average actual prices did not change after adjusting for inflation.