Recently, there have been several actions and rumored future actions at the federal level that risk increasing customer energy bills and making energy less affordable in the future. Let’s talk about three federal programs that save consumers energy and money, the impact of potentially losing these programs, and what we might be able to do about it. 

ENERGY STAR®

It’s been widely reported over the past week that the Trump Administration plans to eliminate the ENERGY STAR® program. Even if you don’t know much about the program itself, you’re likely familiar with the logo. 
ENERGY STAR is a voluntary labeling program that provides a fast and easy way for consumers to choose products that will save them money on their energy bills without having to do their own research each time they need a new appliance. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets product efficiency standards and products meeting the standard can choose to display the ENERGY STAR logo. The program also partners with homebuilders, utilities and commercial building owners to certify homes and buildings as ENERGY STAR efficient buildings.

ENERGY STAR Program Facts:

• For every dollar that EPA invests in the ENERGY STAR program there is a return of nearly $350 in energy cost savings for consumers. 
• Since 1992, ENERGY STAR has helped prevent 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions and saved families and businesses more than $500 billion in energy costs.
• The program has helped American consumers save over 5 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity since the program’s founding in 1992.
• In 2024, 21,659 ENERGY STAR certified homes and apartments were built across MEEA’s 13 Midwestern states.
• Nationally, over 840 utilities leverage ENERGY STAR products in their efficiency programs.

This public-private partnership has been exceedingly popular with businesses, utilities and consumers alike. It is one of the most successful voluntary programs in U.S. government history. Eliminating this program would make it harder for consumers to select products that will save them money on their energy bills. It would remove an easy way for utility energy programs to choose which appliances to rebate. It would also impact hundreds of thousands of energy efficiency jobs beyond the jobs that will be cut at the EPA. Currently, over 790,000 Americans are employed in manufacturing or installing of ENERGY STAR products. 

In April, over 1,000 businesses signed on to a letter urging EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to maintain the ENERGY STAR program. Despite this, it appears the Trump Administration still plans to cut ENERGY STAR. Businesses and consumers who value this simple yet incredibly effective program have an opportunity to speak up before it is too late. 

Appliance Standards 

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has set mandatory efficiency standards for over 70 products for nearly 40 years. Products covered by federal appliance standards account for roughly 90% of home energy use and 70% of commercial building energy use. Covered products include furnaces, air conditioners, water heaters, fridges, clothes washers and dryers, as well as commercial refrigeration equipment, blowers, fans and boilers among many other products. These standards reduced utility bills for consumers by $105 billion in 2024 alone. According to DOE, appliance standards adopted through January 2025 are expected to save over 160 quadrillion Btus of energy through 2035, which is more energy than the entire U.S. consumes in one year.
On March 24, Secretary Wright announced DOE was postponing the effective date of three new appliance standard rules and officially withdrawing four other federal appliance standards for electric motors, ceiling fans, dehumidifiers and external power supplies. Collectively, these orders will dramatically reduce the potential for energy savings. 

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), which allows DOE to regulate appliances, contains anti-backsliding provisions, meaning DOE can’t enact standards that use more energy or water than the previous standard. Despite this, advocates remain concerned that this administration will continue to chip away at EPCA and reduce the amount or kind of appliances covered by standards. Case in point, the administration announced on April 9 that they will alter the definition of ‘showerhead’ in an attempt to roll back the previous definition and efficiency standards for showerheads. This expanded definition would theoretically allow for less efficient showerheads to come to market. Going even further, on May 9, President Trump signed several Congressional Review Act (CRA) Resolutions that repeal newer efficiency standards passed by the previous administration. Then on May 12, Secretary Wright announced that DOE will rescind even more energy and water efficiency standards, including standards for clothes washers and dryers, dishwashers, battery chargers, microwaves and more. We can expect to see legal challenges to these rollbacks for possible violations of federal law, including the anti-backsliding provisions in EPCA and the allowable time frame for the repeal of regulations under the CRA. 

State legislatures can also take action on appliance standards. Since 2018, 13 states have adopted state appliance standards for products not covered by the federal standards. These standards are nearly identical across the states that have already adopted them, making it easy for manufacturers to comply. No states in the Midwest have adopted state appliance standards yet, but there is a bill in Illinois (HB 1612) to do so. In addition to adopting state standards for products not covered by federal standards, HB 1612 also includes backstop language to ensure that the federal standards in place on January 19, 2025, will remain in effect in Illinois should they be repealed at the federal level. HB 1612 did not receive a hearing this session, but as legislators continue negotiating an omnibus energy bill, they have an opportunity to include appliance standards in that package. 

To learn more about state appliance standards tune in to MEEA’s June 5 webinar, State Appliance Standards: The Best Energy Saving Policy You’ve Never Heard Of, featuring speakers from the Appliance Standards Awareness Project and Energy Solutions. 

LIHEAP

In April, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) fired the staff working on the federally administered Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, commonly called LIHEAP. Then, in their Budget Request released May 2, the White House proposed completely defunding LIHEAP in the fiscal year 2026 budget. LIHEAP helps low-income households pay their energy bills to avoid shutoffs, ensuring families keep their heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. The program is administered by the DHHS through block grants to states, tribes and territories. In FY 2024, LIHEAP received a $4.1 billion allocation from Congress. 
LIHEAP assists over 6 million households annually. In 2023, LIHEAP prevented energy disconnection or reconnected households 2.75 million times and weatherized over 60,000 homes making them more energy efficient, saving the household money on future energy bills. 

Low-income households that spend a high percentage of their income on energy bills can apply to their local LIHEAP office for assistance paying their energy bills. Despite the recent terminations at DHHS, FY 2024 LIHEAP funds have been released, and at the time of writing, the program is still operational throughout the Midwest. Find your local LIHEAP office here. 

Congress is currently negotiating the FY 2026 budget reconciliation bill. The Senate and House having each passed their own budget bill, now go through a process of reconciling the two bills to pass one budget for FY 2026. Legislators do not have to follow the White House’s May 2 budget request, but with Republicans in control of both the House and Senate the President’s request will certainly carry quite a bit of weight.

Advocates have an opportunity before a reconciled budget is finalized to push Congress to keep LIHEAP funded. Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine has already criticized the administration’s plan to cut LIHEAP. The Congressional Budget Act sets April 15 as the deadline by which the House and Senate are supposed to agree on a reconciled budget resolution, however Congress rarely meets this deadline on time.

Conclusion

At a time when energy prices are rising, we should be focused on policies that will make it more affordable for businesses and retail customers alike. Eliminating ENERGY STAR, rolling back appliance standards and defunding LIHEAP all do the exact opposite. If carried out, these actions will increase energy bills, decrease grid flexibility and reliability and increase energy shutoffs for vulnerable families already struggling to afford to heat and cool their homes.