The U.S. House of Representatives has approved two major energy bills supported by the National Energy & Fuels Institute (NEFI), marking a significant step forward in efforts to protect consumer choice, energy affordability, and fuel diversity.

On Tuesday, February 24, the House passed H.R. 4626, the "Don’t Mess With My Home Appliances Act" by a vote of 217–190. Seven Democrats, including Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), voted for the legislation. The bill, now retitled the "Home Appliance Protection and Affordability Act," reforms the federal law that governs appliance efficiency standards, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), by establishing new guardrails on the U.S. Department of Energy’s appliance standards setting process. The bill makes it significantly more difficult for the DOE to use efficiency standards to indirectly eliminate entire product categories (for example, by setting requirements that only electric models can meet).

H.R. 4626 requires that future efficiency standards be technologically feasible, economically justified, and deliver meaningful energy savings, while taking into account consumer costs, product availability, lifecycle costs (including maintenance and replacement), impacts on low-income and vulnerable households, and the effects of regional and local climate conditions. It also prohibits the use of the Social Cost of Carbon and similar climate metrics in the economic justification of appliance standards, ensuring that economic justifications focus primarily on direct consumer costs, energy savings, and product performance.

While these reforms strengthen protections against appliance standards being used as a backdoor fuel-switching policy, NEFI believes additional improvements are needed to more explicitly guard against future federal electrification mandates. NEFI will continue working with coalition partners and key lawmakers to strengthen the legislation as it moves forward.

Yesterday, the House also passed H.R. 4758, the "Homeowner Energy Freedom Act," by a party line vote of 210–199. This legislation repeals several Inflation Reduction Act programs that subsidize residential electrification, including state-administered residential electrification rebate programs, funding for state adoption of updated building energy codes (including the latest IECC standards), and HVAC contractor training programs that support these policies.

NEFI formally endorsed both of these bills in a letter to the House Energy & Commerce Committee late last year, noting that together they would protect consumer choice, preserve competitive energy markets, and prevent federal policies from blindly steering homeowners toward a single energy option.

NEFI has been a leading voice on these issues, working closely with a broad national coalition of trade associations across the delivered heating fuel, public and private gas utility, and home comfort industries. NEFI’s government affairs team participates in regular coalition strategy calls and maintains active engagement with congressional offices.

"These votes represent meaningful progress toward protecting homeowners from costly, one-size-fits-all energy policies," said NEFI President & CEO Jim Collura. "Federal regulations and taxpayer-funded programs should expand consumer options and lower costs – not eliminate proven heating technologies or force families into expensive all-electric heating systems they don’t want or can’t afford."

Both bills now move to the U.S. Senate, where their future remains uncertain and will likely require bipartisan support to advance, given the Senate’s 60-vote threshold. NEFI and its coalition partners are actively engaging Senate offices to build bipartisan support and identify alternative pathways to enactment, such as inclusion in broader legislative packages.

NEFI’s top legislative priority, the now bipartisan "Energy Choice Act" (H.R. 3699), still awaits a House floor vote. NEFI members and supporters will recall that this bill would prevent state and local governments from banning or limiting access to heating fuels including heating oil, propane, and natural gas. While the ECA now has 157 cosponsors including three Democrats, NEFI and its coalition partners are actively working to secure the additional support needed to ensure its passage.

We will continue to keep members informed as these measures progress. Member engagement will remain critical as these bills move to the Senate.

For more information, contact NEFI Government Affairs Manager Liam Dotson at liam.dotson@nefi.com.