U.S. Supreme Court slaps down Biden administration energy ruling

By Andrew Rice
The Center Square

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday slapped down a decision from the Biden administration that regulated efficiency standards for furnaces and water heaters.

Justices on the high court vacated the District of Columbia district court’s decision in American Gas Association v. Department of Energy, where the lower court upheld the Biden administration’s decision to enforce regulations on non-condensing appliances.

Lawyers for the American Gas Association and other trade organizations argued the Biden administration’s rules improperly regulated the sale of commercial water heaters and furnaces. The lawyers argued certain furnaces and water heaters would effectively be eliminated from the market.

“The Department may not adopt standards that effectively eliminate from the market products that have distinct ‘performance characteristics,'” Solicitor General John Sauer wrote in a brief to the high court.

The lawyers argued the Biden administration’s Department of Energy did not properly consider how its regulation would impact the industry as a whole. The high court ruled that the D.C. district court must reconsider its ruling that affirmed the Biden administration’s decision.

The Trump administration petitioned the high court to slap down the decision. Sauer said the Trump administration is considering how it will roll back the Biden-era regulations at issue in the case.

“The Department has determined that the rules at issue are factually and legally flawed, and the agency is considering a new rulemaking in which it would correct those errors,” Sauer wrote.

The case will return to the D.C. district court for further decisionmaking where judges will likely issue a different ruling in light of the high court’s decision.