Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Energy relating to "Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Walk-In Coolers and Walk-In Freezers".
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This joint resolution, now law, nullifies a Department of Energy rule that had set stricter energy conservation standards for walk-in coolers and freezers, meaning that rule has no force or effect.
It uses the Congressional Review Act to overturn the regulation before its 2027 and 2028 compliance deadlines took hold, blocking new efficiency requirements for walk-in refrigeration equipment.
What this law does
What it does
The joint resolution disapproves, under the Congressional Review Act, a Department of Energy rule titled "Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Walk-In Coolers and Walk-In Freezers," published December 23, 2024. As enacted, the rule has no force or effect. The underlying rule had set new energy conservation standards for walk-in non-display doors and walk-in refrigeration systems, including limits on maximum daily energy consumption, with compliance deadlines of December 23, 2027, for non-display doors and December 31, 2028, for refrigeration systems. By nullifying the rule, the resolution eliminates those specific standards and deadlines; it does not itself create replacement standards.
Key provisions
- 1Disapproves the Department of Energy rule setting energy conservation standards for walk-in coolers and walk-in freezers, published December 23, 2024.
- 2Declares that the disapproved rule shall have no force or effect, eliminating the standards it established.
Who is affected
Manufacturers and installers of walk-in coolers and freezers, businesses in the food industry and grocery sector that use walk-in refrigeration equipment, and the Department of Energy, which no longer must enforce the nullified efficiency standards.
Why it matters
Manufacturers avoid having to redesign walk-in non-display doors and refrigeration systems to meet the stricter 2027 and 2028 efficiency deadlines. Businesses that rely on this equipment face no new compliance costs from the rule, while the energy savings and efficiency gains the rule projected will not occur under the nullified standards.
What changed
Changes to existing law
Repeals Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Walk-In Coolers and Walk-In Freezers (DOE rule, 89 Fed. Reg. 104616)
Nullifies the rule's new energy efficiency standards and compliance deadlines for walk-in non-display doors and refrigeration systems.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- The disapproval and nullification of the DOE rule
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Became Public Law No: 119-7.
Official CRS summary
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This joint resolution eliminates new, more stringent energy conservation standards for certain walk-in coolers and freezers, including the new limits on maximum daily energy consumption for walk-in non-display doors. Under the joint resolution, walk-in non-display doors and walk-in refrigeration systems are no longer required to comply with the new standards.
Specifically, the joint resolution nullifies the rule titled Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Walk-In Coolers and Walk-In Freezers and submitted by the Department of Energy (DOE) on December 23, 2024. Under the rule, DOE adopted energy conservation standards for walk-in coolers and freezers to achieve the maximum improvement in energy efficiency that DOE determined was technologically feasible and economically justified. The rule required walk-in non-display doors to comply with those standards by December 23, 2027, and walk-in refrigeration systems to comply with them by December 31, 2028.
Legislative subjects
Administrative law and regulatory procedures; Department of Energy; Energy; Energy efficiency and conservation; Food industry and services; Lighting, heating, cooling