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The Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) has published a “Statement of Purpose,” which is a draft legislation that would give them the ability to establish energy efficiency standards for appliances and equipment not covered by the federal government. The proposed legislation would remove the current requirement where the Oregon Legislative Assembly has to take action in order for appliance standards to become effective. Instead, it would require standards to be adopted by ODOE in consultation with a new Appliance Standards Review Panel. This model is very similar to the federal process.

Here is the interesting twist: because Oregon lacks the resources to develop their own standard, ODOE could only adopt new and updated standards that have already been adopted by other adjoining states. Currently, Oregon can only adopt standards through the legislative process; this legislation would allow the administration to “piggyback” onto what California is proposing. Over the past year and half, we have begun to see a bifurcation in how minimum energy efficiency standards are developed. Oregon along with California, New York and Massachusetts have all begun to push for more stringent appliance efficiency standards within their own state. These states do represent a large purchasing block and could impact what products manufacturers produce.

For questions on this article, please contact Dan Lapato of APGA staff by phone at 202-464-2742 or by email at dlapato@apga.org.