S. 5338 — Energy Efficiency Reform Act of 2026

This section requires the Secretary of Energy to issue a final rule within 270 days after enactment that retains the binding Process Rule, mandatory comparative walk-up analysis for economic justification, and the requirement that a final test procedure be published at least 180 days before proposing a related energy conservation standard. It voids the December 2023 consumer furnaces standards rule and the October 2023 commercial water heating equipment standards rule. Beginning 181 days after enactment, it prohibits revisions to 10 C.F.R. part 430 that differ substantially from the required final rule (or the July 2026 proposed rule if no final rule issues) and gives the Process Rule appendix the force of law.

This section establishes the term "significant energy savings" to mean a reduction of not less than 10 percent over a 30-year period in full fuel cycle energy use, as determined by the Secretary using the applicable test procedure. It defines full fuel cycle energy use to include all primary energy consumed in extraction, processing, transportation, generation, transmission, and distribution to the point of end-use.

This section revokes the requirement that the Secretary of Energy publish rules amending energy conservation standards for refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers. It reserves the relevant subsection of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act and updates a cross-reference in the industrial equipment provisions.

This section requires the Secretary of Energy to grant a petition for an amended energy conservation standard only upon a finding of clear and convincing evidence of need. It also extends the minimum interval before a new petition may be filed to at least 6 years (from 3 years) after publication of the final rule establishing the standard.

This section authorizes the Secretary to prescribe less stringent energy conservation standards for covered products if clear and convincing evidence shows the change is needed to ensure product availability, avoid burdens on small manufacturers, preserve performance characteristics, or prevent foreign competitor influx. It bars standards that eliminate consumer-valued features such as reliability, lifetime, size, capacity, fuel type, or installation methods, requires 60-day public comment periods that account for cumulative regulatory burdens, mandates disclosure of meetings with entities tied to China, and applies amended standards five years after final rule publication.

This section authorizes the Secretary of Energy to publish a request for information or other preliminary rulemaking notice, not later than one year after publishing a final test procedure for a covered product, to determine whether an energy conservation standard should be prescribed for that product.

This section establishes criteria and procedures for the Secretary of Energy to create product classes for covered products subject to energy conservation standards. It defines a performance-related feature as one that measurably affects energy use or is commercially mature and valued by consumers, and it authorizes new classes for products that consume different energy types, possess such features justifying different standards, or materially affect operating conditions in ways not captured by test procedures. The Secretary must publish a notice of proposed rulemaking defining the class and demonstrating feasibility, followed by at least 60 days for public comment.

This section eliminates the annual reporting requirement for manufacturers of covered products subject to energy labeling and efficiency rules. It limits required information or reports to new, changed, or revoked models only. It requires a single coordinated submission to the Secretary of Energy, in place of separate filings with the Federal Trade Commission and Environmental Protection Agency under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 and Clean Air Act, and assigns responsibility for component products to their manufacturers rather than finished-product makers.

This section revises federal preemption of state energy conservation standards for covered products. It shifts the start of preemption in subsection (b) to the date the Secretary classifies a consumer product as covered under section 322. It preempts state restrictions on fuel use or labeling for covered products. It maintains the prior federal standard in effect upon revocation of a federal standard and bars states from adopting or enforcing their own standards. It applies preemption to all state and local governments and prohibits laws that bar installation or use of a covered product based on fuel source or emissions.

This section prohibits the Secretary from prescribing any new or amended energy conservation standards for distribution transformers, including those for which testing requirements were prescribed under subsection (a)(1) and low-voltage dry-type distribution transformers, beginning on the date of enactment of the Energy Efficiency Reform Act of 2026. It leaves in effect any standards prescribed before that date.