More than a dozen states along with New York City have banned together and filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy for falling 6-13 years behind in adopting efficiency standards that were mandated by Congress.

The suit was filed September 7, 2005, and is being led by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The suit maintains that DOE has failed to set new energy standards for nearly two dozen common appliances.

The standards addressed in the lawsuit, according to the federal government’s own numbers, would save consumers billions of dollars and reduce air pollution and global warming emissions from power plants.

Stronger efficiency standards for refrigerators, air conditioners, water heaters, furnaces, dishwashers and clothes dryers and other appliances, as well as lighting, motors and transformers, would reduce U.S. electricity use by the equivalent of 13 to 42 large power plants annually, according to the suit.

More

• Full Text of the Complaint Against DOE – filed in US District Court, September 7, 2000. [see also chart of overdue standards]

• Appliance Standards Awareness Project – find out what states are doing on their own with respect to efficiency standards.