Organizations Celebrate Passage of  Bill to Update Appliance Standards that will save Consumers Money and Reduce Pollution

TRENTON, NJ  (January 10, 2022)— The Senate and Assembly have passed New Jersey’s first legislative update to appliance energy standards in 15 years. The legislation, when implemented, could save consumers over $130 million annually in utility bills and reduce air pollution.

A5160 was sent to Governor Murphy’s desk today for his signature after the bill passed a final concurrent vote in the lower chamber. A5160/S3324 passed with bipartisan support by a vote of 26 to 13 on December 20, 2021. The measure covers 17 residential and commercial appliances, ranging from lamps and showerheads to commercial fryers and faucets.  Sponsored by Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo and features over 20 co-sponsors, passed in the Assembly in May in a bipartisan vote.

“Today is momentous. The cleanest and cheapest energy is the energy we don’t use and for the first time in over 15 years, the legislature voted to secure significant cost, energy, and water savings through updated appliance standards,” said Henry Gajda, Public Policy Director, New Jersey LCV. “We want to thank Assemblyman DeAngelo and Senator Smith – and the 29 bipartisan sponsors between both chambers of the legislature – for their commitment to get this done. We respectfully urge Governor Murphy to sign the Updated Appliance Standards Bill (A5160/S3324) into law as soon as possible, and further exhibit how New Jersey is leading the way to our clean energy future.”

Increases in efficiencies for products in the bill could lead to savings of over $130 million in utility bills annually and could rise to nearly $400 million annually by 2035, according to research by the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP), a national organization that works with businesses, environmental organizations and manufacturers for energy efficiency. Eleven states have recently passed similar legislation since 2018, with five in 2021 alone.

“Reducing energy bills is good for our pocketbooks and the planet. We thank sponsors Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo and Senator Smith for championing this bill and look forward to Governor Murphy signing it into law,” said Barbara Brummer, State Director, The Nature Conservancy – New Jersey.

“This new appliance efficiency standards bill is a win-win for New Jerseyans, helping to reduce utility bill costs for customers and lowering harmful air pollution. We want to thank the bill sponsors in both the Senate and Assembly for their leadership on this critical issue. These new standards will help New Jersey make meaningful progress toward reducing energy burdens, generating big savings for consumers, and cleaning the air we breathe,” said Rachel Vresilovic, Clean Energy Associate with NJPIRG.

“Businesses across the state are looking for ways to reduce energy consumption as a way to cut costs and improve the health of the environment and their communities. Ceres applauds New Jersey for adopting stronger appliance standards to reduce carbon pollution and save businesses and consumers money on their utility bills,” said Ellen Zuckerman, director of the Ceres Energy Optimization Work Group at the sustainability nonprofit Ceres.

The legislation doesn’t require consumers and businesses to buy new products. It simply gives everyone more energy-efficient choices when it’s time to replace old products by raising existing standards to remove less efficient products.

“Efficient appliance standards will provide important cost saving benefits to New Jersey households and businesses” said Andy Frank, Founder and President of Sealed, a leader in residential energy efficiency. “Efficient appliances not only save money, they also help make homes comfortable, healthy, safe, and sustainable. With this new legislation, businesses and households across the state can make informed purchasing decisions to ensure they are saving as much energy as possible when it’s time to upgrade from old, inefficient appliances to modern, energy-efficient appliances.”

“The green building industry has made great strides in making our buildings more efficient. We have reduced the energy needed for the thermal envelope, the lighting and the HVAC. This bill will reduce the energy use of all the “stuff” within the building. The appliances are now the elephants in the room,” said William Amann, P.E., DCEP, LEED FELLOW, President, M&E Engineers, Inc. “Making them more efficient will have a knock-on effect in reducing air conditioning loads. This is vitally important to achieve climate neutrality.”

“New standards for appliances are a crucial piece of the efficiency puzzle in New Jersey. These standards are good for consumers looking to save money and good for all New Jerseyans, who will benefit from progress towards the state’s climate goals. The Energy Efficiency Alliance of New Jersey represents companies who will use these new standards to install the best, most cost-effective appliances and technologies in homes, schools, and workplaces across the Garden State,” said Leann Leiter, Director of Policy & Research, Energy Efficiency Alliance of New Jersey.

“By adopting the appliance efficiency standards bill, the NJ legislature took a step toward reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions and lowering energy burden and costs for both consumers and businesses. New Jersey joins five other states this year and 11 overall since 2018 that have adopted this win-win-win policy that saves energy, money, and reduces climate change emissions. We respectfully urge Governor Murphy to sign the bill into law, and as a result, after implementation, New Jersey residents and businesses could see utility bill savings of over $130 million a year, growing to nearly $400 million annually by 2035,” said Marianne DiMascio, State Policy Manager, Appliance Standards Awareness Project.

“The passage of this bill is yet another example of how smart policy and technological innovation can combine to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable, clean energy economy.” said Richard Lawton, Executive Director of NJ Sustainable Business Council. “Increasing efficiency standards will lower costs for businesses and their customers, while rewarding those companies who compete based on socially and environmentally responsible value creation for all stakeholders.”