Coalition Letter in support of PA Appliance Efficiency Standards 2023-2024

Dear members of the Pennsylvania legislature,

We the undersigned organizations, businesses, and community leaders write to respectfully ask you to support bipartisan legislation introduced by state Representatives Jennifer O’Mara and Thomas Mehaffie and state Senator Lindsey Williams to promote energy and water efficiency standards for a set of appliances sold in Pennsylvania. This legislation is HB 1615 and SB 755.

Energy efficiency is a crucial tool for reducing air and global warming pollution, conserving water, and saving consumers money on their utility bills. 

That’s because the cheapest, cleanest form of energy is the energy that we don’t need to use or produce in the first place. 

HB 1615 and SB 755 will require energy efficiency and water conservation standards for a set of 15 commercial and residential appliances sold in the Commonwealth. All of these appliances are already on the market, competitively priced, and available to Pennsylvania consumers and businesses today.

This legislation can play a critical role to help Pennsylvania tackle climate change, reduce air pollution, conserve our water resources, and save the Commonwealth’s consumers and businesses money on their utility bills. 

If implemented into law, these efficiency standards are expected to achieve the following savings annually by 2030:

• Cut emissions of the global warming pollution by over 384,000 metric tons, the equivalent of taking over 85,000 cars off the road;
• Slash nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by 217 tons. NOx is the smog-forming pollutant that triggers asthma and other respiratory ailments;
• Reduce fine particulate emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) by more than 105 tons. SO2 reduces lung function and exasperates respiratory ailments;
• Conserve nearly 10 billion gallons of water;
• Save Pennsylvania consumers and businesses almost $300 million on their utility bills. 

Of the 15 appliances included in HB 1615 and SB 755, 10 have a negligible price differences between the average sticker price when comparing the more energy efficient appliance to the less energy efficient model found on the store shelf, 4 have a payback period of 1-3 years, and only 1 appliance (commercial ovens) has a payback period greater than 5 years. This means that in most cases, businesses and consumers start saving money on day one.

As you can see, this legislation will go a long way towards protecting the health, environment, and pocketbooks of Pennsylvania’s residents and businesses. For these reasons, we support this important proposal and hope that you will too by cosponsoring this important legislation.

Sincerely,

Organizations:

PennEnvironment

Advanced Energy United

Audubon Mid-Atlantic

Breathe Project 

Bucks Environmental Action

CASA/ CASA in Action

Chestnut Hill United Church

Clean Air Council

Clean Water Action

Conservation Voters of PA

Earthworks

Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR)

Green Building Alliance

Green Building United

Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance (KEEA)

Keystone Research Center

Narberth Environmental Advisory Council

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

PA Jewish Earth Alliance

PA Solar & Storage Industries Association (PASSIA)

PennFuture

Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light

Pennsylvania Sustainable Business Network (SBN)

Pennsylvania Utility Law Project

Philadelphia Solar Energy Association

Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania

Pocono Heritage Land Trust

POWER Interfaith

Sanderson Sustainable Design

Sierra Club, Pennsylvania Chapter

Thomas Blvd Group

Three Rivers Waterkeeper

Vote Solar

Working for Justice Ministry St. Paul’s United Methodist Church 

Local elected officials: 

Mayme Baumann, Chairperson, Board of Supervisors, Uwchlan Township 

Alice Gabriel, Councilperson, Etna Borough

Elizabeth Dale Harris, EAC member, Lansdowne

Jim Lee, Commissioner, Springfield Township (Montco)

Maggy Myers, Commissioner, Radnor Township

Erika Strassburger, Councilperson, Pittsburgh City Council

Sharon Yates, Township Supervisor, Valley Township

*To add your name or organization to this letter, please email [email protected]*