President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly considering an executive order that would protect gas-powered appliances such as stoves.
Details surrounding the possible executive order are still being discussed, Reuters reported. The policy would likely mirror the Congressional effort to reduce federal spending on initiatives that restrict gas-powered appliances at the state and loval levels.
Karen Harbert, President of the American Gas Association, said in a statement, “It speaks volumes when an order from the White House is needed to stop our own government from banning natural gas furnaces and water heaters. Despite the illegal efforts to ban access and use of natural gas, our industry is hard at work to keep life essential energy affordable and reliable especially during the extreme cold we are experiencing right now.”
An estimated 75 million American households use natural gas for at least one appliance, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In 2020, about 47 million American households used gas for cooking, up from 39 million in 2015.
Last year, the Biden administration’s Department of Energy (DOE) finalized rules to ban natural gas in federal buildings.
The rule required “federal agencies to phase out fossil fuel usage in new federal building construction or major renovation by achieving a 90% reduction in fossil fuel use for new projects started between fiscal years 2025 and 2029 and completely eliminating on-site fossil fuel usage in new projects beginning in 2030,” a press release on the matter said.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is practicing what we preach. Just as we are helping households and businesses across the nation save money by saving energy, we are doing the same in our own federal buildings,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm stated at the time.
