of Natural gas The homebuilding industry lost its initial bid to remove key climate-friendly measures from national homebuilding guidelines, a HuffPost investigation found.
Model building code rules require new homes to be equipped with circuits for connecting induction stoves and electric vehicle chargers, and will be used as a benchmark in nearly every state.
In November, industry groups representing gas utilities and furnace manufacturers launched a last-ditch effort to repeal the provision, which is scheduled to be lifted this year.
The International Code Council, a nonprofit organization that works with industry groups and local governments to create common codes that are enacted by law in most parts of the country, has bent its own rules to It even granted additional permits to parties such as the American Public Gas Association. It's time to appeal HuffPost reported last month.. Fossil fuel groups challenge rules that make it cheaper for homeowners to quit gas, saying the proposals go beyond the intent of the energy code or are falsified through improper procedures. did.
![A man carries a ladder to build a new home on Oct. 28, 2022, in Trapp, Maryland.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/65e7560422000055004b781e.jpeg?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale)
![A man carries a ladder to build a new home on Oct. 28, 2022, in Trapp, Maryland.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/65e7560422000055004b781e.jpeg?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale)
Jim Watson via Getty Images
However, the ICC's Appeals Committee this week rejected all nine challenges to the latest energy standards. ruling „Appellants have not demonstrated any serious and material irregularities in their processes or procedures.“
The gas company will have another chance to make its case later this month during a two-hour hearing before the ICC board, which will make a final decision at its March 18 meeting. The industry group that filed the appeal said it would put pressure on management to reverse the decision.
„In fact, this issue is still inconclusive,“ said Francis Dietz, a spokesperson for the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Association, a trade group for gas furnace manufacturers that filed the appeal.
The American Public Gas Association said it was „disappointed“ by the appellate panel's ruling, which the trade group representing city gas utilities argued was a threat to Americans' access to their „preferred energy source.“
“Fortunately, the appeals process is not yet over,” the industry group said in a statement to HuffPost. „Ultimately, the ICC Board will ultimately decide whether to uphold or reject the appeal. We are closely monitoring what they decide.“
Although the outcome is not guaranteed, two sources familiar with the process said it would be unusual for the executive committee to oppose the appeals committee's recommendations. The ICC instructed HuffPost: public web page He asked questions about the current appeals process, but did not respond to emailed questions about the last time the board overturned an appeals committee decision.
Rejecting the industry's appeal may restore some credibility to the beleaguered ICC. The ICC's once dormant tradition of updating the nation's model building codes has come under scrutiny in recent years following incidents such as: the defender saw As an industry coup.
![If the ICC ruling stands, the country's residential construction guidelines will require new homes to be equipped with the necessary circuits to connect induction stoves and electric car chargers.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/65e756b9230000510054fe5f.jpeg?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale)
![If the ICC ruling stands, the country's residential construction guidelines will require new homes to be equipped with the necessary circuits to connect induction stoves and electric car chargers.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/65e756b9230000510054fe5f.jpeg?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale)
John Tice (via Getty Images)
„This is definitely a positive development, and it remains to be seen what the final steps will be,“ said Mike, director of regulations for the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, a watchdog group, and a volunteer who helped write this year's commercial building code.・Mr. Waite said. I.C.C. “The ICC must follow its written policies, and this code remains necessary to make further progress in achieving energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.”
Since the ICC became the national standard for model building codes in the 1990s, it has convened local governments and industry associations every three years to update the codebook. At the end of the process, only elected officials voted on the final version of the Code, giving the ICC sufficient democratic legitimacy that virtually all states set the Code as a benchmark for their local law.
But in 2019, local governments pressed to reduce global warming emissions rallied to vote on the greenest energy standards enacted in a generation. Industry groups balked, first challenging the eligibility of local officials to vote, then appealing to have key climate-friendly provisions removed from the codebook.
The ICC's Appeals Committee removed some regulations regarding the wiring required for electric vehicles and appliances, handing a victory to gas associations that challenged the regulations. The ICC then went a step further and proposed completely removing the government's right to vote on the final version of the Energy Code.
Elected legislators will have the final say on legislation related to plumbing and swimming pools, but energy legislation will instead be handled by „consensus“-oriented committees where industry groups enjoy equal representation with the government. will be created by.
Governments, including the newly installed Biden administration, have urged the ICC not to make any changes. The ICC went ahead with the implementation of the new system, which gas companies hailed as a win for the industry.
“These appeals should never have been filed in the first place, so they made the right decision here.”
– Mike Waite, ACEEE Advocate
gas companies from early on sought widespread influence over Critics of the system see it as at least slightly rigged in favor of industry. Finding a two-thirds supermajority to pass each committee's proposal to create an energy code has proven difficult.
But the process ultimately yielded the 2024 codebook proposed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. found We improved efficiency by up to 10% and promoted decarbonization, especially through new electrification measures.
Although these efficiency gains fell short of the leaps that the 2021 code achieved from the previous code, 2024 code circuits for electric vehicles and consumer electronics have made significant progress in reducing emissions, according to a preliminary analysis by the National Institute.
Advocates involved with the committee that created the updated code said the proposed 2024 codebook is not as good as groups like ACEEE had hoped, but nonprofits are willing to compromise. He said the improvements made the package worth supporting.
The very fact that the ICC broke its own rules to give industry bodies time to appeal isscandal” said ACEEE. However, if the ICC upholds the appeal and overturns the main electrification standard, proponents may consider abandoning the ICC process altogether in favor of a new model standard, ACEEE said.
„The appeals board itself dealt with what was put before it,“ Waite said. “But they made the right decision here because those appeals should never have been filed in the first place.”
He said it was still unclear how the next round of coding would play out, and warned that supporters still doubted „whether the ICC is a fair custodian of its own process.“ did.
Still, Waite said the appeals panel's decision confirms that reducing global warming emissions is „within the purview“ of the energy lawmaking process.
„It has become clear that promoting decarbonization is well within sight,“ he said. “We need to take this opportunity to really move forward and get the building to where it needs to be.”