WASHINGTON, D.C.

Energy Department rolls back Obama-era light bulb rules

It’s lights out for a pending set of light bulb efficiency standards.

Rick Perry’s Energy Department on Wednesday finalized new rules for certain specialty bulbs, rolling back requirements that would’ve soon required energy-saving models for globe-shaped bathroom lights, recessed reflector lights, track lighting and candle-shaped bulbs used in chandeliers.

The Trump administration, while casting the move as just, downplayed the overall impact.

“This rule does not prevent consumers from buying the lamps they desire,” the Energy Department wrote. “The data gives no indication that the current market direction toward an increasing use of LED lamps will change as a result of this rule or any other factor.”

The action by the former Texas governor is still likely to spur a legal battle, underscoring the contentious, yearslong fight that’s played out over an item Americans use every day without likely giving it much thought.

“This rule will keep more energy-wasting bulbs on store shelves and saddle the average American household with about $100 in unnecessary energy costs every year,” said Jason Hartke, president of the Alliance to Save Energy, a coalition of business and environmental groups.

Bipartisan legislation signed into law by President George W. Bush started reshaping the lighting industry by phasing out traditional incandescent bulbs.

Pear-shaped models, the most commonly used kind, were the first to undergo that government-mandated transition in the early 2010s. LED lights, which cost more off the shelf but last longer and use less energy, are now the dominant player for those styles of lamps.

Those now-entrenched efficiency standards remain in place, though the Energy Department’s latest action is also seeking to postpone even tougher standards for pear-shaped bulbs.

Select specialty bulbs, which together account for a sizable chunk of the market, were supposed be next in the energy-saving push. Per rules written by DOE under President Barack Obama, those lamps were slated to come under stricter efficiency standards starting next year.

The lighting industry, while adjusting to the changing market, opposed the added regulations on specialty bulbs.

ALEX WROBLEWSKI / NEW YORK TIMES The Trump administration announced new rules to roll back requirements for energy-saving light bulbs.