DOE APPLIANCE STANDARD PROMPTS CONTROVERSY OVER EFFICIENCY LEVELS

The Department of Energy (DOE) has proposed new energy conservation standards for utility distribution transformers, prompting concern from energy efficiency advocates who favor a much more stringent proposal. Critics also fear the proposal sets a bad precedent for future DOE appliance standards. "This is the first standard coming out of DOE since President Bush took office, and it's extraordinarily weak," one efficiency advocate charges. The DOE Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy issued an Aug. 4 Federal Register notice...