‘Double-Regulation’ At Risk in California Rules on Battery Chargers, Say Trade Groups

Moving forward with energy standards for battery chargers in California, despite an ongoing federal effort, would “create unnecessary cost and compliance burdens” for manufacturers and could “negatively impact product usage and technology choices,” CEA and nine other trade groups said last week in a joint letter to California Energy Commission (CEC). “The commission’s approach suggests the potential for re-regulation, or double-regulation, of external power supplies that are already covered by the energy efficiency regulations at the national level,” the groups said. The Department of Energy has started a rulemaking on battery charger conservation standards.

Others signing the letter were the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, the CE Retailers Coalition, CTIA, Rechargeable Battery Association, California Retailers Association, California Manufacturers and Technology Association, TechAmerica, Power Tool Association and the Toy Industry Association. Making manufacturers comply with two sets of “regulatory requirements within a narrow time frame is unnecessarily disruptive” and would have “serious cost impacts” on diverse businesses, the groups said.

Referring to a report by Ecos Consulting and Pacific Gas and Electric on which the CEC based its proposed standards, the groups said the commission’s reliance on “information from biased interests continue to be a concern.” The report lacks “technological and economic rigor,” they said, and the pursuit of regulations based on “outdated data artificially inflates” energy savings from the proposed regulations. This could lead to “misleading claims to policy makers and the public” about the CEC’s contribution to California’s energy saving and GHG emission reduction goals, they said. The groups also said they were concerned about the absence of “openness and transparency surrounding” the Ecos report.

The CEC staff’s analysis shows that data in the Ecos report was “appropriate,” a commission official said at a Thursday workshop in Sacramento on the proposed battery charger standards. If industry has data that it believes is better than Ecos’ then the commission would consider them and see if it “changes the outcome of the analysis,” he said. “We don’t believe that the information that was used as the basis for these standards [is] flawed,” he said. As for industry charges of lack of transparency, he said commission staff is “always open” to discuss issues with industry.

The standards for small and large battery chargers will take effect July 2012, with tier two levels for large chargers taking effect a year later, the workshop was told. The commission is proposing a later effective date for “replacement parts and repair parts” so manufacturers can continue to provide compatible parts for old products that manufacturers won’t be able to “address in redesign,” a commission staffer said. Staff is proposing that standards enforcement be done through labeling and not a certification process, he said. Because of the large number of battery chargers in the market “certification is difficult” both for industry and the commission, he said.