Kelly’s amendment to repeal DOE steel-related rule passes

The U.S. House of Representatives on May 7 approved an amendment introduced by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) that would repeal a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) rule that he says threatens the future of domestic grain-oriented electrical steel production.

“Fully repealing this rule would eliminate heavy-handed government involvement,” Rep. Kelly said. “We must end this wrongheaded, job-killing rule once and for all.”

The amendment was included in the Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act, H.R. 6192, which the House voted 212-195 to pass. The U.S. Senate on May 8 received H.R. 6192 for action and referred it to the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for consideration.

If enacted, H.R. 6192 would modify the process by which the DOE amends, revokes, or implements energy conservation standards for certain consumer products (other than automobiles), such as household appliances.

Specifically, Rep. Kelly’s amendment would repeal the final rule announced last month by DOE to delay new minimum energy efficiency standards for electrical distribution transformers by two years, from 2027 to 2029, according to a summary provided by the congressman’s staff. 

Additionally, the DOE rule requires up to 25 percent of distribution transformers to use amorphous steel cores, a move that would require less grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) production. 

In turn, this could threaten the 1,300 union jobs at the Cleveland-Cliffs Butler Works plant in Rep. Kelly’s home state even before DOE’s rule takes effect in 2029, says the summary, noting that GOES, which is an essential part of distribution transformers, is largely sourced from overseas, including China. The last domestic producer of GOES is Butler Works in Butler, Pa. 

“I said it then and I’ll say it again: I was encouraged by the Department of Energy’s final rule, but I was not satisfied,” said Rep. Kelly. “The Biden administration’s track record on domestic energy policy gives me zero reassurance that they will support these 1,300 workers or the Butler community when this final rule takes effect in 2029.” 

Rep. Kelly’s amendment is cosponsored by U.S. Reps. Troy Balderson (R-OH) and Richard Hudson (R-NC), who serve on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee.

“The proposed efficiency standards by the Biden administration for distribution transformers will threaten good-paying American jobs, destabilize the supply chain, and raise costs for consumers,” Rep. Balderson said. “In the administration’s frenzy to enact their rush-to-green agenda, they fail to acknowledge the damaging real-world consequences.”