Natural gas industry files legal challenge against DOE rules targeting gas furnaces

The U.S. natural gas industry is pushing back against the Biden administration's regulations targeting gas-powered residential furnaces.

The American Gas Association, along with several trade organizations and a manufacturer, filed a legal challenge Monday against the Department of Energy over the regulations.

The groups say the rules, which were finalized in September, will impact more than half of all U.S. households.

"AGA has attempted to work with the Department of Energy to address the rule's profound impacts on consumers and homeowners with a solutions-oriented approach to energy conservation that protects consumers and ensures continued availability of low-cost, low-emission natural gas furnaces. Unfortunately, our 114 pages of comments have been summarily ignored," AGA President and CEO Karen Harbert said in a statement.

The rules, the groups argue, will prove impossible to implement in many homes, especially older and lower-income dwellings. Citing the DOE's figures, the AGA insisted the increased electricity bills will be more than three times higher than natural gas.

"This ruling from DOE will push American families with natural gas heat into a corner – when their furnace goes out, they'll be forced to choose between retrofitting for electric with the increased month-to-month utility bills that entails or engaging in a costly and time-consuming renovation to retrofit their home for a completely different type of natural gas furnace. Either way, American families and businesses will be saddled with increased costs with little environmental gain," Herbert added.