Trade associations petition U.S. Supreme Court to take on fuel choice case, protect access to natural gas furnaces

WASHINGTON - The American Gas Association, American Public Gas Association and National Propane Gas Association filed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to consider a 2-1 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit which sided with a Biden-era ruling blocking the sale of non-condensing natural gas furnaces and commercial water heaters. Non-condensing furnaces, which make up approximately 55% of the market for natural gas furnaces in the United States, cannot be replaced by other furnace types, and their removal from the market would saddle families with costly renovations or eliminate gas as a home heating option all together.

Homes across the country, including rowhomes, townhouses and older homes, are constructed to accommodate a traditional natural gas heater with venting via a chimney or through a roof. Under the Biden-era furnace rule, families in these homes will be unable to replace these furnaces with similarly functioning products, leaving Americans in the lurch, most often in the dead of winter.

Failure by the Supreme Court to reverse this legal error from the D.C. Circuit Court would not only impact American families' access to gas furnaces but could also have broad applications on the interpretation of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) and lead to further sweeping bans on natural gas appliances through the misuse of efficiency standards, against congressional intent. EPCA explicitly bars the U.S. Department of Energy from adopting efficiency standards that "result in the unavailability" of products with unique "performance characteristics" currently available to consumers.

The D.C. Circuit Court's ruling also revived Chevron deference, directly undermining the Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo in 2024. If left uncorrected by the Supreme Court, the D.C. Circuit's decision on this case would establish a loophole swallowing Loper Bright's rule and allowing an agency to regain Chevron deference.

"Under this furnace rule, families will be told they must spend extra money to retrofit their home or switch to electricity and pay higher monthly energy bills," said AGA President and CEO Karen Harbert. "This scenario is why the law does not allow the government to use efficiency rulemakings to eliminate products that consumers need to be able to access. Under the Biden Administration's unlawful furnace rule, consumers will face higher costs and tough financial choices. The Supreme Court must take up this case and protect the American people from this unlawful regulation that would increase costs for American families and businesses and ban an entire product class of appliances."

"Public natural gas utilities believe Americans should have the right to install or replace home appliances that use the energy source of their choice. These choices should not require costly retrofits that effectively force consumers to switch energy sources. The American Public Gas Association is determined to fight for our member utilities and their customers before the Supreme Court. We join with our partner associations in advocating against the flawed decision of the Circuit Court and urging the Supreme Court to hear this case," said Dave Schryver, President and CEO of the American Public Gas Association.

"The National Propane Gas Association, on behalf of the millions of Americans who rely on our products and fuel, is proud to bring this action to the Supreme Court. We, and our coalition, seek to preserve energy choice and protect millions of Americans from costly, unnecessary and burdensome expenses associated with the flawed decision of the Circuit Court. We urge the Supreme Court to agree to hear our case due to the profound implications of the Department of Energy's rulemaking and the opinion of the divided Circuit Court," said Stephen Kaminski, President and CEO of the National Propane Gas Association.

Natural gas is the most affordable home heating option for Americans and is 3.5 times less costly than electricity for the same amount of energy delivered. Natural gas is projected to remain one-third to one-half the price of other fuels through 2050, according to U.S. government projections, and will be half the cost of electricity this winter according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's winter fuels outlook. Switching to electric heating threatens Americans with higher home energy bills at a time when rising prices remains a top issue for the American public.

Data from the Biden Administration's own U.S. Department of Energy shows that the furnace rule would negatively impact costs for 30% of senior-only households, 26% of low-income households and 27% of small business consumers. For households with mobile home gas furnaces, 39% of consumers would be negatively affected by the proposed standard, showing a disproportionate impact on America's low-income households. These numbers are potentially significantly underreported.

Read the full petition to the Supreme Court here.