DOE Efficiency Standards: Consumer Time?
By Mark Krebs and Tom Tanton -- November 14, 2024
“The Deep State is cancer-like in nature. Like cancer, it must be rooted out before it metastasizes—as it would have if subject to another four years of a Harris (Obama 4.0?) Administration.”
“It’s time to go big. Scrap DOE and part-out whatever missions are worth saving. And whatever missions are deemed worth saving should be saved only with thorough scrutiny of zero-based budgeting.”
Our March 2017 post, DOE’s EERE: Reform Ideas for Secretary Perry, stated that while “a trace of consumer focus still exists,” the department’s heavy bias was towards society-wide electrification under the guise of “Net Zero”.
Whatever trace of consumer focus may be remaining within DOE is not worth salvaging. In fact, eliminating the pipe dream of an all-electric society would likely save US citizens $18 to 29 trillion in capital costs alone. Other analysts have estimated far higher cost inflation, while others conclude that total electrification cannot be accomplished at any cost.
While there was some initial lip service about DOE reform from a few politicians (which we documented in the above article), little actual reform took place. Congress slow-walked appointments, while DOE ‘s so-called “career professional” staff resorted to traditional tactics of placating eventual appointees. And what reforms did occur under then Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) Daniel Simmons (not sworn in until January 16, 2019) were quickly jettisoned by the Biden (mis)Administration.
https://www.masterresource.org/krebs-mark/doe-energy-efficiency-reform-trump2/
