With Congress about to confirm Ernie Moniz as the nation’s new energy secretary, it’s a good time to take a look back on what his predecessor, Steven Chu, accomplished with new appliance, equipment and lighting efficiency standards. In brief, he accomplished a lot. But not as much as he might have if he’d had better backing from the White House. Let’s start with the hard numbers. Taking into account products sold between now and 2035, new efficiency standards adopted during Chu’s four-year stint will net U.S. consumers and businesses more than $100 billion in savings.
