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Bill

AB 2458

Energy: appliance standards and cost-effective measures.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Steve Bennett

Expands appliance efficiency rules to cover rental, importation, distribution, and leasing, aiming to cut energy/water use while keeping costs and housing affordability in check.

Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
#energy #appliancestandardsandcost-effectivemeasures
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Bill Summary · AB 2458

Overview

AB 2458, introduced in the 2025-2026 California legislative session, amends the Public Resources Code to expand and strengthen appliance energy and water efficiency standards. The bill extends current requirements to cover rental, importation, distribution, or lease of regulated appliances, in addition to sale. It aims to reduce energy and water consumption, improve grid reliability, and support cost-effective, flexible demand strategies while maintaining attention to housing affordability and consumer costs.

Main purpose and intent

  • Expand the scope of energy- and water-efficiency appliance standards to include rental, importation, distribution, and lease of regulated appliances (not just sale).
  • Preserve and strengthen the California Energy Commission’s authority to set minimum operating efficiency standards and cost-effective measures for appliances, buildings, and related devices.
  • Promote flexible demand technologies and align appliance standards with grid reliability and emissions goals.
  • Ensure standards are cost-effective over the life of the product and consider impacts on housing affordability and California businesses.

Key provisions and changes

  • Section 25402 amendments:
    • The Energy Commission must, after public hearings, prescribe:
    • Building design and construction standards to improve energy and water efficiency for new residential and nonresidential buildings.
    • Water efficiency standards for buildings, with joint findings by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) regarding performance relative to Title 24 and affordable housing impact.
    • Energy and water conservation design standards and performance-based criteria for new buildings, with analogous findings and public participation requirements.
  • Public participation and cost-effectiveness:
    • Requires public meetings with affected parties before proposing actions.
    • Standards must be cost-effective when amortized over the life of structures, considering energy/water saved, consumer efficacy, and life-cycle costs.
  • Operating efficiency standards for appliances:
    • Establish minimum operating efficiency levels and other cost-effective measures (e.g., labeling, incentives, fleet averaging, consumer education).
    • Effective date generally at least one year after adoption; early effective dates may be allowed with a “good cause” finding, considering factors like market availability, manufacturer impact, health benefits, and innovation.
    • Appliances sold, rented, imported, distributed, or leased in-state must be certified as compliant.
    • Provisions to ensure no added total costs to consumers over the appliance life.
    • Restrictions on decreasing standards for five years after adoption, with limited exceptions.
  • Flexible demand standards:
    • Authorizes standards to support deployment of flexible demand technologies and related labeling.
    • Requires consideration of cybersecurity protocols and grid reliability.
    • Standards must be cost-effective, balancing consumer life-cycle costs with grid benefits.
    • Encourages coordination with the Public Utilities Commission and load-serving entities to align with demand-response programs.
    • Priorities for flexible demand appliances include controllability via load-management tech, availability of such tech, user-friendly interfaces, third-party operation standards, and open interoperability.
    • Requires integrated energy policy reports describing actions taken and cost to consumers.
  • Definitions:
    • Clarifies terms related to flexible demand, load-serving entities, and local publicly owned electric utilities.

Who and what is affected

  • Affected entities:
    • Manufacturers, retailers, renters, distributors, importers, and lessors of regulated appliances (as the bill expands scope beyond sale).
    • Building developers, owners, and occupants of new residential and nonresidential buildings.
    • Local, state, and public agencies involved in permitting and construction.
    • Utilities and load-serving entities coordinating with state programs on demand response and flexible demand appliances.
  • Appliances and building components:
    • Appliances and devices subject to minimum operating efficiency standards and potential cost-effective measures.
    • Equipment and systems used in building design, insulation, lighting, climate control, and water efficiency.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Public hearings and ongoing regulatory updates by the Energy Commission.
  • Standards generally take effect no sooner than one year after adoption, with provisions for earlier effectiveness if good cause is found.
  • Public participation requirements: advance notice, written/oral comments, and consideration of input before finalizing actions.
  • Compliance and enforcement:
    • New appliances manufactured on or after the effective date must be certified as compliant.
    • The term “sold or offered for sale” applies to end-use in-state transactions regardless of seller location (explicitly including non-traditional sales channels).
  • Historical context:
    • The bill preserves Governor’s emergency authority as a potential basis for adjusting standards, and includes standard-related flexibilities and transitional considerations.

Fiscal and policy implications

  • No direct appropriation is indicated in the bill text; however, the Energy Commission and related agencies would incur costs associated with rulemaking, public participation processes, and ongoing monitoring.
  • Long-run benefits emphasized include reduced energy and water consumption, improved grid reliability, and potential reductions in consumer energy bills, offset by upfront compliance costs for manufacturers and building owners.
  • The bill places emphasis on preserving housing affordability by requiring cost-effectiveness and careful consideration of housing impacts when designing standards.

If you’d like, I can tailor this summary to a specific audience (e.g., policymakers, industry stakeholders, or the general public) or extract a plain-language one-page brief.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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