Appliance Standards Bulletin
Commerce extends suspension of water heater standard, proposes permanent effective date
The Washington State Department of Commerce today took two actions on the state’s water heater appliance standard in WAC 194-24-180.
- The emergency suspension of the standard has been extended. It was previously set to come back into effect on June 28, 2022. This emergency rule extends the suspension for an additional 120 days in order to complete the above public rulemaking process and establish a permanent effective date.
- Commerce issued a proposed rule (CR-102) that would establish a permanent effective date of Jan. 1, 2023 for the standard. Washington’s water heater standard requires that electric water heaters have an electronic communications port. The standard is currently suspended at the request of manufacturers because of the inability to obtain necessary parts.
Emergency rule materials:
 About this rulemaking
The Washington standard took effect in Jan. 2021 for heat pump water heaters. It was scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2022 for standard electric resistance models.
The current rulemaking actions follow a temporary suspension which began on Nov. 1, 2021. The suspension was prompted after a public comment period demonstrated broad support from manufacturers, distributors, utilities and clean energy advocates due to current global supply chain delays.
After several emergency rulemakings, Commerce filed a pre-proposal notice (CR-101) in March 2022 in order that a reasonable effective date for this standard may be established on a permanent basis. The 120-day suspension of the standard is the longest delay possible under emergency rules. Commerce has therefore monitored market conditions and proposed an effective date that is responsive to product availability and not bound by the 120-day limit.
The latest emergency rule extension is based on a finding by Commerce that economic disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic continue to stymie global supply chains, preventing manufacturers from accessing critical materials required for manufacturing electronic communication ports.
Public hearing: Aug. 30
A virtual public hearing on the Jan. 1, 2023 proposed effective date will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 30. Details will be posted on the Appliance Standards webpage.
Submit written comments to appliances@commerce.wa.gov until Aug. 30.
Future rulemaking for other appliance standards
In July, Commerce will start a separate rulemaking to implement legislation (House Bill 1619) enacted in March 2022 that updated the products covered by Washington’s appliance standards.
To receive updates on this rulemaking, subscribe the appliance standards bulletin on the Commerce Appliance Standards webpage.
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