March 21, 2024

“NEMA is extremely disappointed in last night’s announcement that the International Code Council’s (ICC) Board of Directors has granted the special interests’ appeals of the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC).

The announcement is the unfortunate end to a protracted process that will impede access to efficient, energy resilient, high-performing homes and businesses. Openness, transparency, and consensus are cornerstones of the code and standards development process. This decision flies in the face of those principles and is a stark example of how a select few can overturn the desire of many.

To be clear, the 2024 IECC went through an extensive development cycle with a multitude of opportunities to present ideas, offer input, and raise concerns. The end result was a national model energy code inclusive of measures to further advance home and business owners’ access to energy-saving technologies and was approved overwhelmingly by the ICC committees.

NEMA supported and participated in a robust appeals process in the interest of fairness and due process. We were pleased to see the four-person ICC Appeals Board recommended unanimously to dismiss all the appeals.

With this decision, the ICC Board of Directors has unilaterally overturned the will of the IECC review committees, ICC membership, and the ICC Appeals Board, a result that diminishes the energy efficiency and decarbonization gains that would have been achieved by the code.”