The 'LIT Act' Wipes Three DOE Light Bulb Rules Off the Books, Rewriting Energy Law

The aptly named Liberating Incandescent Technology Act of 2025 (or the LIT Act) is essentially a legislative cleanup crew for federal lighting regulations. This bill doesn’t introduce a sweeping new energy policy; rather, it performs major surgery on the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to clear out old definitions and formally cancel specific rules regarding standard light bulbs, known in policy-speak as “general service lamps.” If you’re busy and just want to know what this means, the short answer is: the federal government is officially stepping back from specific energy efficiency standards for light bulbs that were set to take effect.

Clearing the Regulatory Dust Bunnies

For anyone who has ever tried to read federal code, this bill is all about making the text cleaner, even if the policy impact is significant. The LIT Act strikes out several old definitions related to general service lamps and renumbers all the subsequent paragraphs in several sections of the law (SEC. 2). Think of it like deleting old files from a massive server and then having to update every single link that pointed to the old file structure. Specific sections of the law are being replaced with the word "Reserved," which means that part of the code is intentionally being left blank for now—a legislative signal that the issue is either settled or will be handled elsewhere.

The Rules That Just Got Canceled

The most tangible action in the LIT Act is the official cancellation of three specific rules previously issued by the Department of Energy (DOE) (SEC. 2). These rules, published in the Federal Register in May 2022 and May 2024, established energy conservation standards and definitions for general service lamps. By explicitly stating that these three rules "shall have no legal effect," the LIT Act ensures that the specific efficiency requirements set by the DOE in those documents are immediately nullified. This is a big deal because those DOE rules were designed to phase out less efficient bulbs, pushing the market toward LEDs and other high-efficiency lighting.

What This Means for Your Home and Wallet

If you’re a consumer, the immediate impact is that the specific energy efficiency standards set by those now-canceled DOE rules will not take effect. While the lighting market has largely shifted to LEDs anyway—since they save money on electricity and last longer—this bill removes a federal mandate that would have accelerated the phase-out of the older, less efficient, incandescent-style bulbs. For manufacturers, this offers a clear path forward by eliminating the uncertainty created by the conflicting DOE rules and the outdated statutory language. However, for those concerned about energy conservation and reducing household electricity bills, removing specific federal standards could slow down the adoption of the most efficient lighting options, potentially leading to higher long-term energy costs for consumers who might otherwise have been forced to upgrade.