Erin Stone
is a reporter who covers climate and environmental issues in Southern California.
Published October 21, 2024 5:00 AM
Retired teachers Joe and Teresa Tortomasi installed solar and battery storage on their Sierra Madre home allowing them to keep the power on during recent heat-driven outages.
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Erin Stone
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Topline:
It’s finally feeling like Fall in Southern California, but we just sweated through the hottest summer on record. That extreme heat caused power outages in many areas, but some people avoided them thanks to solar panels and battery storage on their homes.
The background: It’s been more than a year since new state rules for rooftop solar went into effect. The state argued the new rules would boost solar plus storage, but so far installations have only slowed.
The big picture: More battery storage on homes, schools, businesses and other buildings can help the power grid avoid power outages and boost individual household climate resilience.
Keep reading...to meet retirees who rode out recent power outages with their solar panels and home battery and to learn why solar-plus-storage matters in a hotter world.
Rooftop solar and battery storage helped these retirees ride out recent power outages. Why isn’t it more widespread?
But some people avoided them — and even helped prevent more widespread outages across the power grid.
In a place of relatively frequent power outages: A power island
Joe and Teresa Tortomasi were one of those households whose power never went off during an extended extreme heat wave in early September. They live in Sierra Madre, a small city nestled against the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains.
“We're in what they call the Upper Canyon,” Joe told me when I visited them at their quaint, light blue painted home with white shutters. “This is very un-L.A. No offense to L.A., it's just very rural.”
“He's saying that because we live right next to the mountains, so as we sit here outside, we feel like we're in the mountains,” added his wife Teresa. “And every time people visit us from anywhere in the L.A. area, they say ‘is this L.A.?’”
Joe and Teresa Tortomasi outside their home in Sierra Madre. Solar panels that connect to a battery are on their roof.
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The house is in a neighborhood full of whimsical cabins along winding canyon roads. Bobcats, coyotes, bears and other critters are frequent visitors.
The retired teachers have lived here for nearly 40 years. This area has long had relatively frequent power outages because of where it’s located on the broader grid — when circuit breakers or distribution lines are overloaded, there aren’t options for Southern California Edison (SCE) to reroute power here through other lines. Basically, the canyon is at the end of the line.
While doing their part to cut pollution was a big factor in the Tortomasis' decision to install solar panels and battery storage, the power outages plus rising energy costs were also major reasons.
“We tend to have blackouts up in the canyon and we were just getting tired of it,” said Joe.
In their years living here, despite the work SCE has done to fortify the lines serving the canyon, the Tortomasis said power outages have gotten more frequent.
“Mostly because of the warming temperatures,” Teresa said. “30 years ago, it wasn't like this. We can really see the difference and the climate change. When we had that excruciating weather a couple of weeks ago, we were the only ones in our little corner of the canyon [who] still had power.”
When we had that excruciating weather a couple of weeks ago, we were the only ones in our little corner of the canyon [who] still had power.
— Teresa Tortomasi
That’s because they now have solar panels and a battery. In early September, temperatures here reached as high as 110 degrees and much of the canyon lost power for hours.
“All our neighbors always check with each other, so we were getting texts saying, 'do you have power? Do you have power?’ And we just told everybody, ‘If you need anything, just come over here, because we have power,’” Teresa said.
Teresa and Joe Tortomasi stand beside their 13 kilowatt hour battery, which stores energy from their solar panels to support their whole home, and can also offload excess power to the broader power grid.
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More energy use, lower bills
This summer was also the first time the Tortomasis can remember having to keep their air conditioning going at night.
“We had no cool air at night — our night time was still 85 degrees outside, and it was the first time in our almost 40 years here that we actually did not open our windows at night,” said Teresa.
The Tortomasis have a smartphone app to monitor their solar panels and battery storage.
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Even though the Tortomasis had to use more electricity, that increased use didn't further strain the power grid we all rely on because they were using power from their battery.
And instead of their costs going up because they have to use more energy due to hotter days and nights, the Tortomasis' electricity bill is in the negatives.
They had to dig into their savings to pay for the solar and battery — as well as install a new roof for the panels and upgrade their electric panel — but they’re now saving money because of the excess power they sell back to the grid.
“We're really making our money back," Joe said. "I mean, we don't have to pay any electric bills."
Plus, living in a high-risk fire area, they don't have to worry about SCE shutting off their power to prevent fires during high-risk weather.
We feel safer.
— Joe Tortomasi
“We feel safer,” said Joe.
“I don't have that stress of always being worried that the power might go out,” said Teresa.
Policy changes have slowed solar-plus-battery market
Under the new rules, the state cut how much solar users get paid back for the excess energy they generate. Instead, people who install solar and battery storage will get a better deal when they sell excess energy from their batteries during high-demand times of the evening.
The white Tesla box is the battery gateway, which orchestrates the home's energy sources and loads, including automatically switching to offload power to the grid during critical times.
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In the decision, which only applies to investor-owned utilities, the California Public Utilities Commission argued the previous incentives for rooftop solar were leading to higher costs for people without solar — a claim that solar advocates and some economic models refute — and that it was time to instead incentivize solar-plus-battery storage.
That’s because we now have more solar power during the day than we can use, so we need to be able to store more of that power for when the sun goes down.
But batteries are still really expensive. Vic Aguilar, who installed the Tortomasis' system, said the cost for a solar-plus-battery system ranges from about $15,000 to more than $120,000.
Vic Aguilar has been in the solar business for 18 years.
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“The upfront capital expenditure with the new rules is significantly greater because it involves the batteries,” Aguilar said. “The batteries generally double the cost of an average project.”
And, under the new rules, the timeline for breaking even on that investment is now eight to 12 years, instead of six to eight years.
Solar panels on a home in Ladera Heights, a community southeast of Los Angeles.
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Lauren Justice
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CalMatters
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Aguilar — better known as Solar Vic by Sierra Madre locals — has been in the business for 18 years and owns the company Sustainergy Advisors. While his clients in new housing developments and large households have grown, Aguilar said he’s seen a big decline in his middle and lower-income customers since the new state rules went into effect last April.
“There’s still a compelling economic argument that can be made, especially with the larger households — they use so much energy that even under [the new rules] they’re saving ginormous amounts of money,” Aguilar said.
Industry decline outpaces growth of battery installs
Since the new rules went into effect last year, the solar market has dropped 60% and about 17,000 solar jobs have been cut, said Bernadette Del Chiaro, director of solar industry trade group California Solar and Storage Association.
Ken Wells founded O&M Solar Services, a small residential solar company in South Los Angeles.
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Lauren Justice
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More than lost business
Ken Wells, who grew up in Compton, got a fresh start through the solar industry.
At 15 years old, he was arrested and incarcerated — it was while he was inside that he read a book about solar and green jobs. When he got out six years later, he trained as a solar installer through a Homeboy Industries program. In 2018, he launched O&M Solar Services with a mission to serve clients in South L.A. and hire formerly incarcerated people, such as himself.
“I saw this industry as a viable opportunity for these individuals to be able to not just get a job, but get a career, get a new identity and have purpose in what they're doing each and every day,” Wells said.
To Wells, his business wasn’t just a way to support himself, but a way to support his community and a healthier future for all.
“When I hired guys, I wasn't just hiring them, giving them jobs. I was...working with them long term to build themselves up and get out of their circumstances,” Wells said.
“Had I got out and went to a warehouse or to an oil refinery, like most people who come home from prison do,” Wells added, “I don’t think I would have developed to the level that I have been able to as an entrepreneur. I don't know another industry that I could have gotten into that would have helped me develop as an individual like this industry has.”
“More people that are going solar today are adding a battery, which is good, but the overall decline in the market does not make up for the growth in storage,” said Del Chiaro. “So we've actually set ourselves back with energy storage, contrary to what the policymakers say their intentions were.”
Ken Wells founded South L.A.-based O&M Solar Services in 2018, and had both solar and solar-plus-storage clients. But after the new rules went into effect he had to close his business and lay off his 30 employees.
“There was just this huge drop and I went from doing 20 to 30 projects a month to just seven or one a week,” Wells said. “I was already facing barriers financing my company and getting the capital to scale, so most of what I was doing was bootstrapping. I was taking my money and putting it right back into my business.”
“So when this happened,” Wells added. “I was unable to sustain any longer and I unfortunately had to close my doors, let all my guys go.”
Wells said he’s working to build back his company, but has since shifted into consulting.
Ken Wells walks outside a home with solar panels in Ladera Heights.
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Lauren Justice
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CalMatters
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Why more "distributed energy" matters for the whole power grid
Many solar advocates say the change in policy hurts the grid overall.
The Tortomasis, for example, are part of what’s called a virtual power plant. It’s made up of their home, along with nearly 3,000 other homes that also have solar and batteries.
The app connected to the Tortomasis solar and storage system also shows the virtual power plant they're part of with other Southern California Edison customers.
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“You're aggregating them into a fleet so they can all work in concert, like a flock of birds, on demand,” Aguilar explained.
You're aggregating them into a fleet so they can all work in concert, like a flock of birds, on demand.
— Vic Aguilar, solar installer, Sustainergy Advisors
Southern California Edison can pull energy from this residential battery fleet to support the grid when it’s most strained, particularly during hot summer evenings.
That not only helps the utility avoid widespread power outages, but it also reduces the need to power up highly polluting backup generators when extreme, prolonged heat risks brownouts or blackouts.
Joe Tortomasi looks at the 13 kilowatt hour battery that is installed on his home in Sierra Madre.
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In 2022, that’s exactly what happened: The state’s grid operator sent out flex alerts — those urgent texts to conserve energy — after a gas-fired peaker power plant generator unexpectedly went offline. To avoid massive blackouts, the state pulled energy from batteries attached to homes, schools and businesses across the state.
“If you take these millions of small systems — they're all highly coordinated, highly technical systems that we're putting up in our garages — they can act like a coordinated power plant and turn on a dime to provide value to the state,” Del Chiaro said.
How much distributed energy storage does the state have?
The state estimates that by 2045, we'll need 52,000 megawatts of battery storage to unhook nearly completely from polluting and planet-heating fossil fuels.
More than 11,000 megawatts of that is from huge utility-scale batteries. The rest is from "distributed" sources: batteries on homes, businesses, schools and government buildings.
“This last summer they were a big part of our resiliency,” said Aguilar. “They really were what saved the grid. And not just on the big utility scale where there are container fields of these giant batteries. A lot of it is happening on a distributed basis.”
A map of where distributed battery storage is across the state. The majority is in Southern California.
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California Public Utilities Commission
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And it’s all automated. The Tortomasis don’t have to do anything — they just know where their power’s going via a smartphone app.
“People say, ‘oh the technology is not ready yet,’ Aguilar said. “And they have no idea the robustness, the incredibleness of what we have right now. The renewable revolution is just in time. We are at the stage to implement, implement, implement.”
A graph showing how California's distributed battery storage has increased over time. Most of the growth is in the residential sector.
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California Public Utilities Commission
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Most of the distributed battery storage in California is on people's homes.
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Tips if you're considering solar-plus-battery storage
Solar panels are made to last at least 25 years, so you want to make sure you’re making a good investment.
Talk to friends and neighbors who have solar about what they wish they’d known and their experience
Talk to at least two or three installers before choosing one
Have your roof checked out before going all in because you may need to re-roof
Consider your total electric use and future use — you will likely need to upgrade your electric panel (a contractor can help with this)
Find a contractor who knows the rules for the specific electric utility you pay your bills to, as well as the financial incentives available for the install
On that note, also do your own research on the rules for solar and storage from your electricity provider. For example, Pasadena Water and Power has different rules from Southern California Edison.
Check out our guide on financial incentives for going electric
Consider if you want your whole home to be backed up, or just critical functions
Consider your main reasons for going solar because no single system can do it all: do you want to save on bills? Do you want to maximize resiliency? Do you want to eliminate your carbon pollution?
Consider a contractor who values ethical and sustainable sourcing of panels and batteries
Kyle Chrise
is the producer of Morning Edition. He’s created more than 20,000 hours of programming in his 25-plus-year career.
Published December 3, 2025 4:44 PM
A West Valley City, Utah, patrol officer operates his body camera. LASD is bringing them to county jails for the first time.
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George Frey
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Getty Images
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Topline:
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna is introducing body-worn cameras in jails for the first time. The Sheriff's Department says the move is designed to enhance safety, accountability and transparency.
Why it matters: The Sheriff's Department says body-worn cameras provide additional information during public interactions and increases the ability to reduce criminal and civil liability. The cameras also will allow officers to collect evidence for use in criminal investigations and prosecutions. According to the LASD, research has shown that when officers are outfitted with body cameras, citizen complaints decrease, use-of-force incidents decrease, subject behavior improves and transparency and public trust are enhanced.
Why now: Luna said body-worn cameras started Oct. 1 at the Men's Central Jail, Twin Towers Correctional Facility, the Inmate Reception Center and Century Regional Detention Facility. He added that more than 1,000 personnel have been trained on the cameras, and the department is training 7,200 additional employees each week.
The backstory: In September, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the state was suing Los Angeles County and the Sheriff's Department over conditions inside the jail system. The suit claimed inmates lacked basic access to clean water and edible food and lived in facilities that were infested with rats and roaches. At that point, Bonta said there had been 36 deaths in jails in 2025 and 205 deaths over the past four years. The Sheriff's Department responded by insisting progress has been made in improving jail conditions and in meeting requirements of four existing federal settlement agreements relating to the jails.
What's next: Luna said the department will be rolling out body-worn cameras to the jail at the Pitchess Detention Center, the L.A. County General Medical Center Jail ward and all other custody support units.
Two of the nation's latest food recalls concern cheese — and lots of it.
About the recalls: The recalls are distinct, citing different food safety concerns: One involves hundreds of thousands of containers of shredded mozzarella and multi-cheese blends, while the other affects several brands of grated Pecorino Romano.
About the products: Both recalls target products that have sell-by dates in 2026 and are sold in major retailers in more than a dozen states.
Read on... for more about the recalls.
Two of the nation's latest food recalls concern cheese — and lots of it.
The recalls are distinct, citing different food safety concerns: One involves hundreds of thousands of containers of shredded mozzarella and multi-cheese blends, while the other affects several brands of grated Pecorino Romano.
But both target products that have sell-by dates in 2026 and are sold in major retailers in more than a dozen states.
Here's what to know:
The shredded cheese recall
Great Lakes Cheese, an Ohio-based company that calls itself "the nation's leading natural cheese packager," initiated a recall of half a dozen kinds of shredded cheese products — from mozzarella to pizza-style — in early October because they may contain fragments of metal.
This week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) upgraded its risk classification to Class II, the second-highest, meaning consumption of the product could cause "temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences."
The affected cheeses are sold under dozens of brand names at nationwide retailers including Target, Walmart, Publix and Aldi.
The FDA says they were distributed to 31 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, as well as Puerto Rico.
The recalled bags, with varying sell-by dates in February and March 2026, include:
Low-moisture part-skim shredded mozzarella from the following brands: Always Save, Borden, Brookshire's, Cache Valley Creamery, Chestnut Hill, Coburn Farms, Econo, Food Club, Food Lion, Gold Rush Creamery, Good & Gather, Great Lakes Cheese, Happy Farms by Aldi, H-E-B, Hill Country Fare, Know & Love, Laura Lynn, Lucerne Dairy Farms, Nu Farm, Publix, Schnuck's, Simply Go, Sprouts Farmers Market, Stater Bros. Markets and Sunnyside Farms.
Italian style shredded cheese blend under the brand names: Brookshire's, Cache Valley Creamery, Coburn Farms, Great Value, Know & Love, Laura Lynn, Publix, Simply Go and Happy Farms by Aldi.
Shredded pizza-style cheese blend from Food Club, Econo, Gold Rush Creamery, Great Value, Laura Lynn and Simply Go.
Mozzarella and provolone shredded cheese blend from Freedom's Choice, Good & Gather, Great Lakes Cheese and Great Value, as well as a mozzarella and parmesan blend from Good & Gather.
The full list of products is on the FDA's website. The FDA has not published a press release or responded to NPR's request for comment about the recall. NPR reached out to Great Lakes Cheese but did not hear back by publication time.
The Pecorino Romano recall
One of several brands of grated Pecorino Romano being recalled over listeria concerns.
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Food and Drug Administration
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The Ambriola Company, a New Jersey-based cheese distributor, announced last week that it was recalling some of its products after routine testing confirmed the presence of listeria, which can cause potentially life-threatening infections.
It said while no illnesses had been reported, it was recalling products processed at that same facility "out of an abundance of caution." Those products were distributed to retail stores — and other distributors — between Nov. 3 and Nov. 20, the FDA says.
"We take food safety very seriously and immediately alerted stores and distributors to remove the affected products from shelves," Ambriola CEO Phil Marfuggi said in a statement. "We are working closely with the FDA and continuing to test our products and facilities to fully understand the situation."
The recalled products are sold — both in plastic containers and pound-sized plastic bags — under the brand names Ambriola, Locatelli, Pinna, Boar's Head and Member's Mark.
They have expiration dates ranging from February to May 2026. It's not clear exactly where the cheeses ended up, though Walmart says some are sold at Walmart locations in 14 states and Sam's Club locations in 27 states.
Wegman's has also issued a recall of Locatelli-brand Pecorino Romano — over the same listeria concerns — that it says was sold in stores in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C. between Nov. 14 and Nov. 24.
The FDA urges customers to toss or return the cheese for a refund, and contact their doctor if they develop symptoms of a listeria infection, which usually start within two weeks of eating contaminated food and can include fever, headache, stiff neck and muscle aches.
In the meantime, Ambriola says it has suspended production and distribution of affected products as it conducts a "thorough review of all sanitation and food safety procedures."
Copyright 2025 NPR
Gab Chabrán
covers what's happening in food and culture for LAist.
Published December 3, 2025 3:59 PM
Clearman’s Steak ’n Stein in Pico Rivera, with its signature central fountain and wood-paneled dining room
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Eric Wareheim
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Topline:
LAist 89.3's AirTalk recently featured actor and comedian Eric Wareheim, who spent three years traveling the country to document America’s most beloved steakhouses for his new book, "Steak House: The People, the Places, the Recipes." Host Larry Mantle asked listeners for their local recommendations. The phones lit up.
Why now? Steakhouses are having a cultural resurgence, especially in Los Angeles, where old-school dining rooms are suddenly packed again. In an era of constant change, these throwback spaces offer comfort, ritual and a sense of place.
Why is this important? Steakhouses aren’t just restaurants — they’re community anchors built on decades of shared meals, celebrations and familiar faces. By spotlighting the servers, owners and traditions that keep them alive, the story reveals how food can preserve local history. It’s a reminder that some institutions matter precisely because they’ve stayed the same.
Listen
20:09
A new book takes a meaty look at the steak houses that make America
How far would you travel for a good steak?
For actor and director Eric Wareheim, best known as half of the pioneering duo Tim & Eric, the answer turned into a three-year journey across the United States, a sprawling tour of iconic dining rooms, veteran servers and the rituals that define America’s most enduring steakhouses.
Wareheim joined LAist 89.3’s AirTalk recently, talking to host Larry Mantle about how the project grew from a simple “best of” list into a full cultural record.
“Every city has five more, not on anyone’s list,” he said, describing the scale of the country’s steakhouse universe.
Understanding the appeal
For Wareheim, a great steakhouse is built on atmosphere as much as what’s on the plate. Newer restaurants may source fancier meat, he said, but the old-school places offer a different kind of comfort — a sense of continuity that’s increasingly rare.
A suited-up Wareheim sampling prime cuts as he documents America’s great steakhouses.
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What became clear in reporting the book, he said, is that steakhouses serve as more than dining rooms. They’re gathering places for birthdays, anniversaries and decades-long family traditions. They’re neighborhood anchors. And they’re deeply specific to their cities, each one carrying its own rituals, quirks and regulars.
An archival look at the people who built the classic American steakhouse, one dining room meeting at a time.
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The local perspective
It didn’t take long for AirTalk listeners to jump in with their own L.A. favorites.
George Petrelli’s Steakhouse in Culver City: “They bring the meat in and butcher everything right there in the shop — cutting, dressing, even grinding the beef on the premises,” said Douglas in Long Beach.
555 East in Long Beach, which recently marked its 40th anniversary: “It was a grand celebration for the regulars — incredible prime rib, as much as you wanted, plus all sorts of other good things. Their steaks were terrific, and for dessert, they served a molten, individually baked pudding in its own little casserole dish," raved Harriet in Seal Beach.
Dear John’s in Culver City: “So dark you can’t see for the first five minutes,” joked Michael in Sherman Oaks.
Magic Lamp in Rancho Cucamonga: Its classic neon signage was singled out by Eric via email.
Dan Tana’s in West Hollywood: "The best New York strip in town," said Jennifer in Silver Lake.
Betsy in Altadena: Praised by local resident Peggy as her new go-to, calling its real-wood, fire-seared steaks “a bright spot amongst the ashes” — a nod to the community recovering from the Eaton Fire.
Wareheim himself shouted out Taylor’s in Koreatown, the first steakhouse he and his comedy partner Tim Heidecker visited years ago. This formative experience planted the seed for the book.
From neon signs to prime rib rituals, Wareheim’s book captures the soul of the American steakhouse.
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In addition, Steakhouse also makes mention of plenty of other L.A.–based restaurants that make beef their specialty, including:
Clearman’s Steak ’n Stein (Pico Rivera — classic mid-century steakhouse known for prime rib). Soot Bull Jip (Koreatown — Korean barbecue) Langer’s Delicatessen (MacArthur Park — famed pastrami) Thien An Bo 7 Mon (Rosemead — Vietnamese seven-courses-of-beef restaurant) Niku X (Downtown L.A. — high-end dry-aged/robot-assisted steakhouse) Musso & Frank Grill (Hollywood — iconic old-school chophouse) Majordomo (Chinatown — modern Korean-American takes on large-format beef)
Veteran servers
Wareheim argued that the heart of any steakhouse isn’t the cut of meat — it’s the staff. Many of the places he visited have servers who’ve been there 30 or 40 years, passing down the rhythms of the room like a craft.
“You want to go to a serious server, a lifer who knows exactly what the best thing is,” he said. “You can let go and just let these veterans guide you. And that’s a good feeling.”
The Trump administration has started the process of dramatically easing fuel economy requirements for new vehicles, part of the administration's broader pivot away from cleaner cars.
CAFE standards: The federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules require that the entire fleet of vehicles sold by a given automaker, on average, gets more fuel efficient over time. Automakers who fall short previously have needed either to pay hefty fines or buy credits from a company that over-performs on efficiency, like Tesla and other all-electric automakers. At the White House on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said, "We're officially terminating Joe Biden's ridiculously burdensome — horrible, actually — CAFE standards that impose expensive restrictions."
Why now: The Trump administration already has defanged the existing CAFE standards by eliminating the fines associated with them, as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The administration also has been working to roll back tailpipe standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency, which are designed to cut pollution from vehicles. The two sets of rules have overlapping effects, with both of them pushing automakers toward cleaner vehicles. Trump campaigned against what he called the "electric vehicle mandate" and promised to rescind policies — including fuel economy standards — that encouraged or incentivized EVs.
What's next: The proposed change now enters a period of public comment. The Department of Transportation will collect input from companies and citizens before finalizing the rule.
The Trump administration has started the process of dramatically easing fuel economy requirements for new vehicles, part of the administration's broader pivot away from cleaner cars.
At the White House on Wednesday, surrounded by the executives from several major car companies, President Donald Trump said the move would save consumers money by making cars cheaper.
"We're officially terminating Joe Biden's ridiculously burdensome — horrible, actually — CAFE standards that impose expensive restrictions," Trump said, referring to the federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules, often called CAFE standards. "And all sorts of problems, all sorts of problems for automakers."
CAFE standards require that the entire fleet of vehicles sold by a given automaker, on average, get more fuel-efficient over time. Automakers who fall short have previously needed to either pay hefty fines, or buy credits from a company that over-performs on efficiency, like Tesla and other all-electric automakers.
The Trump administration has already defanged the existing CAFE standards by eliminating the fines associated with them, as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Under Former President Joe Biden, the rules called for vehicles to get 2% more efficient every year; the Trump administration is now proposing to revert to the 2022 baseline and increase by .5% annually.
The proposed change now enters a period of public comment; the Department of Transportation will collect input from companies and citizens before finalizing the rule.
The administration has already been working to roll back tailpipe standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency, which are designed to cut pollution from vehicles. The two sets of rules have overlapping effects, with both of them pushing automakers toward cleaner vehicles.
The policy shift was no surprise. Trump campaigned against what he called the "electric vehicle mandate," and promised to rescind policies — including fuel economy standards — that encouraged or incentivized EVs.
Trump has framed the policy rollback as a gift to the auto industry. And that's partially true: Large trucks and SUVs may be inefficient, but they're popular and profitable, and selling more of them without any penalty is a financial boon to automakers. In earnings calls this fall, multiple executives noted that the regulatory rollback will boost earnings and help offset the cost of tariffs.
Electric vehicle adoption in the U.S. has moved slower than automakers had expected. Some automakers have said made some of the Biden-era policies not just challenging but unworkable.
In a statement provided by the White House, Ford CEO Jim Farley praised "President Trump's leadership in aligning fuel economy standards with market realities."
But automakers are also navigating a changing global market, with many countries continuing to prioritize climate action. The popularity of high-quality, affordable Chinese EVs has raised questions about whether legacy automakers can compete. So Farley's statement also promised that "We can make real progress on carbon emissions and energy efficiency while still giving customers choice and affordability."
For companies, which need to plan their future vehicle lineups years in advance, it's challenging when rules whipsaw back and forth with each change in administration. That's been the reality for years now: The Obama administration set ambitious fuel economy rules, which Trump 1.0 reversed, Biden reinstated, and now Trump 2.0 is seeking to "reset."
Farley obliquely noted that risk in a conversation with investors in October. He explained why Ford was continuing to move ahead with plans for an affordable electric pickup, despite regulations shifting to no longer support EVs. "We expect adoption will increase over time and the market continue to evolve," Farley said. "And maybe the regulations evolve."
