The Edison Electric Institute today commended the U.S. Department of Energy for its proposed rule to raise the efficiency levels of electrical transformers by 10 percent over current levels, calling it a “thoughtful and cost-effective” approach.

“We welcome this new proposed rule because it is a reasonable and well-designed effort to increase energy efficiency and savings,” said Rick Tempchin, EEI’s executive director for retail energy services. “The electric utility industry recognizes that maximizing efficiency is a powerful tool in addressing the nation’s energy and environmental challenges.”

Tempchin added that efficiency levels higher than those proposed by DOE could unnecessarily raise energy costs to consumers and also could negatively impact system reliability. “We cannot afford to take those risks,” he said.

The Energy Department has projected that the proposed new transformer standard would save a significant amount of energy—an estimated 1.58 quads over 30 years, or the equivalent of energy output from 2.4 gigawatts of electrical generating capacity.

Under the DOE’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the new standard would be published as a final rule this October and then become effective in January 2016. DOE will hold public hearings to gather input on the proposed rule.