GRIFFIN, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright visited Georgia on Friday, the same day the Trump administration announced it was reversing a Biden-era policy restricting certain gas products. The announcement, made just minutes before Wright addressed employees at Rinnai American Corporation, essentially saved the company.

Rinnai makes efficient, tankless hot water heaters using a different form of energy cycling than your typical in-home system. It’s the only thing the Griffin factory makes, and they’re the only manufacturer in North America that builds that type of system.

But in the waning days of the Biden White House, their products ended up on an Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) list of heavily mandated products that ranged from decorative fireplaces to certain showerheads. The products were classified as “miscellaneous gas” products and were effectively banned from use under the weight of the restrictions.

“What a shame to see an awesome plant and hundreds of jobs disappear if this plant were forced to close,” said Wright. “This humming, modern factory is proof that common sense matters.”

Rinnai stood to lose their 250 employees, who were overjoyed with the reversal on Friday. Rinnai’s president in the U.S., Frank Windsor, said the impact to the company if they had remained under EPCA restrictions would’ve been “dramatic.”

“This factory that you’re in was built to make non-condensing tankless water heaters, so we’ve hired and trained people to do it,” Windsor said. “The equipment, the presses, the heat exchanger that we make and the furnaces that we use and these lines are all developed specifically for that product. So without that we would have to start all over again.”

Congress used a little-known maneuver known as the Congressional Review Act to reverse the restrictions. The CRA allows Congress the ability to vote to rescind the actions of previous administrations as long as it’s done within 60 days of the previous president’s departure. Wright said U.S. Congressman Brian Jack of Georgia was instrumental in getting the EPCA restrictions reversed.

Wright also took time to address Georgia’s manufacturing, especially in light of historic tariffs that are scrambling the world economy. As energy costs rise in the U.S., Wright said the short term pain of tariffs would be worth it in the end.

“We’re in the middle of the sausage-making on tariffs,” said Wright. “I think you’ve got to wait a few weeks. When we get to the other side, what you’re going to see is a golden age of investment in the United States.”

As Georgia rapidly grows its prowess as an electric vehicle leader, Wright also clarified that while the Trump administration has pulled back on EV mandates, they still support robust productions of the cars in the U.S.

“Our position in this administration in choice. If people want to buy EVs God bless them, that’s great,” Wright said. “We’re not against EVs by any stretch, we just want to get the hands off the scale so there’s a fair competition.”

Wright was the first cabinet member to make an official visit to Spalding County in its 174-year history.

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