Deletions came days after NYC mayor urged 78-degree thermostat setting

As millions of Americans endure a heatwave that has put parts of the country under extreme temperature warnings, it has become harder to find government guidance on ways to stay cool while saving energy and keeping utility costs down, according to data compiled by researchers at the Internet Archive.

The Department of Energy removed at least 1,662 webpages from its “energy saver” section as of July 3, according to a Guardian analysis of a list of deleted URLs provided by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit that hosts a repository of more than a trillion archived webpages. The deleted pages included a wide range of advice, from ways to keep homes cool during summer when energy bills and usage spike to tips on how to “weatherstrip,” or seal air leaks, around the home.

It is unclear the exact days the pages were deleted, but the Guardian identified that at least 18 of the webpages were last successfully archived on July 1 or July 2 — the same period in which the Trump administration announced a proposal to weaken energy efficiency standards for home appliances. The proposal, titled “Permanently End Green New Scam Appliance Mandates,” would effectively undo decades of policies that advocates said have been proven to lower household utility bills.

The deletions drew attention after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on July 1 asked New Yorkers to set their air conditioners to 78 degrees amid the heatwave to reduce strain on the city’s electrical grid. The Energy Department did not respond to the Guardian’s questions about when and why the webpages were deleted and whether the removals were related to the proposed rule change.

“Having a functioning air conditioner is a health and safety issue for the elderly, for folks with health conditions, and for the very young,” said Andrew deLaski, executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, a coalition of environmental, consumer and utility industry groups. “Ensuring that the standards are up to date helps to keep their energy consumption under control so that people can afford to operate these products.”

Since the 1970s, the Energy Department’s appliance and equipment standards program has required manufacturers to update appliances every few years to keep products in line with the latest technological advances. An analysis from deLaski’s coalition found the next round of efficiency standard updates are estimated to save each household an average of $160 annually on utility bills and could significantly ease peak summer electricity demand, reducing pressure on an electrical grid already strained by AI data centers and more frequent heatwaves.

For Itai Vardi, research manager at the Energy and Policy Institute, a nonprofit fossil fuel and utility watchdog, the proposed rule and website deletions are “just absurd.”

“It’s ironic that the Trump administration and Republicans love to talk about consumer choice as a tenet of American freedom, but they’re actually taking that away,” Vardi said. “What they’re doing here is rolling back the rules on energy efficiency, but also trying to hide helpful tips and information for the public, and it’s going to cost people more money.”

This is not the first time the administration has sought to weaken appliance efficiency standards. Last May, the Energy Department attempted to repeal 47 regulations consisting mostly of energy efficiency standards for appliances, and earlier this year it tried to end the popular Energy Star program, which certifies energy-efficient appliances — a move blocked by both congressional Democrats and Republicans. The deletions are the latest example of a broader pattern in which information that conflicts with the administration’s priorities — from data on queer and trans youth to online resources from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — has been removed from federal websites and surveys, according to the Guardian.

DeLaski said the webpage removals are one way the Trump administration is making the case for a broader campaign to push through measures deregulating the fossil fuel industry and gutting the federal bureaucracy.

“It’s a senseless dedication to an anti-regulatory agenda driven by what I would say are anti-regulatory zealots,” deLaski said.