The new data shows that "savings are even less than DOE originally projected and are almost negligible," the industry group Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) said about the changes in an Aug. 3 press release. "DOE's original proposal was to save consumers 13 cents per month in utility costs over the life of gas cooking products. The revised data reduces consumer savings to just 9 cents per month," it pointed out.

"The changes in energy savings projected by DOE primarily result from DOE recognizing that the currently available cooking products are more efficient than its earlier analysis assumed."