[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 21, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 3053-3054]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-1370]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

10 CFR Part 430


Energy Efficiency Test Procedures for Distribution Transformers

[Docket Number EE-DET-97-550]
RIN 1904-AA85
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of 
Energy.

ACTION: Notice of public workshop.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) will hold an informal public 
workshop to discuss issues and gather information related to test 
procedures for electric distribution transformers. All persons are 
hereby given notice of the opportunity to attend this public workshop 
and to submit written comments.

DATES: The public workshop will be held on Tuesday, February 10, 1998, 
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held at the U.S. Department of Energy, 
Forrestal Building, Room 1E-245, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, 
Washington, DC 20585.
    Written comments are welcome, especially following the workshop. 
Please submit 10 copies (no faxes) to: Ms. Kathi Epping, U.S. 
Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 
``Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Test Procedures 
for Distribution Transformers, Docket No. EE-DET-97-550,'' EE-43, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 
586-7425; Telefax: (202) 586-4617.
    Copies of the transcript of the public workshop, public comments 
received, and this notice may be read (or copied) at the Freedom of 
Information Reading Room, U.S. Department of Energy, Forrestal 
Building, Room 1E-190, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 
20585, (202) 586-7574, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathi Epping, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, EE-43, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121, (202) 586-7425, 
email: Kathi.E[email protected], or Edward Levy, Esq., U.S. Department 
of Energy, Office of General Counsel, GC-72, 1000 Independence Avenue, 
SW, Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-9507, email: 
Edward.L[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 22, 1997, the Secretary 
determined, based on the best information currently available, that 
energy conservation standards for electric distribution transformers 
are technologically feasible, economically justified, and would result 
in a significant energy savings. This determination initiated the 
process of establishing, by notice and comment rulemaking, test 
procedures and energy conservation standards for this product.
    The Department of Energy is drafting a proposed rule to implement 
the provisions of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, 42 U.S.C. 
6317, for test procedures for distribution transformers. However, 
several issues have been raised. The purpose of the public workshop is 
to discuss the following issues for developing the notice of proposed 
rulemaking:
    a. Adoption of national and international consensus standards in 
the test procedures for determining energy efficiency of distribution 
transformers;
    b. Burden imposed on industry, especially on manufacturers, by 
additional testing and data processing;
    c. The definition of ``basic model'' for distribution transformers;
    d. Sampling plan for units to be tested;
    e. Selection of a measure of energy consumption for distribution 
transformers;
    f. Selecting reference temperatures--the reference temperatures in 
the consensus standards lack uniformity;
    g. Requirement for applying corrections to measurement data of both 
liquid-immersed and dry-types of transformers; and
    h. Requirement for quality assurance in testing.
    The Department has prepared a paper entitled ``Issues Paper for the 
Distribution Transformers Test Procedures Workshop on February 10, 
1998'' that explains and discusses these

[[Page 3054]]

issues in greater detail. For many of the issues, the paper sets forth 
approaches that the Department is considering and may propose in the 
notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR). In addition, the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has prepared a draft set 
of test procedures for transformers, and the Department is considering 
these as well in preparing the NOPR. Copies of the issues paper and the 
NIST draft are available upon request.
    The Department is particularly interested in receiving at the 
workshop comments and views of interested parties concerning (1) the 
above-listed issues, (2) the approaches the Department is considering 
for addressing these issues, (3) the NIST draft of test procedures, and 
(4) possible alternatives to the approaches the Department is 
considering and to the provisions in NIST's draft test procedures. The 
Department encourages those who wish to participate in the workshop to 
obtain the issue paper and the NIST draft, and to make presentations 
that address their contents. Workshop participants need not limit their 
statements to those topics, however. The Department is interested in 
receiving views concerning other issues that participants believe would 
affect the content of distribution transformer test procedures.
    The meeting will be conducted in an informal, conference style. A 
court reporter will be present to record the minutes of the meeting. 
There shall be no discussion of proprietary information, costs or 
prices, market shares, or other commercial matters regulated by 
antitrust law. After the meeting and a period for written statements, 
the Department will consider the views presented in formulating a 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding energy efficiency test 
procedures for distribution transformers.
    If you would like to participate in the workshop, to receive 
workshop materials, or to be added to the DOE mailing list to receive 
future notices and information regarding distribution transformers, 
please contact Ms. Brenda Edwards-Jones at (202) 586-2945.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on January 14, 1998.
Dan W. Reicher,
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 98-1370 Filed 1-20-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P