[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 39 (Friday, February 27, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 9975-9977]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-5084]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
10 CFR Part 430
[Docket Numbers EE-RM-93-201 and EE-RM-S-97-700]
RIN 1904-AA84
Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Cooking
Products (Kitchen Ranges and Ovens) Energy Conservation Standards
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of limited reopening of the record and opportunity for
public comment.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy reopens the record of its rulemaking
to revise energy conservation standards for cooking products under the
Energy Policy and Conservation Act for the following classes: Gas
cooktops, gas ovens, and electric non-self-cleaning ovens. This notice
provides an opportunity for public comment regarding supplemental
analyses on the potential impact of alternative efficiency levels,
written comments on these analyses, new factual information, and the
principal policy options now under consideration.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 30, 1998.
ADDRESSES: A copy of the 1996 Draft Report on the Potential Impact of
Alternative Energy Efficiency Levels for Residential Cooking Products
(Draft Report), supplemental analysis, and other post comment period
correspondence is available for public inspection and copying 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 a.m. and 4
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Written comments are welcome. Please submit 10 copies (no faxes)
to: Kathi Epping, U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, ``Energy Conservation Program for
Consumer Products: Cooking Products, Docket No. EE-RM-S-97-700'', EE-
43, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121.
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, or
Eugene Margolis, Esq., U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General
Counsel, GC-72, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585,
(202) 586-9507.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 325 of the Energy Policy
and Conservation Act (EPCA), 42 U.S.C. 6295, the Department of Energy
(DOE) proposed to revise the energy conservation standards applicable
to cooking products, as well as a variety of other consumer products.
59 FR 10464 (March 4, 1994). Cooking products include conventional
ranges, cooktops, and ovens and microwave ovens. Section 325(o)(2)
requires that any amended standard be designed to achieve the maximum
improvement in energy efficiency that is technologically feasible and
economically justified. 42 U.S.C. 6295(o)(2). DOE proposed performance
standards for all conventional ovens and cooktops and microwave ovens.
DOE held public hearings and received 59 comments on its proposed
revisions to the cooking products energy conservation standards. After
reviewing the comments, DOE concluded that a number of significant
issues had been raised that required additional analysis. DOE also
decided to separate the rulemaking on cooking products from the
rulemakings for the other consumer products covered by the notice of
proposed rulemaking.
The Department, in response to comments on the proposed rule,
prepared a Draft Report containing DOE's revised analysis examining
five alternative efficiency levels. The Draft Report indicated that
standards based on the described venting and insulating improvements to
non-self-cleaning conventional electric ovens and eliminating standing
pilot lights for non-self-cleaning conventional gas ovens and
conventional gas cooktops could be determined to be technologically
feasible and economically justified and to save significant energy. The
analysis did not support any new or more stringent
[[Page 9976]]
efficiency standard for any other cooking products.
On May 5, 1996, DOE distributed a copy of the Draft Report to
interested parties including all of the commenters on the proposed rule
on cooking products. (EE-RM-S-97-700, No. 1 and No. 2.) The Department
invited comment on the Draft Report by no later than July 1, 1996. A
copy of the cover letter and the Draft Report has been added to the
record on file for inspection in the DOE Freedom of Information Reading
Room.
In commenting on the 1994 proposed rule, AHAM argued that standards
are not warranted for any product, though AHAM proposed that, if a
standard is set, DOE should adopt a prescriptive design standard
prohibiting standing pilot lights on conventional gas ranges in lieu of
all performance standards proposed for cooking products. Significant
energy savings, consistency with current standards, minimal design
change, and no compliance program were cited as benefits. AHAM also
commented that eliminating standing pilot lights could
disproportionately affect low-income and rural consumers. (EE-RM-93-
201, No. 1.)
On April 23, 1996, the American Council for an Energy Efficient
Economy (ACEEE) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) sent a
letter to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM)
stating their support for a prescriptive design standard banning pilot
lights from all conventional gas ranges. (EE-RM-S-97-700, No. 3.)
DOE received three comments on the Draft Report. NRDC recommended
banning all standing pilot lights. In addition to cost effective energy
savings, NRDC emphasized the health and safety benefits which would
result from banning pilot lights. (EE-RM-S-97-700, No. 4.)
Betty Crocker expressed concern over the impact of standards for
consumers. Betty Crocker expressed concern about the maintenance
required for electric coil cooktop reflective pans and commented that
an oven separator would have low consumer acceptance. (EE-RM-S-97-700,
No. 5.) The results of the Draft Report indicated that neither of these
design options were economically justified.
Whirlpool stated that none of the proposed design options are
economically justified, several of the design options lessen consumer
utility, and the energy use by ranges and ovens has declined
significantly over the past two years. In addition, Whirlpool stated
that the cost of compliance testing for any performance standard would
offset the potential energy savings. Whirlpool did not discuss
prescriptive design standards such as the elimination of pilot lights
for gas products. (EE-RM-S-97-700, No. 6.)
Based on the analysis in the Draft Report and the comments
received, the Department is inclined to believe the record is complete
with respect to microwave ovens, electric self-cleaning ovens, and
electric cooktops. The analysis in the Draft Report indicates that
establishing new or revised standards for these types of cooking
products is not economically justified. For example, the analysis for
microwave ovens indicated paybacks exceeding the 10-year product life,
increased life-cycle costs, and a negative net present value. Based on
the consideration of this analysis, the Department does not expect to
establish new or revised standards for these products in this
rulemaking.
In addition, the analysis in the Draft Report and the comments
received prompted further examination of gas cooktops, gas ovens, and
electric non-self-cleaning ovens. DOE prepared an analysis to
supplement the Draft Report that focuses exclusively on the possible
elimination of standing pilot lights for gas products and improving
non-self-cleaning conventional electric ovens by venting and insulating
them like self-cleaning electric ovens. The supplemental analysis uses
the latest available data from AHAM regarding the trends over time of
shares of sales of non-self-cleaning conventional ovens and gas
products with pilot lights. It also uses the latest utility price
forecasts from the Annual Energy Outlook of the Energy Information
Administration, AEO 97, and the Gas Research Institute, GRI 97. A copy
of the supplemental analysis has been added to the record on file for
inspection in the DOE Freedom of Information Reading Room, and DOE is
sending a copy to all commenters on the proposed rule for cooking
products. (EE-RM-S-97-700, No. 7.)
The Department's supplemental analysis indicates that extending the
statutory prescriptive design standard banning standing pilot lights to
cover all conventional gas ranges would be technically feasible and
economically justified and would result in significant energy savings.
The current statutory standard bans pilot lights for gas kitchen ranges
and ovens equipped with an electric cord. Some consumers would need to
add an electrical outlet to accommodate electrical service to a
conventional gas range. While it is unknown what percent of homes do
not have electrical outlets available, based on the limited data
available, the Department believes that this percentage would be small.
In those homes where an electrical outlet is available, the estimated
first-cost increase to consumers for conventional gas ranges is $37,
with life-cycle cost savings of $91-$104 and paybacks of 2.9-3.2 years.
In those homes where an outlet needs to be added, the additional $90
cost of installing a new outlet 1 almost negates the
savings. In homes where an electric outlet is not available, the total
cost increase of $127, for conventional gas ranges, would result in
life-cycle cost savings of $1-$14 with paybacks of 10-11 years.
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\1\ The $90 estimate for adding an electrical outlet comes from
a GRI report submitted by AHAM as a comment. It was derived from an
informal survey of electricians to install an outlet accessible to a
gas water heater and is comprised of $50 parts and labor and $40 for
a service call.
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The impacts are more substantial for separate conventional gas
cooktops and ovens. For separate conventional gas cooktops, the cost
increase is $116, resulting in a life-cycle cost increase of $41-48 and
paybacks of 17-19 years. For separate conventional gas ovens, the cost
increase of $113 results in a life-cycle cost increase of $68-$75 and
paybacks of 27-32 years. Thus, the Department believes extending the
ban to these separate products is not economically justified. Based on
AHAM shipment data, the Department estimates the percent of separate
conventional gas cooktops and separate conventional gas ovens with
standing pilot lights to be approximately 3 and 0 percent,
respectively, by the year 2000. Therefore, a standard extending the
prohibition of standing pilot lights to include separate gas cooktops
and ovens in addition to ranges results in very little incremental
energy savings. Permitting separate conventional gas cooktops and ovens
to use pilot lights could also accommodate special circumstances where
electrical service is not practically available. Based on AHAM's
comments regarding the elimination of pilot lights and the fact that no
testing program would be required to implement such a prescriptive
design standard, the Department believes that there would not be any
significant adverse impacts on manufacturers. Given the analysis and
public comments to date, the Department expects to extend the
prescriptive design standard prohibiting standing pilot lights to all
conventional gas ranges but not to include the extension to separate
conventional gas cooktops and ovens without an electrical cord.
The Department's supplemental analysis indicates that establishing
[[Page 9977]]
standards for electric non-self-cleaning ovens could be technically
feasible and could save significant energy. However, because ovens are
not tested currently and therefore performance data on specific ovens
does not exist, it is unknown whether all non-self-cleaning electric
ovens, if insulated and vented as their self-cleaning counterparts,
would meet a specific performance standard. Consequently, there is a
risk that in order to bring some electric non-self-cleaning ovens into
compliance with a performance standard, manufacturers would need to use
additional design options. The analysis found no other design options
for either gas or electric ovens to be cost effective. Thus, the
Department does not expect to establish performance standards for any
cooking products including non-self-cleaning electric ovens.
The Department is changing the name for this rulemaking from
``kitchen ranges and ovens'' to ``cooking products.'' This change is
made because the term ``kitchen ranges and ovens'' does not accurately
describe the products considered which include conventional ranges,
cooktops and ovens and microwave ovens. To be consistent with this
change, the Department expects to add a regulatory definition of
``cooking products'' that is the same as the existing definition of
``kitchen ranges and ovens.''
The Department solicits public comment on the supplemental analysis
and its implications for this rulemaking, specifically with regard to
the extension of the prohibition on standing pilot lights.
Issued in Washington, DC, on January 26, 1998.
Dan W. Reicher,
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 98-5084 Filed 2-26-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P