[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 79 (Wednesday, April 24, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20104-20105]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-10147]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy


Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products Representative 
Average Unit Costs of Energy

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of 
Energy.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In this notice, the Department of Energy (DOE or Department) 
is forecasting the representative average unit costs of five 
residential energy sources for the year 2002. The five sources are 
electricity, natural gas, No. 2 heating oil, propane, and kerosene. The 
representative unit costs of these energy sources are used in the 
Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products, established by Part 
B of Title III of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The representative average unit costs of energy 
contained in this notice will become effective May 24, 2002 and will 
remain in effect until further notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Card, U.S. Department of Energy, 
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Forrestal Building, 
Mail Station EE-41, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20585-0121, (202) 586-9228.
    Francine Pinto, Esq., U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General 
Counsel, Forrestal Building, Mail Station GC-72, 1000 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0103, (202) 586-9507.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 323 of the EPCA (Act) \1\ requires 
that DOE prescribe test procedures for the determination of the 
estimated annual operating costs or other measures of energy 
consumption for certain consumer products specified in the Act. These 
test procedures are found in 10 CFR part 430, subpart B.
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    \1\ References to the ``Act'' refer to the Energy Policy and 
Conservation Act, as amended. 42 U.S.C. 6291-6309.
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    Section 323(b) of the Act requires that the estimated annual 
operating costs of a covered product be calculated from measurements of 
energy use in a representative average use cycle or period of use and 
from representative average unit costs of the energy needed to operate 
such product during such cycle. The section further requires that DOE 
provide information to manufacturers regarding the representative 
average unit costs of energy. This cost information should be used by 
manufacturers to meet the obligations under section 323(c) of the Act. 
Most notably, these costs are used to comply with Federal Trade 
Commission (FTC) requirements for labeling. Manufacturers are required 
to use the revised DOE representative average unit costs when the FTC 
publishes new ranges of comparability for specific covered products, 16 
CFR Part 305. Interested parties can also find information covering the 
FTC labeling requirements at www.ftc.gov/appliances.
    The Department last published representative average unit costs of 
residential energy for use in the Energy Conservation Program for 
Consumer Products Other Than Automobiles on March 8, 2001 (66 FR 
13917). Effective May 24, 2002, the cost figures published on March 8, 
2001, will be superseded by the cost figures set forth in this notice.
    The Department's Energy Information Administration (EIA) has 
developed the 2002 representative average unit after-tax costs of 
electricity, natural gas, No. 2 heating oil, propane, and kerosene 
prices found in this notice. The cost projections for heating oil, 
electricity, and natural gas are found in the December, 2001, EIA 
Short-Term Energy Outlook, DOE/EIA-0226 (01/12), and reflect the mid-
price scenario. Projections for residential propane and kerosene prices 
are derived from their relative prices to that of heating oil, based on 
1996-2000 averages for these three fuels. The source for these price 
data is the September 2001, Monthly Energy Review DOE/EIA-0035(01/09). 
The Short-Term Energy Outlook and the Monthly Energy Review are 
available at the National Energy Information Center, Forrestal 
Building, Room 1F-048, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20585, (202) 586-8800.
    We provide the 2002 representative average unit costs in Table 1 
pursuant to section 323(b)(4) of the Act, and they will become 
effective May 24, 2002. They will remain in effect until further 
notice.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on April 12, 2002.
David K. Garman,
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

[[Page 20105]]



        Table 1.--Representative Average Unit Costs of Energy for Five Residential Energy Sources (2002)
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                                            Per million                                   As required by test
             Type of energy                   Btu \1\       In commonly used terms             procedure
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Electricity.............................          $24.27  8.28 cents/kWh \2 3\......  $ .0828/kWh
Natural gas.............................            6.56  65.6 cents/therm \4\ or...  .00000656/Btu
                                                          $6.74/MCF \5 6\...........
No. 2 Heating Oil.......................            7.79  $1.08/gallon \7\..........  .00000779/Btu
Propane.................................            9.53  $0.87/gallon \8\..........  .00000953/Btu
Kerosene................................            9.11  $1.23/gallon \9\..........  .00000911/Btu
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\1\ Btu stands for British thermal units.
\2\ kWh stands for kilowatt hour.
\3\ 1 kWh = 3,412 Btu.
\4\ 1 therm = 100,000 Btu. Natural gas prices include taxes.
\5\ MCF stands for 1,000 cubic feet.
\6\ For the purposes of this table, one cubic foot of natural gas has an energy equivalence of 1,027 Btu.
\7\ For the purposes of this table, one gallon of No. 2 heating oil has an energy equivalence of 138,690 Btu.
\8\ For the purposes of this table, one gallon of liquid propane has an energy equivalence of 91,333 Btu.
\9\ For the purposes of this table, one gallon of kerosene has an energy equivalence of 135,000 Btu.

[FR Doc. 02-10147 Filed 4-23-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P