[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 17 (Tuesday, January 27, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3907-3908]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-1646]


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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 2004 pursuant to the Energy 
Policy and Conservation Act. The five sources are electricity, natural 
gas, No. 2 heating oil, propane, and kerosene.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The representative average unit costs of energy 
contained in this notice will become effective February 26, 2004 and 
will remain in effect until further notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Samuel Johnson, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Forrestal 
Building, Mail Station EE-2J, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20585-0121, (202) 586-0854, [email protected].
    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) 586-7432, 
[email protected].
    Thomas DePriest, 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) 586-2946, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 323 of the Energy Policy and 
Conservation Act (Act) (42 U.S.C. 6291-6309) 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. (42 U.S.C. 6293(b)(4)) These 
test procedures are found in 10 CFR part 430, subpart B.
    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. (42 U.S.C. 6293(b)) The section further 
requires that DOE provide information to manufacturers regarding the 
representative average unit costs of energy. (42 U.S.C. 6293(b)(4)) 
This cost information should be used by manufacturers to meet their 
obligations under section 323 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 members of the public can also find information covering the 
FTC labeling requirements at http://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 April 9, 2003 (68 FR 
17361). Effective February 26, 2004, the cost figures published on 
April 9, 2003, will be superseded by the cost figures set forth in this 
notice.
    The Department's Energy Information Administration (EIA) developed 
the representative average unit after-tax costs set forth in this 
notice. The representative average unit after-tax costs for 
electricity, natural gas, No. 2 heating oil, and propane are based on 
simulations used to produce the September 2003, EIA Short-Term Energy 
Outlook, and reflect the mid-price scenario. The representative average 
unit after-tax costs for kerosene are derived from EIA's prices 
relative to that of heating oil, based on 1998-2002 averages for these 
two fuels. The source for these price data is the August 2003, Monthly 
Energy Review DOE/EIA-0035(2003/08). 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. These publications 
also can be found on the EIA Web site at http://www.eia.doe.gov.
    The 2004 representative average unit costs of energy under section 
323(b)(4) of the Act are set forth in Table 1, and will become 
effective February 26, 2004. They will remain in effect until further 
notice.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on January 22, 2004.
David K. Garman,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

     Table 1.--Representative Average Unit Costs of Energy for Five
                    Residential Energy Sources (2004)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 Per
        Type of energy         million    In commonly     As required by
                               Btu \1\     used terms     test procedure
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electricity..................   $25.20  8.60[cent]/kWh   $.0860/kWh
                                         \2,3\.
Natural Gas..................     9.10  91.0[cent]/      .00000910/Btu
                                         therm \4\ or
                                         $9.35/MCF
                                         \5,6\
No. 2 Heating Oil............     9.23  $1.28/gallon     .00000923/Btu
                                         \7\.
Propane......................    13.46  $1.23/gallon     .00001346/Btu
                                         \8\.

[[Page 3908]]

 
Kerosene.....................    11.41  $1.54/gallon     .00001141/Btu
                                         \9\.
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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 1,028 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. 04-1646 Filed 1-26-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P