[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 38 (Monday, February 27, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9806-9807]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-2741]



[[Page 9806]]

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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 2006 pursuant to the Energy 
Policy and Conservation Act. The five sources are electricity, natural 
gas, No. 2 heating oil, propane, and kerosene.

DATES: Effective Date: The representative average unit costs of energy 
contained in this notice will become effective March 29, 2006 and will 
remain in effect until further notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bryan Berringer, 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) 586-0371, 
[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) These test 
procedures are found in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(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(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 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 March 11, 2005. (70 FR 
12209) Effective March 29, 2006, the cost figures published on March 
11, 2005, will be superseded by the cost figures set forth in this 
notice.
    The Department's Energy Information Administration (EIA) has 
developed the 2006 representative average unit after-tax costs found 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 January, 2006, EIA Short-Term Energy 
Outlook, and reflect the mid-price scenario. The representative average 
unit after-tax costs for kerosene are derived from their prices 
relative to that of heating oil, based on 2000-2004 averages for these 
two fuels. The source for these price data is the December 2005, 
Monthly Energy Review DOE/EIA-0035(2005/12). 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 can also be found on the EIA Web site at http://www.eia.doe.gov.
    The 2006 representative average unit costs under section 323(b)(4) 
of the Act are set forth in Table 1, and will become effective March 
29, 2006. They will remain in effect until further notice.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 17, 2006.
Douglas L. Faulkner,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

            Table 1.--Representative Average Unit Costs of Energy for Five Residential Energy Sources
                                                     [2006]
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                                           Per million                                   As required by test
              Type of energy                 Btu \1\       In commonly used terms       procedure (in dollars)
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Electricity..............................       $28.75  9.81[cent]/kWh \2,3\.......  .0981/kWh.
Natural Gas..............................        14.15  $1.415/therm \4\ or $14.57/  .00001415/Btu
                                                         MCF \5,6\.
No. 2 Heating Oil........................        16.37  $2.27/gallon \7\...........  .00001637/Btu.
Propane..................................        21.35  $1.95/gallon \8\...........  .00002135/Btu.
Kerosene.................................        20.30  $2.74/gallon \9\...........  .00002030/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 1,031 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.


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 [FR Doc. E6-2741 Filed 2-24-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P