[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 42 (Monday, March 3, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11406-11407]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-3992]


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DEPARTMENT OF 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) is forecasting 
the representative average unit costs of five residential energy 
sources for the year 2008 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 April 2, 2008 and will 
remain in effect until further notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
Mohammed Khan, 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) 586-7892, 
[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].

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

[[Page 11407]]

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.
    DOE last published representative average unit costs of residential 
energy for use in the Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products 
Other Than Automobiles on March 21, 2007 (72 FR 13268). Effective April 
2, 2008, the cost figures published on March 21, 2007, will be 
superseded by the cost figures set forth in this notice.
    DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) has developed the 
2008 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, 2008, EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook. (EIA 
releases the Outlook monthly.) The representative average unit after-
tax cost for kerosene is derived from its price relative to that of 
heating oil, based on the 2002-2006 averages for these two fuels. The 
source for these price data is the December 2007 Monthly Energy Review 
DOE/EIA-0035(2007/12). The Short-Term Energy Outlook and the Monthly 
Energy Review are available on the EIA Web site at http://www.eia.doe.gov. For more information on the two sources, contact the 
National Energy Information Center, Forrestal Building, EI-30, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-8800, e-mail: 
[email protected].
    The 2008 representative average unit costs under section 323(b)(4) 
of the Act are set forth in Table 1, and will become effective April 2, 
2008. They will remain in effect until further notice.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 19, 2008.
Alexander A. Karsner,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

        Table 1.--Representative Average Unit Costs of Energy for Five Residential Energy Sources (2008)
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                                          Per million
            Type of energy                  Btu\1\        In commonly used terms   As required by test procedure
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Electricity...........................          $31.65  10.80/kWh\2, 3\..........  $.1080/kWh.
Natural Gas...........................           13.28  $1.328/therm\4\ or $13.65/ .00001328/Btu.
                                                         MCF\5, 6\.
No. 2 Heating Oil.....................           23.00  $3.19/gallon\7\..........  .00002300/Btu.
Propane...............................           26.50  $2.42/gallon\8\..........  .00002650/Btu.
Kerosene..............................           27.41  $3.70/gallon\9\..........  .00002741/Btu.
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Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook (January 2008) and Monthly Energy
  Review (December 2007)
\1\ Btu stands for British thermal units.
\2\ kWh stands for kilowatt hour.
\3\ 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. E8-3992 Filed 2-29-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P