[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 219 (Monday, November 16, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 58915-58918]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-27396]


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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 219 / Monday, November 16, 2009 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 58915]]



DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 430

[Docket No. EERE-2008-BT-STD-0012]
RIN 1904-AB79


Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Refrigerators, 
Refrigerator-Freezers, and Freezers: Public Meeting and Availability of 
the Preliminary Technical Support Document

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and availability of preliminary 
technical support document.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will hold an informal 
public meeting to discuss and receive comments on the product classes 
that DOE plans to analyze for purposes of amending energy conservation 
standards for residential refrigeration products; the analytical 
framework, models, and tools that DOE is using to evaluate standards 
for these products; the results of preliminary analyses performed by 
DOE for these products; and potential energy conservation standard 
levels derived from these analyses that DOE could consider for these 
products. DOE also encourages written comments on these subjects. To 
inform stakeholders and facilitate this process, DOE has prepared an 
agenda, a preliminary Technical Support Document (TSD), and briefing 
materials, which are available at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/residential/refrigerators_freezers.html.

DATES: The Department will hold a public meeting on December 10, 2009, 
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Washington, DC. Any person requesting to speak 
at the public meeting should submit such request, along with an 
electronic copy of the statement to be given at the public meeting, 
before 4 p.m., November 25, 2009. Written comments are welcome, 
especially following the public meeting, and should be submitted by no 
later than January 15, 2010.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the U.S. Department of 
Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 8E-089, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20585-0121. Please note that foreign nationals 
participating in the public meeting are subject to advance security 
screening procedures. If a foreign national wishes to participate in 
the public meeting, please inform DOE of this fact as soon as possible 
by contacting Ms. Brenda Edwards at (202) 586-2945 so that the 
necessary procedures can be completed.
    Interested persons may submit comments, identified by docket number 
EERE-2008-BT-STD-0012, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include 
EERE-2008-BT-STD-0012 in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, 
Building Technologies Program, Mailstop EE-2J, Public Meeting for 
Refrigerators, Refrigerator-Freezers, and Freezers, EERE-2008-BT-STD-
0012, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Phone: 
(202) 586-2945. Please submit one signed paper original.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department 
of Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th Floor, 950 L'Enfant 
Plaza, SW., Washington, DC 20024. Phone: (202) 586-2945. Please submit 
one signed paper original.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number or RIN for this rulemaking.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents, a 
copy of the transcript of the public meeting, or comments received, go 
to the U.S. Department of Energy, 6th Floor, 950 L'Enfant Plaza, SW., 
Washington, DC 20024, (202) 586-2945, between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Please call Ms. Brenda 
Edwards at (202) 586-2945 for additional information regarding visiting 
the Resource Room. Please note that the Department's Freedom of 
Information Reading Room (formerly Room 1E-190 at the Forrestal 
Building) no longer houses rulemaking materials.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lucas Adin, U.S. Department of Energy, 
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building 
Technologies, EE-2J, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20585-0121. Phone: (202) 287-1317. e-mail: [email protected] or 
Michael Kido, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General Counsel, GC-
72, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Phone: 
(202) 586-9507. e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Statutory Authority

    Part A of Title III of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 
1975 (EPCA), 42 U.S.C. 6291 et seq., established an energy conservation 
program for major household appliances, which includes residential 
refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers.\1\ This program 
authorizes the Department to establish energy efficiency standards for 
certain consumer products. Any new or amended standard for these 
products must (1) achieve the maximum improvement in energy efficiency 
that is technologically feasible and economically justified, and (2) 
result in significant conservation of energy. (42 U.S.C. 6295(o)(2)(A)) 
To determine whether a proposed standard is economically justified, DOE 
must, after receiving comments on the proposed standard, determine 
whether the benefits of the standard exceed its burdens to the greatest 
extent practicable, weighing the following seven factors:
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    \1\ Part A of Title III of EPCA, which focuses on consumer 
products, and the corresponding Part A-1, which governs certain 
commercial and industrial equipment, were originally titled Parts B 
and C, respectively. For editorial reasons, Parts B and C were 
redesignated as Parts A and A-1 in the United States Code.
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    1. The economic impact of the standard on manufacturers and 
consumers of products subject to the standard;
    2. The savings in operating costs throughout the estimated average 
life of the covered products in the type (or class) compared to any 
increase in the price, initial charges, or maintenance

[[Page 58916]]

expenses for the covered products which are likely to result from the 
imposition of the standard;
    3. The total projected amount of energy savings likely to result 
directly from the imposition of the standard;
    4. Any lessening of the utility or the performance of the covered 
products likely to result from the imposition of the standard;
    5. The impact of any lessening of competition, as determined in 
writing by the Attorney General, that is likely to result from the 
imposition of the standard;
    6. The need for national energy conservation; and
    7. Other factors the Secretary considers relevant.

(See 42 U.S.C. 6295(o)(2)(B)(i))

    Prior to proposing a standard for public comment, DOE typically 
seeks public input on the analytical framework, models, and tools that 
DOE will use to evaluate standards for the product at issue; the 
results of preliminary analyses performed by DOE for the product; and 
potential energy conservation standard levels derived from these 
analyses that DOE could consider.

B. History of Standards Rulemaking for Refrigerators, Refrigerator-
Freezers, and Freezers

1. Background

    The National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987 (NAECA), 
Pub. L. 100-12 (March 17, 1989), amended EPCA and established energy 
conservation standards for refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and 
freezers. See 42 U.S.C. 6295(b). It also required DOE to decide whether 
these standards should be amended and to conduct two rounds of 
rulemakings.
    On November 17, 1989, DOE published a final rule in the Federal 
Register updating the performance standards. The new standards became 
effective on January 1, 1993. 54 FR 47916. Subsequently, DOE determined 
that new standards for some of the product classes were based on 
incomplete data and incorrect analysis, which prompted the publication 
of a correction notice. See 55 FR 42845 (Oct. 24, 1990). The notice 
amended the new standards for the following three product classes: (1) 
Refrigerators and refrigerator-freezers with manual defrost, (2) 
refrigerator-freezers with automatic defrost with a bottom-mounted 
freezer but without through-the-door (TTD) ice service, and (3) chest 
freezers and all other freezers. Id. In 1997, DOE updated the 
performance standards once again for refrigerators, refrigerator-
freezers, and freezers by publishing a final rule in the Federal 
Register on April 28, 1997. 62 FR 23102. The new standards became 
effective on July 1, 2001. By completing a second standards rulemaking, 
DOE had fulfilled its legislative requirement to conduct two cycles of 
standards rulemakings.
    A coalition including utility companies, consumer and low-income 
advocacy groups, environmental and energy efficiency organizations, and 
the California Energy Commission submitted a petition in 2004 
requesting that DOE conduct another rulemaking to amend the standards 
for residential refrigerator-freezers. (June 1, 2004 Petition, Last 
accessed 9/9/09, http://www.standardsasap.org/documents/rfdoe.pdf) In 
April 2005, DOE granted the petition and conducted a limited set of 
analyses to assess the potential energy savings and potential economic 
benefit of new standards. (See, e.g., ``Energy Department Grants 
Petition for New Refrigerator Energy Efficiency Standards'', ACEEE 
press release, April 13, 2005, Last accessed 9/9/09, http://www.aceee.org/press/0504doepetition.htm) DOE issued a report in October 
2005 detailing the analyses, which examined the technological and 
economic feasibility of new standards set at Energy Star levels 
effective in 2005 for the two most popular product classes of 
refrigerators: top-mount refrigerator-freezers without TTD features and 
side-mount refrigerator-freezers with TTD features. Depending on 
assumptions regarding the impact that standards would have on market 
efficiency, DOE estimated that amended standards at the 2005 ENERGY 
STAR levels would yield energy savings of up to 2.4 to 3.4 quadrillion 
British thermal units (Btu), with an associated economic impact to the 
Nation ranging from a burden or cost of $1.2 billion to a benefit or 
savings of $3.3 billion. (Technical Report: Analysis of Amended Energy 
Conservation Standards for Residential Refrigerator-Freezers, U.S. 
Department of Energy, October 2005, Last accessed 9/9/09, http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/pdfs/refrigerator_report_1.pdf).
    In October 2005, DOE published draft data sheets containing energy 
savings potentials for refrigerator-freezers as part of its fiscal year 
2006 schedule-setting process. (2006 Draft Rulemaking Activities Data 
Sheets, Appliance Standards, Building Technologies Program, U.S. 
Department of Energy, October 2005, Last Accessed 9/9/09, http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/pdfs/2006_activities_data_sheets.pdf). The data sheets were based on the 
October 2005 draft technical report analyzing potential new amended 
energy conservation standards for residential refrigerator-freezers 
described above. The technical report and the associated data sheets 
provided input to the setting of priorities for rulemaking activities.

2. Current Rulemaking Process

    The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), Public Law 
110-140 (Dec. 19, 2007), requires DOE to publish a final rule by 
December 31, 2010, to determine whether to amend the standards in 
effect for refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers 
manufactured on or after January 1, 2014. See EISA, Sec. 311(a)(3) 
(codified at 42 U.S.C. 6295(b)(4)). As part of this rulemaking, if a 
positive determination is made, DOE must also include any amended 
standards. To comply with these new requirements, the Department 
published on its website the Energy Conservation Standards Rulemaking 
Framework Document for Residential Refrigerators, Refrigerator-
Freezers, and Freezers (the framework document) to explain the issues, 
analyses, and process that it anticipated using for the development of 
energy efficiency standards for these products. This document is 
available at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/residential/pdfs/refrigerator_freezer_framework.pdf (Last 
accessed 9/9/09). DOE also published a notice announcing the 
availability of the framework document and a public meeting to discuss 
the proposed analytical framework, and inviting written comments 
concerning the development of standards for the residential 
refrigeration products. 73 FR 54089 (September 18, 2008).
    DOE held a public meeting on September 29, 2008 to discuss the 
analyses and issues identified in various sections of the framework 
document. At the meeting, DOE described the different analyses it would 
conduct, the methods proposed for conducting them, and the 
relationships among the various analyses. Manufacturers, trade 
associations, environmental advocates, regulators, and other interested 
parties attended the meeting. Comments received since publication of 
the framework document helped identify issues for DOE to address in 
developing a proposed standard and provided information contributing to 
DOE's proposed resolution of these issues.

C. Summary of the Analyses Performed by DOE

    For each of the residential refrigeration products currently under

[[Page 58917]]

consideration, DOE conducted in-depth technical analyses in the 
following areas: (1) Engineering; (2) markups to determine product 
price; (3) energy-use characterization; (4) life-cycle cost (LCC) and 
payback period (PBP) analyses; and (5) national impact analysis (NIA). 
These analyses resulted in a preliminary TSD that presents the 
methodology and results of each of these analyses. The preliminary TSD 
is available at the Web address given in the SUMMARY section of this 
notice. The analyses are described in more detail below.
    DOE also conducted several other supplemental analyses that will be 
expanded upon in the notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR).\2\ These 
analyses include the market and technology assessment, the screening 
analysis, which contributes to the engineering analysis, and the 
shipments analysis, which contributes to the NIA. In addition to these 
analyses, DOE has begun some preliminary work on the manufacturer 
impact analysis (MIA) and identified the methods to be used for the LCC 
subgroup analysis, the environmental assessment, the employment 
analysis, the regulatory impact analysis, and the utility impact 
analysis. DOE will expand on these analyses in the NOPR.
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    \2\ Section 307 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 
2007, Public Law 110-140, amended section 325(p) of EPCA (42 U.S.C. 
6295(p)) to remove a requirement that DOE publish an advance notice 
of proposed rulemaking. Thus, the first regulatory action in this 
proceeding will be publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking.
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1. Engineering Analysis

    The engineering analysis establishes the relationship between the 
cost and efficiency of a product DOE is evaluating for amended energy 
conservation standards. This relationship serves as the basis for cost-
benefit calculations for individual consumers, manufacturers, and the 
Nation. The engineering analysis identifies representative baseline 
products, which is the starting point for analyzing technologies that 
provide energy efficiency improvements. The term ``baseline product'' 
refers to a model or models having features and technologies typically 
found in products currently offered for sale. The baseline model in 
each product class represents the characteristics of products in that 
class and, for products already subject to energy conservation 
standards, is usually a model that just meets the current standard. 
After identifying the baseline models, DOE estimated manufacturer 
selling prices through an analysis of (1) manufacturer costs, and (2) 
markups, which are the multipliers used to determine the manufacturer 
selling prices based on manufacturing cost. Chapter 5 of the 
preliminary TSD discusses the engineering analysis.

2. Markups To Determine Product Prices

    DOE derives consumer prices for products based on manufacturer, 
retailer, distributor, contractor, and builder markups, as well as 
sales taxes. Collectively, these items comprise the markups affecting 
product pricing. In deriving these markups, DOE has determined (1) the 
distribution channels for product sales; (2) the markup associated with 
each party in the distribution channels; and (3) the existence and 
magnitude of differences between markups for baseline products 
(baseline markups) and for more-efficient products (incremental 
markups). DOE calculates both overall baseline and overall incremental 
markups based on the product markups at each step in the distribution 
channel. The overall incremental markup relates the change in the 
manufacturer sales price of higher-efficiency models (the incremental 
cost increase) to the change in the retailer or distributor sales 
price. Chapter 6 of the preliminary TSD discusses the estimation of 
markups.

3. Energy Use Characterization

    The energy use characterization provides estimates of annual energy 
consumption for the residential refrigeration products, which DOE uses 
in the LCC and PBP analyses and the NIA. DOE developed energy 
consumption estimates for all of the product classes analyzed in the 
engineering analysis, as the basis for its energy use estimates. 
Chapter 7 of the preliminary TSD discusses the energy use 
characterization.

4. Life-Cycle Cost and Payback Period Analyses

    The LCC and PBP analyses determine the economic impact of potential 
standards on individual consumers. The LCC is the total consumer 
expense for a product over the life of the product. The LCC analysis 
compares the LCCs of products designed to meet possible energy 
conservation standards with the LCCs of the products likely to be 
installed in the absence of standards. DOE determines LCCs by 
considering (1) total installed cost to the purchaser (which consists 
of manufacturer selling price, sales taxes, distribution chain markups, 
and installation cost); (2) the operating expenses of the products 
(energy use and maintenance); (3) product lifetime; and (4) a discount 
rate that reflects the real consumer cost of capital and puts the LCC 
in present-value terms. The PBP represents the number of years needed 
to recover the increase in purchase price (including installation cost) 
of more efficient products through savings in the operating cost of the 
product. It is the change in total installed cost due to increased 
efficiency divided by the change in annual operating cost from 
increased efficiency. Chapter 8 of the preliminary TSD discusses the 
LCC and PBP analyses.

5. National Impact Analysis

    The NIA estimates the national energy savings (NES) and the net 
present value (NPV) of total consumer costs and savings expected to 
result from new standards at specific efficiency levels. DOE calculated 
NES and NPV for each efficiency level as the difference between a base-
case forecast (without new standards) and the standards case forecast 
(with standards). DOE determined national annual energy consumption by 
multiplying the number of units in use (by vintage) by the average unit 
energy consumption (also by vintage). Cumulative energy savings are the 
sum of the annual NES determined over a specified time period. The 
national NPV is the sum over time of the discounted net savings each 
year, which consists of the difference between total operating cost 
savings and increases in total installed costs. Critical inputs to this 
analysis include shipments projections, retirement rates (based on 
estimated product lifetimes), and estimates of changes in shipments and 
retirement rates in response to changes in product costs due to 
standards. Chapter 10 of the preliminary TSD discusses the NIA.
    DOE consulted with stakeholders and other interested persons as 
part of its process for conducting all of the analyses and invites 
further input from the public on these topics. The preliminary 
analytical results are subject to revision following review and input 
from the public. The final rule will contain the final analysis 
results.
    The Department encourages those who wish to participate in the 
public meeting to obtain the preliminary TSD and to be prepared to 
discuss its contents. A copy of the preliminary TSD is available at the 
Web address given in the SUMMARY section of this notice. However, 
public meeting participants need not limit their comments to the topics 
identified in the preliminary TSD. The Department is also interested in 
receiving views concerning other relevant issues that participants 
believe would affect energy conservation standards for these products 
or that DOE should address in the NOPR.

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    Furthermore, the Department welcomes all interested parties, 
whether or not they participate in the public meeting, to submit in 
writing by January 15, 2010, comments and information on matters 
addressed in the preliminary TSD and on other matters relevant to 
consideration of standards for refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, 
and freezers.
    The public meeting will be conducted in an informal, conference 
style. A court reporter will be present to record the minutes of the 
meeting. Discussion of proprietary information, costs or prices, market 
shares, or other commercial matters regulated by United States 
antitrust laws is prohibited.
    After the public meeting and the expiration of the period for 
submitting written statements, the Department will consider all timely 
comments and additional information that is obtained from interested 
parties or through further analyses, and it will prepare an NOPR. The 
NOPR will include proposed energy conservation standards for the 
products covered by this rulemaking, and members of the public will be 
given an opportunity to submit written and oral comments on the 
proposed standards.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on November 9, 2009.
Cathy Zoi,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. E9-27396 Filed 11-13-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P