[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 52 (Thursday, March 18, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13123-13125]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-5936]


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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 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is 
forecasting the representative average unit costs of five residential 
energy sources for the year 2010 pursuant to the Energy Policy and 
Conservation Act. The five sources are electricity, natural gas, No. 2 
heating oil, propane, and kerosene.

DATES: The representative average unit costs of energy contained in 
this notice will become effective April 19, 2010 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.,

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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) requires that DOE prescribe test procedures for 
the measurement 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)(3)) These test procedures are found in 
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 430, subpart B.
    Section 323(b)(3) 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)(3)) 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.
    DOE last published representative average unit costs of residential 
energy in a Federal Register notice entitled, ``Energy Conservation 
Program for Consumer Products: Representative Average Unit Costs of 
Energy'', dated June 3, 2009, 74 FR 26675. Effective April 19, 2010, 
the cost figures published on June 3, 2009, will be superseded by the 
cost figures set forth in this notice.
    DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) has developed the 
2010 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, 2010, 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 2004-2008 averages for these two fuels. The 
source for these price data is the December 2009, Monthly Energy Review 
DOE/EIA-0035(2010/01). 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 2010 representative average unit costs under section 323(b)(4) 
of the Act are set forth in Table 1, and will become effective April 
19, 2010. They will remain in effect until further notice.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on March 10, 2010.
Cathy Zoi,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

            Table 1--Representative Average Unit Costs of Energy for Five Residential Energy Sources
                                                     [2010]
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                                         Per million Btu                                 As required by test
            Type of energy                     \1\          In commonly used terms            procedure
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Electricity...........................            $33.70  11.50[cent]/kWh 2 3......  $.1150/kWh
Natural Gas...........................             11.94  $1.194/therm \4\ or         .00001194/Btu
                                                           $12.29/MCF 5 6.
No. 2 Heating Oil.....................             20.76  $2.88/gallon \7\.........   .00002076/Btu
Propane...............................             24.31  $2.22/gallon \8\.........   .00002431/Btu
Kerosene..............................             23.03  $3.11/gallon \9\.........   .00002303/Btu
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Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook (January 2010) and Monthly Energy
  Review (December 2009)
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 1,029 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. 2010-5936 Filed 3-17-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P