[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 140 (Thursday, July 22, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 42611-42612]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-17774]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 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. 75, No. 140 / Thursday, July 22, 2010 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 42611]]



DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 430

[Docket No. EERE-2010-BT-TP-0023]
RIN 1904-AC26


Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Test Procedure 
for Microwave Ovens

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) determined that the 
current active mode provisions in its test procedure for microwave 
ovens do not produce accurate and repeatable test results, and is also 
unaware of any test procedures that have been developed that address 
the concerns with the DOE microwave oven cooking efficiency test 
procedure. Elsewhere in today's Federal Register, DOE published a final 
rule to repeal the active mode test procedures for microwave ovens 
established pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA). 
DOE is convening this public meeting to discuss and receive comments on 
several issues related to active mode test procedures for microwave 
ovens to consider in developing a new active mode microwave oven test 
procedure.

DATES: DOE will hold a public meeting on Thursday, September 16, 2010, 
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., in Washington, DC. DOE must receive requests to 
speak at the public meeting before 4 p.m., Thursday, September 2, 2010. 
DOE must receive a signed original and an electronic copy of statements 
to be given at the public meeting before 4 p.m., Thursday, September 9, 
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. To attend the public meeting, please notify 
Ms. Brenda Edwards at (202) 586-2945. Please note that foreign 
nationals visiting DOE Headquarters are subject to advance security 
screening procedures. Any foreign national wishing to participate in 
the meeting should advise DOE as soon as possible by contacting Ms. 
Edwards to initiate the necessary procedures.
    Any comments submitted must identify the notice of public meeting 
(NOPM) on the Test Procedure for Microwave Ovens, and provide the 
docket number EERE-2010-BT-TP-0023 and/or regulatory information number 
(RIN) 1904-AC26, Comments may be submitted using any of the following 
methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments.
    2. E-mail: [email protected]. Include docket number EERE-
2010-BT-TP-0023 and/or RIN 1904-AC26 in the subject line of the 
message.
    3. Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, Building 
Technologies Program, Mailstop EE-2J, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20585-0121. Please submit one signed original paper 
copy.
    4. Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th Floor, 950 L'Enfant Plaza, 
SW., Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: (202) 586-2945. Please submit one 
signed original paper copy.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, visit the U.S. Department of Energy, Resource Room 
of the Building Technologies Program, 6th Floor, 950 L'Enfant Plaza, 
SW., Washington, DC 20024, (202) 586-2945, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Please call Ms. Brenda 
Edwards at the above telephone number for additional information about 
visiting the Resource Room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Wes Anderson, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies 
Program, EE-2J, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-
0121. Tel.: (202) 586-7335. E-mail: [email protected].
    Ms. Elizabeth Kohl, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the 
General Counsel, GC-71, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20585-0121. Tel.: (202) 586-7796. E-mail: [email protected].
    For information on how to submit or review public comments and on 
how to participate in the public meeting, contact Ms. Brenda Edwards, 
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 
Energy, Building Technologies Program, EE-2J, 1000 Independence Avenue, 
SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-2945. E-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title III of the Energy Policy and 
Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6291 et seq.; EPCA or the Act) sets forth a 
variety of provisions designed to improve energy efficiency. Part A of 
Title III (42 U.S.C. 6291-6309) establishes the ``Energy Conservation 
Program for Consumer Products Other Than Automobiles'' for consumer 
products, including microwave ovens. (42 U.S.C. 6291(1)-(2) and 
6292(a)(10)) Under the Act, this program consists essentially of three 
parts: testing, labeling, and establishing Federal energy conservation 
standards.
    Manufacturers of covered products must use DOE test procedures to 
certify that their products comply with energy conservation standards 
adopted under EPCA and to represent the efficiency of their products. 
(42 U.S.C. 6295(s); 42 U.S.C. 6293(c)) DOE must also use DOE test 
procedures in any action to determine whether covered products comply 
with EPCA standards. (42 U.SC. 6295(s)) Criteria and procedures for 
DOE's adoption and amendment of such test procedures, as set forth in 
EPCA, require that test procedures be reasonably designed to produce 
test results which measure energy efficiency, energy use, or estimated 
annual operating cost of a covered product during a representative 
average use cycle or period of use. Test procedures must also not be 
unduly burdensome to conduct. (42 U.S.C. 6293(b)(3))
    DOE's test procedure for microwave ovens was established as part of 
an October 3, 1997, final rule that also revised the test procedures 
for other cooking products to measure their efficiency and energy use 
more

[[Page 42612]]

accurately. 62 FR 51976.\1\ The microwave oven test procedure 
incorporates portions of the International Electrotechnical Commission 
(IEC) Standard 705-1998 and Amendment 2-1993, ``Methods for Measuring 
the Performance of Microwave Ovens for Households and Similar 
Purposes,'' (IEC Standard 705) \2\ and measures microwave oven cooking 
efficiency and energy factor (EF). Id. However, IEC Standard 705 has 
been declared obsolete by IEC, and the current IEC test procedure is 
IEC Standard 60705-2006, ``Household microwave ovens--Methods of 
measuring performance'' (IEC Standard 60705).
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    \1\ DOE's active mode test procedure was formerly codified at 
appendix I to subpart B of Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR).
    \2\ IEC standards are available online at: http://www.iec.ch.
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    As part of the appliance standards analysis leading to a final rule 
published on April 8, 2009 (74 FR 16040), DOE tested 32 microwave 
ovens, and the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) 
tested 21 additional units, for a total of 53 microwave ovens, 
according to the DOE microwave oven test procedure, using provisions 
from both IEC Standard 705 and IEC Standard 60705.\3\ DOE observed 
significant variability in the cooking efficiency measurements from 
both methods, and was unable to ascertain why similarly designed, 
equipped, and constructed microwave ovens showed varying 
efficiencies.\4\
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    \3\ Both DOE's and AHAM's microwave oven samples contained units 
with manufacturer-rated output powers ranging from 700 to 1,300 W.
    \4\ For more details of the cooking efficiency testing conducted 
as part of the appliance standards rulemaking, see the 2009 
Technical Support Document for Residential Dishwashers, 
Dehumidifiers, and Cooking Products and Commercial Clothes Washers. 
Available online at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/residential/cooking_products.html.
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    Because DOE is not aware of other existing test procedures that 
produce representative and repeatable cooking efficiency measurements 
for microwave ovens, and because of the issues with using the existing 
DOE microwave oven test procedure, DOE has published a final rule 
elsewhere in today's Federal Register to repeal the existing active 
mode provisions in the microwave oven test procedure.
    The public meeting announced in today's notice is the first step in 
considering the development of a new active mode test procedure for 
microwave ovens. DOE will work with industry and interested parties to 
discuss the various issues associated with the current microwave oven 
test procedure, and to determine if any test methods are currently 
available to address these concerns.
    DOE will make a presentation summarizing the current status and 
will initiate a discussion regarding any test procedures that could 
help address each issue. DOE encourages those who wish to participate 
in the meeting to make presentations that address these issues. If you 
would like to make a presentation during the meeting, please inform Ms. 
Edwards at least two weeks before the date of the meeting and provide 
her with a copy of your written material at least one week before the 
date of the meeting.
    The meeting will be conducted in an informal, conference style. A 
court reporter will be present to record the minutes of the meeting. 
There shall be no discussion of proprietary information, costs or 
prices, market shares, or other commercial matters regulated by 
antitrust law. After the meeting and a period for written statements, 
DOE will begin collecting data and developing a notice of proposed 
rulemaking for the microwave oven test procedure.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on July 9, 2010.
Cathy Zoi,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2010-17774 Filed 7-21-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P