[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 107 (Monday, June 4, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 32916-32918]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-13401]


 ========================================================================
 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. 77, No. 107 / Monday, June 4, 2012 / Proposed 
Rules  

[[Page 32916]]



DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 431

[Docket No. EERE-2010-BT-STD-0048]
RIN 1904-AC04


Energy Conservation Standards for Distribution Transformers: 
Public Meeting and Availability of Supplementary Analysis

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and availability of documentation.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or Department) will hold a 
public meeting to discuss additional information that it is making 
available about the liquid-immersed distribution transformer equipment 
classes that were analyzed in a previously issued notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NOPR). Specifically, DOE is supplementing the NOPR analysis 
to include additional trial standard levels (TSLs) that embody separate 
equipment classes for several different types of liquid-immersed 
distribution transformers. In addition to this notice and the public 
meeting, DOE has several documents and analytical tools available to 
interested parties on its Web site. The documents describe the 
technical information in more detail and the software modeling tools 
that can be used by interested parties to evaluate how this information 
affects the results of certain aspects of DOE's key economic analyses. 
Through this notice and public meeting, DOE invites comment, data, and 
information about the considered equipment classes and their effects on 
DOE's analysis, results, and (TSLs).

DATES: DOE will hold a public meeting on June 20, 2012, from 9 a.m. to 
1 p.m. in Washington, DC. Additionally, DOE plans to allow for 
participation in the public meeting via webinar. DOE will accept 
comments, data, and other information regarding this information before 
and after the public meeting, but not later than June 29, 2012. See 
section II, ``Public Participation,'' of this notice of public meeting 
(NOPM) for details.

ADDRESSES: To inform interested parties and facilitate this process, 
DOE is preparing an agenda, a summary of analysis performed, and 
briefing materials, which will be available on the program Web site at: 
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/commercial/distribution_transformers.html.
    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 any foreign national who 
wishes to participate in the public meeting is subject to advance 
security screening procedures that require early notice prior to 
attending the public meeting. Any foreign national who wishes to 
participate in the public meeting, must so inform DOE 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-2010-BT-STD-0048 or regulation identifier number (RIN) 1904-AC04, 
by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected]. 
Include the docket number EERE-2010-BT-STD-0048 and/or RIN 1904-AC04 in 
the subject line of the message.
     Postal Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Building Technologies Program, Mailstop EE-2J, Public Meeting 
for Distribution Transformers, EERE-2010-BT-STD-0048, 1000 Independence 
Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone (202) 586-2945. If 
possible, please submit all items on a compact disk (CD). It is not 
necessary to include printed copies.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department 
of Energy, Building Technologies Program, 950 L'Enfant Plaza SW., Suite 
600, Washington, DC 20024. Telephone (202) 586-2945. If possible, 
please submit all items on CD. It is not necessary to include printed 
copies.
    Docket: The docket is available for review at www.regulations.gov 
including Federal Register notices, framework documents, public meeting 
attendee lists and transcripts, comments, and other supporting 
documents and materials. All documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. However, not all documents listed in the 
index may be publicly available, such as information that is exempt 
from public disclosure. The www.regulations.gov Web site will contain 
instructions on how to access all documents in the docket, including 
public comments.
    The rulemaking Web site can be found at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/commercial/distribution_transformers.html. This Web site contains a link to the 
docket for this notice on www.regulations.gov.
    For detailed instructions on submitting comments and additional 
information on the rulemaking process, see section II, ``Public 
Participation,'' of this document.
    For further information on how to submit a comment, review other 
public comments in the docket, or participate in the public meeting, 
contact Ms. Brenda Edwards at (202) 586-2945 or by email: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Direct requests for additional 
information to Mr. James Raba, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of 
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies, EE-2J, 
1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121, (202) 586-
8654. Email: [email protected].
    In the Office of General Counsel, contact Mr. Alan Strasser, U.S. 
Department of Energy, Office of the General Counsel, GC-71, 1000 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121, (202) 586-8269, 
[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. Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 32917]]

I. Introduction

    On February 10, 2012, DOE published a NOPR that proposed revised 
energy conservation standards for distribution transformers (77 FR 
7282). On February 23, 2012, DOE held a public meeting to present the 
amended standards proposed in the NOPR and receive feedback on them and 
the underlying analyses.
    In the NOPR and at the public meeting DOE asked for comment on 
whether certain types of liquid-immersed distribution transformers that 
are currently part of the same equipment classes warranted separation 
into distinct equipment classes. For example, pole- and pad-mounted 
distribution transformers are in the same equipment class and DOE asked 
for comment on whether they would be more appropriately evaluated as 
separate equipment classes.
    A number of interested parties submitted written comments 
supporting an approach that separated pole- and pad-mounted liquid-
immersed distribution transformers into separate equipment classes. 
Furthermore, many interested parties also urged DOE to consider 
separate equipment classes for network and vault distribution 
transformers, as well as those with basic impulse level (BIL) ratings 
above 200 kV.
    In light of these comments, DOE decided to supplement its NOPR 
analysis to include several new trial standard levels (TSLs), which 
consider additional standards scenarios that represent the separate 
equipment classes that were supported by comments from several 
interested parties. The new TSLs, lettered ``A'' through ``C,'' contain 
separate standards for pole- and pad-mounted distribution transformers, 
and also incorporate the separation of network- and vault-based 
distribution transformers and distribution transformers with BIL 
ratings 200 kV and above into separate equipment classes. The new TSLs 
relate only to liquid-immersed distribution transformers. No 
modifications have been made to the dry-type distribution transformers 
analysis for the purposes of this notice and the public meeting.
    Furthermore, DOE used these TSLs to supplement certain NOPR 
analyses, including the life-cycle cost and payback period analysis and 
provide interested parties with a perspective on how separate equipment 
classes may alter the analytical results presented with the NOPR. This 
information, as well as the analytical tools from the NOPR, is 
available on DOE's distribution transformer rulemaking Web site, 
located at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/commercial/distribution_transformers.html.

II. Public Participation

    DOE invites input from the public on the supplementary information. 
The final rule establishing any amended energy conservation standards 
will contain the final analysis results, including any appropriate 
revisions following further review and consideration of public 
comments, and be accompanied by a final rule technical support document 
(TSD).
    DOE encourages those who wish to participate in the public meeting 
to obtain the TSD from DOE's Web site and to be prepared to discuss its 
contents. A copy of the TSD is available at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/pdfs/dt_nopr_tsd_complete.pdf.
    DOE welcomes all interested parties, regardless of whether they 
participate in the public meeting, to submit, in writing, by June 29, 
2012, comments and information on matters addressed in the 
supplementary information and on other matters relevant to 
consideration of standards for liquid-immersed distribution 
transformers.
    After the public meeting and the closing of the comment period, DOE 
will consider all timely submitted comments and additional information 
obtained from interested parties, as well as information obtained 
through further analyses, and thereafter prepare a final rule.

A. Procedure for Submitting Requests To Speak

    Any person who has an interest in today's notice or who is a 
representative of a group or class of persons that has an interest in 
these issues may request an opportunity to make an oral presentation. 
Such persons may hand-deliver requests to speak, along with a computer 
diskette or compact disk (CD) in WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, portable 
document format (PDF) file, or American Standard Code for Information 
Interchange (ASCII) file format to Ms. Brenda Edwards at the address 
shown in the ADDRESSES section at the beginning of this NOPM, between 9 
a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. 
Requests may also be sent by postal mail to the address shown in the 
ADDRESSES section or by email to [email protected].
    Persons requesting to speak should briefly describe the nature of 
their interest in this rulemaking and provide a telephone number for 
contact. DOE requests that each person selected to be heard submit in 
advance a copy of his or her statement not later than two weeks before 
the public meeting. At its discretion, DOE may permit a person who 
cannot supply an advance copy of his or her statement to participate, 
provided that person has made alternative arrangements in advance with 
the Building Technologies Program. The person who seeks to give an oral 
presentation should ask for such alternative arrangements.

B. Conduct of Public Meeting

    DOE will designate a DOE official to preside at the public meeting 
and may also employ a professional facilitator to aid discussion. The 
meeting will not be a judicial or evidentiary-type public hearing, but 
DOE will conduct it in accordance with section 336 of the Energy Policy 
and Conservation Act. (42 U.S.C. 6306) A court reporter will record the 
proceedings and prepare a transcript. DOE reserves the right to 
schedule the order of presentations and to establish the procedures 
governing the conduct of the public meeting. After the public meeting, 
interested parties may submit further comments on the proceedings as 
well as on any aspect of the rulemaking until the end of the comment 
period.
    The public meeting will be conducted in an informal conference 
style. DOE will present summaries of comments received before the 
public meeting, allow time for presentations by participants, and 
encourage all interested parties to share their views on issues 
affecting this rulemaking. Each participant will be allowed to make a 
prepared general statement (within DOE-determined time limits) prior to 
the discussion of specific topics. DOE will permit other participants 
to comment briefly on any general statements.
    At the end of all prepared statements on a topic, DOE will permit 
participants to clarify their statements briefly and comment on 
statements made by others. Participants should be prepared to answer 
questions from DOE and other participants concerning these issues. DOE 
representatives may also ask questions of participants concerning other 
matters relevant to this rulemaking. The official conducting the public 
meeting will accept additional comments or questions from those 
attending, as time permits. The presiding official will announce any 
further procedural rules or modification of the above procedures that 
may be needed for the proper conduct of the public meeting.

[[Page 32918]]

    A transcript of the public meeting will be included in the docket, 
which can be viewed as described in the Docket section at the beginning 
of this notice. In addition, any person may purchase a copy of the 
transcript from the transcribing reporter.

C. Submission of Comments

    DOE will accept comments, data, and other information regarding the 
issues raised in this notice before or after the public meeting, but no 
later than the date provided at the beginning of this notice. Please 
submit comments, data, and other information as provided in the 
ADDRESSES section. Submit electronic comments in WordPerfect, Microsoft 
Word, PDF, or text (ASCII) file format and avoid the use of special 
characters or any form of encryption. Comments in electronic format 
should be identified by the docket number EERE-2010-BT-STD-0048 and/or 
RIN 1904-AC04 and wherever possible carry the electronic signature of 
the author. No telefacsimilies (faxes) will be accepted.
    According to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 
1004.11, any person submitting information that he or she believes to 
be confidential and exempt by law from public disclosure should submit 
two copies: One copy of the document including all the information 
believed to be confidential and one copy of the document with the 
information believed to be confidential deleted. DOE will make its own 
determination as to the confidential status of the information and 
treat it according to its determination.
    Factors of interest to DOE when evaluating requests to treat 
submitted information as confidential include (1) a description of the 
items; (2) whether and why such items are customarily treated as 
confidential within the industry; (3) whether the information is 
generally known by or available from other sources; (4) whether the 
information has previously been made available to others without 
obligation concerning its confidentiality; (5) an explanation of the 
competitive injury to the submitting person which would result from 
public disclosure; (6) a date upon which such information might lose 
its confidential nature due to the passage of time; and (7) why 
disclosure of the information would be contrary to the public interest.

III. Approval of the Office of the Secretary

    The Secretary of Energy has approved publication of this notice.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 29, 2012.
 Kathleen B. Hogan,
 Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable 
Energy.
[FR Doc. 2012-13401 Filed 6-1-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P