[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 36 (Friday, February 22, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12252-12253]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-04106]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 431

[Docket No. EERE-2012-BT-STD-0029]
RIN 1904-AC82


Energy Efficiency Program for Commercial and Industrial 
Equipment: Public Meeting and Availability of the Framework Document 
for Packaged Terminal Air Conditioners and Packaged Terminal Heat Pumps

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and availability of the framework 
document.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is initiating a rulemaking 
and data collection process to consider amending energy conservation 
standards for packaged terminal air conditioners (PTACs) and packaged 
terminal heat pumps (PTHPs). DOE will hold a public meeting to discuss 
and receive comments on its planned analytical approach and issues it 
will address in this rulemaking proceeding. DOE welcomes written 
comments and relevant data from the public on any subject within the 
scope of this rulemaking. To inform interested parties and to 
facilitate this process, DOE has prepared a framework document that 
details the analytical approach and identifies several issues on which 
DOE is particularly interested in receiving comments.

DATES: Meeting: DOE will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, March 12, 
2013, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Washington, DC. Additionally, DOE 
plans to conduct the public meeting via webinar. You may attend the 
public meeting via webinar, and registration information, participant 
instructions, and information about the capabilities available to 
webinar participants will be published on DOE's Web site at: 
http:[sol][sol]www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance--standards/
product.aspx/productid/45. Participants are responsible for ensuring 
their systems are compatible with the webinar software.
    DOE must receive requests to speak at the public meeting before 
4:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 26, 2013. DOE must receive an electronic 
copy of the statement with the name and, if appropriate, the 
organization of the presenter to be given at the public meeting before 
4:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 5, 2013.
    Comments: DOE will accept written comments, data, and information 
regarding the framework document before and after the public meeting, 
but no later than March 25, 2013.

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 planning 
to participate 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. Please note that any person 
wishing to bring a laptop computer into the Forrestal Building will be 
required to obtain a property pass. Visitors should avoid bringing 
laptops, or allow an extra 45 minutes. As noted above, persons may also 
attend the public meeting via webinar.
    Interested parties are encouraged to submit comments 
electronically. However, comments may be submitted by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments.
     Email to the following address: [email protected]. Include docket number EERE-2012-BT-STD-0029 
and/or RIN 1904-AC82 in the subject line of the message. All comments 
should clearly identify the name, address, and, if appropriate, 
organization of the commenter.
     Postal Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Building Technologies Program, Mailstop EE-2J, Framework 
Document for PTACs and PTHPs, Docket No. EERE-2012-BT-STD-0029 and/or 
RIN 1904-AC82, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. 
Please submit one signed paper original.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department 
of Energy, Building Technologies Program, Sixth Floor, 950 L'Enfant 
Plaza SW., Washington, DC 20024. Please submit one signed paper 
original.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number and/or RIN for this rulemaking. No telefacsimilies 
(faxes) will be accepted.
    Docket: The docket is available for review at www.regulations.gov, 
including Federal Register notices, public meeting attendees' lists and 
transcripts, comments, and other supporting documents/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.
    A link to the docket Web page can be found at: 
http:[sol][sol]www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;dct=FR%252BPR%252BN%252BO%252BSR%252BPS;rpp=25;po=0;D=EER
E-2012-BT-STD-0029. This Web page contains a link to the docket for 
this notice on the www.regulations.gov Web site. The 
www.regulations.gov Web page contains simple instructions on how to 
access all documents, including public comments, in the docket.
    For information on how to submit a comment, review other public 
comments and 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: Mr. Ronald Majette, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building 
Technologies, EE-2J, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 
20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-7935. Email: [email protected].
    Ms. Jennifer Tiedeman, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the 
General Counsel, GC-71, 1000 Independence Avenue SW.,

[[Page 12253]]

Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 287-6111. Email: 
[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: Title III, Part C of the Energy Policy and 
Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), Public Law 94-163 (42 U.S.C. 6311-
6317, as codified), added by Public Law 95-619, Title IV, section 
441(a), established the Energy Conservation Program for Certain 
Industrial Equipment, which includes the PTACs and PTHPs that are the 
focus of this notice.\1\
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    \1\ For editorial reasons, upon codification in the U.S. Code, 
Part C was re-designated Part A-1.
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    The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT 1992), Public Law 101-486, 
amended section 342 of EPCA to establish Federal energy conservation 
standards that generally correspond to the levels in American Society 
of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineer (ASHRAE)/
Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) Standard 
90.1, ``Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential 
Buildings,'' (ASHRAE Standard 90.1), effective October 24, 1992. These 
standards apply to most types of covered equipment listed in section 
342(a) of EPCA, including PTACs and PTHPs. (42 U.S.C. 6313(a)) Further, 
section 342(a)(6)(A) of EPCA states that if ASHRAE modifies the 
required efficiency levels specified in Standard 90.1 for PTACs and 
PTHPs, DOE must amend the national standard for that equipment at the 
level specified in updated ASHRAE Standard 90.1, unless DOE determines 
that a more stringent standard would result in significant energy 
savings and would be technologically feasible and economically 
justified. (42 U.S.C. 6313(a)(6)(A)) On October 29, 1999, ASHRAE 
amended its efficiency levels for PTACs and PTHPs in ASHRAE Standard 
90.1-1999; in response, DOE published a final rule (2008 final rule) 
amending the minimum energy conservation standard for PTACs and PTHPs 
at a more-stringent level than those specified in ASHRAE Standard 90.1-
1999. 73 FR 58772 (Oct. 7, 2008).
    Section 305 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 
(EISA 2007), Public Law 110-140, amended section 342(a)(6)(C) of EPCA 
to mandate that not later than six years after the issuance of any 
final rule establishing or amending a standard for ASHRAE equipment, 
DOE must either publish a notice of determination that more-stringent 
standards for such equipment are not needed or a notice of proposed 
rulemaking proposing amended standards that are technologically 
feasible and economically justified. (42 U.S.C. 6313(6)(A)(i)) 
Therefore, DOE must publish either a determination or notice of 
proposed rulemaking by no later than October 7, 2014 (6 years after the 
publication of the 2008 final rule). This framework document is being 
published as a first step toward meeting these statutory requirements.
    DOE has prepared this framework document to explain the relevant 
issues, analyses, and processes it anticipates using to determine 
whether to amend energy conservation standards, and, if so, to develop 
such amended standards. The focus of the public meeting noted above 
will be to discuss the information presented and issues identified in 
the framework document. At the public meeting, DOE will make 
presentations and invite discussion on the rulemaking process as it 
applies to PTACs and PTHPs. DOE will also solicit comments, data, and 
information from participants and other interested parties.
    DOE is planning to conduct in-depth technical analyses in the 
following areas: (1) Engineering, (2) energy-use characterization, (3) 
equipment price, (4) life-cycle cost and payback period, (5) national 
impacts, (6) manufacturer impacts, (7) utility impacts, (8) employment 
impacts, (9) emission impacts, and (10) regulatory impacts. DOE will 
also conduct several other analyses that support those previously 
listed, including the market and technology assessment, the screening 
analysis (which contributes to the engineering analysis), and the 
shipments analysis (which contributes to the national impact analysis).
    DOE encourages those who wish to participate in the public meeting 
to obtain the framework document and be prepared to discuss its 
contents. A copy of the framework document is available at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/product.aspx/productid/45.
    Public meeting participants need not limit their comments to the 
issues identified in the framework document. DOE is also interested in 
comments on other relevant issues that participants believe would 
affect energy conservation standards for this equipment, applicable 
test procedures, or the preliminary determination on the scope of 
coverage. DOE invites all interested parties, whether or not they 
participate in the public meeting, to submit in writing by March 25, 
2013, comments and information on matters addressed in the framework 
document and on other matters relevant to DOE's consideration of 
amended standards for PTACs and PTHPs.
    The public meeting will be conducted in an informal, facilitated, 
conference style. There shall be no discussion of proprietary 
information, costs or prices, market shares, or other commercial 
matters regulated by U.S. antitrust laws. A court reporter will record 
the proceedings of the public meeting, after which a transcript will be 
available on the DOE Web site at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/product.aspx/productid/45.
    After the public meeting and the close of the comment period on the 
framework document, DOE will collect data, conduct the analyses as 
discussed in the framework document and at the public meeting, and 
review the public comments it receives.
    DOE considers public participation to be a very important part of 
the process to determine whether to establish amended energy 
conservation standards and, if so determined, to set those amended 
standards. DOE actively encourages participation and interaction of the 
public during the comment period in each stage of the rulemaking 
process. Beginning with the framework document, and during each 
subsequent public meeting and comment period, interactions with and 
among members of the public provide a balanced discussion of the issues 
that will assist DOE in the standards rulemaking process. Accordingly, 
anyone who wishes to participate in the public meeting, receive meeting 
materials, or be added to the DOE mailing list to receive future 
notices and information about this rulemaking should contact Ms. Brenda 
Edwards at (202) 586-2945, or via email at [email protected].

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 15, 2013.
Kathleen B. Hogan,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and 
Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2013-04106 Filed 2-21-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P