[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 17, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57137-57139]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22569]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

[Docket No. EERE-BT-2013-DET-0017]


Energy Efficiency Program for Industrial Equipment: Interim 
Determination Classifying UL Verification Services Inc. as a Nationally 
Recognized Certification Program for Small Electric Motors

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

ACTION: Notice of interim determination and request for public 
comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces an interim determination by the U.S. 
Department of Energy (DOE) classifying UL Verification Services (UL) as 
a nationally recognized certification program under 10 CFR 431.447 and 
431.448.

DATES: DOE will accept comments, data, and information with respect to 
the UL Petition until October 17, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number ``EERE-
BT-2013-DET-0017,'' by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected] Include 
the docket number EERE-BT-2013-DET-0017 in the subject line of the 
message.
     Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, 
Building Technologies Office, Mailstop EE-2J/1000 Independence Avenue 
SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-2945. Please 
submit one signed original paper copy.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department 
of Energy, Building Technologies Office, 950 L'Enfant Plaza SW., Suite 
600, Washington, DC 20024. Please submit one signed original paper 
copy.
    Docket: For access to the docket to review the background documents 
relevant to this matter, you may visit the U.S. Department of Energy, 
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 the above telephone number 
for additional information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
Mr. Lucas Adin, U.S. Department of Energy, Building Technologies 
Office, Mail Stop EE-2J, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue 
SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 287-1317. Email: 
[email protected].
Mr. Michael Kido, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General 
Counsel, Mail Stop GC-71, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue 
SW., Washington, DC 20585-0103. Telephone: (202) 586-8145. Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background and Authority

    Part C of Title III of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act 
contains energy conservation requirements for, among other things, 
electric motors and small electric motors, including test procedures, 
energy efficiency standards, and compliance certification requirements. 
42 U.S.C. 6311-6316.\1\ Section 345(c) of EPCA directs the Secretary of 
Energy to require manufacturers of electric motors ``to certify through 
an independent testing or certification program nationally recognized 
in the United States, that [each electric motor subject to EPCA 
efficiency standards] meets the applicable standard.'' 42 U.S.C. 
6316(c).
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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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    Regulations to implement this statutory directive are codified in 
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 431 (10 CFR Part 431) 
at sections 431.36, Compliance Certification, 431.20, Department of 
Energy recognition of nationally recognized certification programs, and 
431.21, Procedures for recognition and withdrawal of recognition of 
accreditation bodies and certification programs. Sections 431.20 and 
431.21 set forth the criteria and procedures for national recognition 
of an energy efficiency certification program for electric motors by 
DOE. With the support of a variety of interests, including industry and 
energy efficiency advocacy groups, DOE published a final rule on May 4, 
2012, that established requirements for small electric motors that are 
essentially identical to the criteria and procedures for national 
recognition of an energy efficiency certification program for electric 
motors. See 77 FR 26608, 26629 (codifying parallel provisions for small 
electric motors at 10 CFR 431.447 and 431.448).
    For a certification program to be classified by the DOE as being 
nationally recognized in the United States for the testing and 
certification of small electric motors, the organization operating the 
program must submit a petition to the Department requesting such 
classification, in accordance with Sec. Sec.  431.447 and 431.448. In 
sum, for the Department to grant such a petition, the certification 
program must: (1) Have satisfactory standards and procedures for 
conducting and administering a certification system, and for granting a 
certificate of conformity; (2) be independent of small electric motor 
manufacturers, importers, distributors, private labelers or vendors; 
(3) be qualified to operate a certification system in a highly 
competent manner; and (4) be expert in the test procedures and 
methodologies in IEEE Standard 112-2004 Test Methods A and B, IEEE 
Standard 114-2010, CSA Standard C390-10, and CSA C747 or similar 
procedures and methodologies for determining the energy efficiency of 
small electric motors, and have satisfactory criteria and procedures 
for selecting and sampling small electric motors for energy efficiency 
testing. 10 CFR 431.447(b).
    Each petition requesting classification as a nationally recognized 
certification program must contain a narrative statement as to why the 
organization meets the above criteria, be accompanied by documentation 
that

[[Page 57138]]

supports the narrative statement, and be signed by an authorized 
representative. 10 CFR 431.447(c).

II. Discussion

    Pursuant to sections 431.447 and 431.448, on February 20, 2013, UL 
submitted to the Department a Petition for ``Classification in 
Accordance with 10 CFR Part 431.447 and 431.448'' (``Petition'' or ``UL 
Petition''). The Petition was accompanied by a cover letter from UL to 
the Department, containing five separate sections that included 
narrative statements for each--(1) Overview, (2) Standards and 
Procedures, (3) Independent Status, (4) Qualification of UL LCC and UL 
Verification Services, Inc. to Operate a Certification System, and (5) 
Expertise in Small Motor Test Procedures. In accordance with the 
requirements of Sec.  431.448(b), DOE published UL's petition in the 
Federal Register on May 16, 2013 and requested public comments. 78 FR 
28812.
    In response to that notice, the National Electrical Manufacturers 
Association (NEMA), a trade association representing manufacturers of 
electrical products including small electric motors, submitted comments 
to DOE in a letter dated June 17, 2013 (Comment response to the 
published Notice of Petition, No. 5). In these comments, NEMA cited 
several concerns regarding UL's petition, listing them according to 
each item on which DOE requested comments in the notice of petition. UL 
then submitted a letter to DOE dated June 26, 2013 responding to NEMA's 
comments (Comment responding to NEMA's comments on UL petition, No. 6).
    Regarding DOE's issue for comment on whether UL has satisfactory 
standards and procedures for conducting and administering a 
certification program, NEMA stated that UL operates an effective 
certification system for safety standards and, though it is new to 
certification of electric motor efficiency, offers certification 
programs for ``EISA type'' electric motor certifications (i.e., 
certification to the current DOE efficiency standards for electric 
motors). It also stated that as far as its members are aware, UL does 
not perform efficiency testing itself and instead uses outside labs for 
testing such as manufacturer labs or third-party labs such as Advanced 
Energy. (Comment response to the published Notice of Petition, No. 5, 
p. 3) UL rebutted NEMA's statement that it is new to the motor 
efficiency certification market by stating that it has been certifying 
motors for energy efficiency for 11 years and has been recognized by 
DOE for certification of electric motors under 10 CFR part 431.\2\ In 
response to NEMA's comment about its use of manufacturer and third-
party laboratories, UL explained that because it currently certifies 
motors rated between 1 and 500 horsepower, many of the motors are large 
enough that the cost of shipping the motor could exceed the cost of the 
testing, making it impractical for UL to conduct testing in-house. UL 
stated that it instead sends a motor engineer to the manufacturer or 
third-party lab to witness the testing and verify the proper setup and 
conduct of the tests. (Comment responding to NEMA's comments on UL 
petition, No. 6, p. 1)
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    \2\ DOE issued a final determination on December 27, 2002 
classifying UL as a nationally recognized certification program for 
electric motor efficiency. See 67 FR 79490 (December 27, 2002).
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    In response to DOE's request for comment regarding UL's expertise 
in the procedures and methodologies required by DOE for certification 
of small electric motors, NEMA stated that UL is not recognized as an 
expert in this area and does not participate in the development or 
revision of the applicable industry standards. NEMA also stated that, 
while UL's test capability is limited by its use of manufacturer or 
third-party laboratories, its proficiency in other types of testing 
demonstrates their capability to obtain the necessary expertise for 
motors testing by participating in review of the test standards. More 
specifically, NEMA stated that it is not familiar with UL's capability 
to conduct in-house tests in accordance with the prescribed test 
methods and does not believe the information in UL's petition provides 
sufficient information to determine UL's knowledge or capability. NEMA 
also noted that UL is not listed in the Directory of Accredited 
Laboratories for Efficiency Testing of Electric Motors on the Web site 
of the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) of 
the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). (Comment 
response to the published Notice of Petition, No. 5, pp. 3-4) In 
response, UL stated that, while participation in the standards 
development process provides an opportunity to offer technical 
expertise, it does not lead to the attainment of such expertise. 
Responding to NEMA's assertion that UL lacks NVLAP accreditation, UL 
stated that it had no practical or business need to attain such 
accreditation, since DOE has previously recognized UL as a nationally 
recognized certification program for electric motors. (Comment 
responding to NEMA's comments on UL petition, No. 6, p. 2)
    NEMA also commented on several specific issues on which DOE 
requested comment regarding whether it should grant UL's petition for 
recognition. Specifically, NEMA objected to UL's requirement that 
motors tested for efficiency in the program would also be required to 
be tested for compliance with UL's Motor Safety Standard(s), and stated 
that DOE should specifically state that such participation in UL 
programs other than energy efficiency testing must be on a voluntary 
basis. (Comment response to the published Notice of Petition, No. 5, p. 
4) UL responded that the requirement for motors to meet safety 
standards at their rated horsepower is essential to ensuring the 
product's safe operation under its rated conditions and that it would 
be unwilling to endorse through the use of its mark (i.e., the UL 
safety marking) that a tested motor that has not undergone this safety-
related testing can safely operate at the manufacturer's declared 
rating. UL also noted that manufacturers who are unwilling to pursue 
safety certification have other options, and need not attain DOE 
certification using their program. (Comment responding to NEMA's 
comments on UL petition, No. 6, p. 2)
    NEMA also objected to UL's stated sampling requirements for audit 
testing and verification of the manufacturer's alternative efficiency 
determination method (AEDM) (see 78 FR at 28818-28819), and recommended 
that DOE clarify that these requirements are solely within DOE's 
jurisdiction. NEMA disagreed with UL's stated minimum sample of 20% of 
the manufacturer's initial product submittal due to the testing and 
financial burden it may impose, since there may be tens of thousands of 
designs for a type of covered equipment. (Comment response to the 
published Notice of Petition, No. 5, p. 4) UL responded that its 
``Follow-up Services (FUS)'' is designed to ensure that products that 
it has tested and certified continue to meet the prescribed 
requirements and that the unit of the model that was initially tested 
is representative of production units. UL also explained that it set 
its specified sampling requirement based upon its own experience and in 
the absence of a DOE-established sampling requirement, and that it 
would adhere to any specific requirements established by DOE. (Comment 
responding to NEMA's comments on UL petition, No. 6, p. 2)
    NEMA also commented on several other items regarding UL's petition. 
This included UL's independence from small electric motor 
manufacturers, importers,

[[Page 57139]]

distributors, private labelers, or vendors, on which NEMA stated that 
it agrees that UL is independent in that it is not under the control of 
any such entities, and that it does not view the fees UL charges for 
its certification services as presenting a conflict with this 
requirement. NEMA also pointed out that in its petition UL incorrectly 
cited to requirements for electric motors in 10 CFR 431.17(a)(b), which 
are not applicable to small electric motors.\3\ (Comment response to 
the published Notice of Petition, No. 5, pp. 3-4) UL did not respond to 
these specific comments.
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    \3\ DOE notes that the CFR section UL cited in its petition 
addresses the requirements for determining the efficiency of 
electric motors. Sec.  431.17(a) addresses general requirements 
applicable to all electric motors, and Sec.  431.17(b) specifies 
sampling requirements applicable when a certification program is not 
used.
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    Finally, NEMA made a number of general comments stating its 
opposition to the granting of UL's petition on the grounds that DOE has 
not yet sufficiently established definitions and certification 
requirements applicable to small electric motors. Specifically, NEMA 
stated that because DOE has not yet established in Subpart X to Part 
431 definitions for the terms ``certificate of conformity,'' 
``certification program,'' and ``certification system'' as exist in 
Sec.  431.12, DOE has not yet provided a basis on which to determine 
whether a particular certification program should be recognized. NEMA 
also pointed out that the UL referred to the petition as for ``electric 
motors'' rather than for ``small electric motors,'' which could confuse 
the scope of UL's authority. NEMA recommended that either UL correct 
this aspect of its petition or that DOE specify that the authority 
extends only to small electric motors. NEMA further stated that, while 
it opposes the granting of the petition for these reasons, it supports 
the recognition of independent entities to assist in testing and 
certification of small electric motors and opposes any action that may 
reduce the options for certification. In NEMA's view, UL's petition 
could be reasonably considered only after the previously stated issues 
are addressed. (Comment response to the published Notice of Petition, 
No. 5, pp. 2, 5)
    In reviewing NEMA's comments on the UL petition, and UL's responses 
to these comments, DOE finds no specific cause to reject UL's request 
for recognition as a nationally recognized certification program for 
small electric motors. This determination is based primarily on DOE's 
previous recognition of UL as a nationally recognized certification 
program for electric motors, the sampling and testing requirements for 
which are substantially the same. In regard to NEMA's specific comments 
regarding the requirement for adherence to UL's safety testing 
requirements and the proposed sampling requirements for small electric 
motors, DOE notes that these requirements are in addition to, and not 
in place of, the requirements for small electric motor testing and 
certification and do not represent a mandatory requirement from DOE's 
perspective. As UL correctly noted, manufacturers may choose not to 
participate in its program, and pursue certification through another 
process that does not involve its prescribed safety testing or follow-
up audit and verification testing. Thus, a certification program may 
have such requirements in place without conflicting with the basic DOE 
requirements for certification. DOE also notes that such requirements 
already exist in UL's nationally recognized certification program for 
electric motors.
    With respect to NEMA's general comment that the granting of UL's 
petition at this time would be premature due to the absence of certain 
definitions in subpart X to 10 CFR part 431, while DOE understands that 
a need may exist for greater clarification of certain aspects of the 
testing and certification requirements applicable to small electric 
motors, the absence of these definitions in Subpart X does not in 
itself preclude DOE from classifying UL's, or any other organization 
that presents sufficient documentation, pursuant to the requirements in 
Sec.  431.447, that demonstrates that its program is capable of 
meeting, at a minimum, the testing and certification requirements in 
Sec. Sec.  431.444 and 431.445. To the extent DOE finds that any of the 
certification requirements for small electric motors are not 
sufficiently clear, DOE will seek to provide further specificity 
through a future rulemaking or through guidance, as appropriate. In any 
case, UL or any other certification program recognized by DOE pursuant 
to Sec.  431.448 must operate its certification program in conformance 
with any specific certifications requirements or guidance promulgated 
by DOE.
    DOE also notes that NEMA's comment regarding the scope of UL's 
petition is correct in that the applicable section for small electric 
motors is Sec.  431.445 rather than the cited requirements in Sec.  
431.17. While DOE declines to reject UL's petition solely on this 
basis, DOE confirms that the authority granted to UL under this interim 
determination extends only to testing and certification of small 
electric motors under subpart X of 10 CFR part 431.
    The Department hereby announces its interim determination pursuant 
to 10 CFR 431.448(d) that UL is classified as a nationally recognized 
certification program for small electric motors, and will accept 
comments on this interim determination until October 17, 2013. Any 
person submitting written comments to DOE with respect to this interim 
determination must also, at the same time, send a copy of such comments 
to UL. As provided under Sec.  431.448(c), UL may submit to the 
Department a written response to any such comments. After receiving any 
such comments and responses, the Department will issue a final 
determination on the UL Petition, in accordance with Sec.  431.448(e) 
of 10 CFR part 431.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on September 11, 2013.
Kathleen B. Hogan,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and 
Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2013-22569 Filed 9-16-13; 8:45 am]
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