[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 144 (Friday, July 26, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 36037-36040]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-15916]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Parts 430 and 431

[EERE-2017-BT-STD-0062]
RIN 1904-AD38


Energy Conservation Program: Procedures, Interpretations, and 
Policies for Consideration of New or Revised Energy Conservation 
Standards for Consumer Products

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

ACTION: Notice of data availability.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is announcing this notice 
of data availability (``NODA'') regarding national energy savings 
estimates in past DOE energy conservation standards rulemakings. These 
data will help inform DOE's decision-making process as it considers 
whether to establish a significant energy savings threshold for setting 
energy conservation standards for consumer products and commercial and 
industrial equipment. DOE is seeking comment on these data.

DATES: Written comments and information are requested and will be 
accepted on or before August 9, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are encouraged to submit comments using 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments. Alternatively, interested 
persons may submit comments, identified by docket number EERE-2017-BT-
STD-0062, by any of the following methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments.
    2. Email: To [email protected]. Include EERE-2017-BT-STD-0062 
in the subject line of the message.
    3. Postal Mail: Ms. Sofie Miller, U.S. Department of Energy, Office 
of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, 
Room 6A-013, Washington, DC 20585. If possible, please submit all items 
on a compact disc (CD), in which case it is not necessary to include 
printed copies.
    4. Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Sofie Miller, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 1000 
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585. Telephone: (202) 586-
5000. If possible, please submit all items on a CD, in which case it is 
not necessary to include printed copies.
    No telefacsimilies (faxes) will be accepted. For detailed 
instructions on submitting comments and additional information on the 
rulemaking process, see section III of this document.
    Docket: The docket for this activity, which includes Federal 
Register notices, comments, and other supporting documents/materials, 
is available for review at http://www.regulations.gov. All documents in 
the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. However, 
some documents listed in the index, such as those containing 
information that is exempt from public disclosure, may not be publicly 
available.
    The docket web page can be found at https://www.regulations.gov/
docket?D=EERE-2017-BT-STD-0062. The docket web page contains 
instructions on how to access all documents, including public comments, 
in the docket. See section III (Submission of Comments) for information 
on how to submit comments through http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    Ms. Sofie Miller, Senior Advisor, U.S. Department of Energy, Office 
of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, 
Washington, DC 20585. Telephone: (202) 586-5000. Email: 
[email protected].
    Ms. Francine Pinto, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the 
General Counsel, GC-33, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 
20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-7432. Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Introduction
II. Site National Energy Savings From Prior DOE Rulemakings
III. Submission of Comments

I. Introduction

    DOE generally uses the procedures set forth in 10 CFR part 430, 
subpart C, appendix A, Procedures, Interpretations, and Policies for 
Consideration of New or Revised Energy Conservation Standards for 
Consumer Products (``Process Rule'') when prescribing energy 
conservation standards for both consumer products and commercial/
industrial equipment pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act 
of 1975 (Pub. L. 94-163, codified at 42 U.S.C. 6291, et seq.) 
(``EPCA''). On February 13, 2019, DOE published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (``NOPR'') to update and

[[Page 36038]]

modernize the Process Rule (``Process Rule NOPR''). 84 FR 3910. As part 
of the update, DOE is proposing to define an energy savings threshold 
to satisfy the requirement in EPCA that a new or amended energy 
conservation standard must result in a significant conservation of 
energy. (See 42 U.S.C. 6295(o)(3)(B)) Specifically, DOE is proposing to 
apply a threshold of 0.5 quad in energy savings or a 10% reduction in 
energy consumption over a 30-year analysis period to satisfy this 
requirement.
    In proposing these thresholds, DOE took into consideration national 
energy savings estimates from past energy conservation standards 
rulemakings. 84 FR 3910, 3923 (Feb. 13, 2019). As a result of comments 
provided at two public meetings \1\ DOE held on the proposal, DOE has 
subsequently determined that the national energy savings data from the 
57 energy conservation standards rulemakings mentioned in the NOPR are 
a mixture of source and full-fuel-cycle energy savings. Since 
publication of the Process Rule NOPR, DOE has re-examined its use of 
source and full-fuel-cycle energy savings data in proposing a threshold 
for significant conservation of energy in order to provide a consistent 
accounting across rulemakings. Because EPCA uses a household energy 
consumption metric as a threshold for setting standards for new covered 
products (42 U.S.C. 6295(l)(1)), DOE believes that site energy would be 
the most appropriate metric for evaluating energy savings across 
rulemakings. As a result, DOE is providing national site energy savings 
data from its past rulemakings for public comment as it will help 
inform DOE's decision regarding whether (and how) to define a threshold 
for significant energy savings.
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    \1\ DOE convened public meetings to discuss the Process Rule 
NOPR on March 21, 2019 and April 11, 2019.
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    DOE notes that the rules reported and the data analyzed in the 
information provided with this NODA are identical to those provided 
with DOE's original proposal and discussed at the public meeting. 
However, DOE has now restated the results of each rulemaking on a site 
energy basis for the purpose of making an ``apples-to-apples'' 
comparison of the results of each rulemaking using the statutorily-
required measure for setting energy conservation standards. DOE is not 
at this time making any determination regarding whether the use of 
full-fuel-cycle energy measures are an appropriate measure of the 
benefits of any prior rulemaking.

II. Site National Energy Savings From Prior DOE Rulemakings

    As discussed in the Process Rule NOPR, DOE focused its analysis of 
national energy savings on energy conservation standards rulemakings 
conducted starting after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of 
Columbia Circuit's decision in Natural Resources Defense Council v. 
Herrington, 768 F.2d 1355 (D.C. Cir. 1985) through a final rule 
establishing energy conservation standards for walk-in coolers and 
freezers on July 10, 2017. 84 FR 3910, 3923 (Feb. 13, 2019). After 
excluding instances where DOE set no-standard standards or adopted 
standard levels from the American National Standards Institute 
(``ANSI'')/American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-
Conditioning Engineers (``ASHRAE'')/Illuminating Engineering Society of 
North America (``IESNA'') Standard 90.1 (``ASHRAE Standard 90.1''), DOE 
set standards for covered products and equipment a total of 57 times. 
These 57 rules are listed in a document available in the docket at 
https://www.regulations .gov/document?D=EERE-2017-BT-STD-0062-0144.
    The document lists, among others things, the analysis period for 
each rule, the national site energy savings over the analysis period 
(converted as necessary from source energy savings estimates \2\), and 
the corresponding percentage reduction in energy use over the analysis 
period. In total, the 57 rules resulted in national site energy savings 
of 54.64 quads.\3\ The average national site energy savings for these 
rules is 0.959 quad, while the median is 0.32 quad. The average percent 
reduction in national site energy use for these rules is 13.1%, while 
the median is 8.0%. Table II.1 contains the results of applying a 
variety of significant energy savings thresholds to these 57 rules.
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    \2\ For rules prior to 2001, the national site energy savings 
were not reported. For these rules, the national site energy savings 
are estimated using a single average national site-to-source energy 
savings multiplier of 2.78 for electricity, 1.09 for gas, or an 
average of the two for rules with mixed fuels. For all other rules, 
the national site energy savings are available in the technical 
support documents and/or the analytical tools.
    \3\ Six of the rules listed in the table identify a range of 
energy savings. For the purposes of this NODA, DOE assumes the 
maximum value for the energy savings in each of these six rules.

                    Table II.1--Application of Various Significant Energy Savings Thresholds
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                                                  10% Reduction in      7.5% Reduction in      5% Reduction in
   Significant energy         No additional        energy use over       energy use over       energy use over
    savings threshold     percentage threshold     analysis period       analysis period       analysis period
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1.00 Quad...............  21 of 57 rules meet   32 of 57 rules meet   35 of 57 rules meet   41 of 57 rules meet
                           this threshold for    this threshold for    this threshold for    this threshold for
                           significance.         significance.         significance.         significance.
                          These 21 rules        These 32 rules        These 35 rules        These 41 rules
                           account for 83.77%    account for 90.71%    account for 91.47%    account for 94.77%
                           of the total energy   of the total energy   of the total energy   of the total energy
                           savings from the 57   savings from the 57   savings from the 57   savings from the 57
                           rules.                rules.                rules.                rules.
0.75 Quad...............  24 of 57 rules meet   34 of 57 rules meet   37 of 57 rules meet   42 of 57 rules meet
                           this threshold for    this threshold for    this threshold for    this threshold for
                           significance.         significance.         significance.         significance.
                          These 24 rules        These 34 rules        These 37 rules        These 42 rules
                           account for 88.55%    account for 93.87%    account for 94.64%    account for 96.29%
                           of the total energy   of the total energy   of the total energy   of the total energy
                           savings from the 57   savings from the 57   savings from the 57   savings from the 57
                           rules.                rules.                rules.                rules.
0.50 Quad...............  26 of 57 rules meet   34 of 57 rules meet   37 of 57 rules meet   42 of 57 rules meet
                           this threshold for    this threshold for    this threshold for    this threshold for
                           significance.         significance.         significance.         significance.
                          These 26 rules        These 34 rules        These 37 rules        These 42 rules
                           account for 90.89%    account for 93.87%    account for 94.64%    account for 96.29%
                           of the total energy   of the total energy   of the total energy   of the total energy
                           savings from the 57   savings from the 57   savings from the 57   savings from the 57
                           rules.                rules.                rules.                rules.
0.40 Quad...............  27 of 57 rules meet   34 of 57 rules meet   37 of 57 rules meet   42 of 57 rules meet
                           this threshold for    this threshold for    this threshold for    this threshold for
                           significance.         significance.         significance.         significance.
                          These 27 rules        These 34 rules        These 37 rules        These 42 rules
                           account for 91.71%    account for 93.87%    account for 94.64%    account for 96.29%
                           of the total energy   of the total energy   of the total energy   of the total energy
                           savings from the 57   savings from the 57   savings from the 57   savings from the 57
                           rules.                rules.                rules.                rules.
0.30 Quad...............  31 of 57 rules meet   36 of 57 rules meet   39 of 57 rules meet   43 of 57 rules meet
                           this threshold for    this threshold for    this threshold for    this threshold for
                           significance.         significance.         significance.         significance.
                          These 31 rules        These 36 rules        These 39 rules        These 43 rules
                           account for 94.09%    account for 95.01%    account for 95.77%    account for 96.84%
                           of the total energy   of the total energy   of the total energy   of the total energy
                           savings from the 57   savings from the 57   savings from the 57   savings from the 57
                           rules.                rules.                rules.                rules.

[[Page 36039]]

 
0.25 Quad...............  34 of 57 rules meet   38 of 57 rules meet   40 of 57 rules meet   43 of 57 rules meet
                           this threshold for    this threshold for    this threshold for    this threshold for
                           significance.         significance.         significance.         significance.
                          These 34 rules        These 38 rules        These 40 rules        These 43 rules
                           account for 95.61%    account for 96.07%    account for 96.30%    account for 96.84%
                           of the total energy   of the total energy   of the total energy   of the total energy
                           savings from the 57   savings from the 57   savings from the 57   savings from the 57
                           rules.                rules.                rules.                rules.
0.20 Quad...............  37 of 57 rules meet   41 of 57 rules meet   43 of 57 rules meet   46 of 57 rules meet
                           this threshold for    this threshold for    this threshold for    this threshold for
                           significance.         significance.         significance.         significance.
                          These 37 rules        These 41 rules        These 43 rules        These 46 rules
                           account for 96.78%    account for 97.24%    account for 97.48%    account for 98.01%
                           of the total energy   of the total energy   of the total energy   of the total energy
                           savings from the 57   savings from the 57   savings from the 57   savings from the 57
                           rules.                rules.                rules.                rules.
0.10 Quad...............  45 of 57 rules meet   49 of 57 rules meet   51 of 57 rules meet   52 of 57 rules meet
                           this threshold for    this threshold for    this threshold for    this threshold for
                           significance.         significance.         significance.         significance.
                          These 45 rules        These 49 rules        These 51 rules        These 52 rules
                           account for 98.93%    account for 99.39%    account for 99.62%    account for 99.70%
                           of the total energy   of the total energy   of the total energy   of the total energy
                           savings from the 57   savings from the 57   savings from the 57   savings from the 57
                           rules.                rules.                rules.                rules.
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    DOE seeks comment on the data presented in the docket and in Table 
II.1.

III. Submission of Comments

    DOE invites all interested parties to submit in writing by the date 
listed in the DATES section at the beginning of this document, comments 
and information on matters addressed in this notice and on other 
matters relevant to DOE's consideration of the data related to this 
NODA. These comments and information will aid in DOE's decision with 
respect to its consideration of potentially setting a threshold for 
significant energy savings.
    Submitting comments via http://www.regulations.gov. The http://www.regulations.gov web page will require you to provide your name and 
contact information. Your contact information will be viewable to DOE 
Building Technologies staff only. Your contact information will not be 
publicly viewable except for your first and last names, organization 
name (if any), and submitter representative name (if any). If your 
comment is not processed properly because of technical difficulties, 
DOE will use this information to contact you. If DOE cannot read your 
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, DOE may not be able to consider your comment.
    However, your contact information will be publicly viewable if you 
include it in the comment or in any documents attached to your comment. 
Any information that you do not want to be publicly viewable should not 
be included in your comment, nor in any document attached to your 
comment. Persons viewing comments will see only first and last names, 
organization names, correspondence containing comments, and any 
documents submitted with the comments.
    Do not submit to http://www.regulations.gov information for which 
disclosure is restricted by statute, such as trade secrets and 
commercial or financial information (hereinafter referred to as 
Confidential Business Information (``CBI'')). Comments submitted 
through http://www.regulations.gov cannot be claimed as CBI. Comments 
received through the website will waive any CBI claims for the 
information submitted. For information on submitting CBI, see the 
Confidential Business Information section.
    DOE processes submissions made through http://www.regulations.gov 
before posting. Normally, comments will be posted within a few days of 
being submitted. However, if large volumes of comments are being 
processed simultaneously, your comment may not be viewable for up to 
several weeks. Please keep the comment tracking number that http://www.regulations.gov provides after you have successfully uploaded your 
comment.
    Submitting comments via email, hand delivery/courier, or postal 
mail. Comments and documents submitted via email, hand delivery/
courier, or postal mail also will be posted to http://www.regulations.gov. If you do not want your personal contact 
information to be publicly viewable, do not include it in your comment 
or any accompanying documents. Instead, provide your contact 
information on a cover letter. Include your first and last names, email 
address, telephone number, and optional mailing address. The cover 
letter will not be publicly viewable as long as it does not include any 
comments.
    Include contact information each time you submit comments, data, 
documents, and other information to DOE. If you submit via postal mail 
or hand delivery/courier, please provide all items on a CD, if 
feasible, in which case it is not necessary to submit printed copies. 
No telefacsimiles (faxes) will be accepted.
    Comments, data, and other information submitted to DOE 
electronically should be provided in PDF (preferred), Microsoft Word or 
Excel, WordPerfect, or text (ASCII) file format. Provide documents that 
are not secured, written in English, and free of any defects or 
viruses. Documents should not contain special characters or any form of 
encryption, and, if possible, they should carry the electronic 
signature of the author.
    Campaign form letters. Please submit campaign form letters by the 
originating organization in batches of between 50 to 500 form letters 
per PDF or as one form letter with a list of supporters' names compiled 
into one or more PDFs. This reduces comment processing and posting 
time.
    Confidential Business Information. Pursuant to 10 CFR 1004.11, any 
person submitting information that he or she believes to be 
confidential and exempt by law from public disclosure should submit via 
email, postal mail, or hand delivery two well-marked copies: One copy 
of the document marked ``confidential'' including all the information 
believed to be confidential, and one copy of the document marked ``non-
confidential'' with the information believed to be confidential 
deleted. Submit these documents via email or on a CD, if feasible. DOE 
will make its own determination about 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

[[Page 36040]]

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) when such information might lose its 
confidential character due to the passage of time, and (7) why 
disclosure of the information would be contrary to the public interest.
    It is DOE's policy that all comments may be included in the public 
docket, without change and as received, including any personal 
information provided in the comments (except information deemed to be 
exempt from public disclosure).
    DOE considers public participation to be a very important part of 
the process for developing test procedures and energy conservation 
standards. DOE actively encourages the participation and interaction of 
the public during the comment period in each stage of the rulemaking 
process. Interactions with and between members of the public provide a 
balanced discussion of the issues and assist DOE in the rulemaking 
process. Anyone who wishes to be added to the DOE mailing list to 
receive future notices and information about this process should 
contact Appliance and Equipment Standards Program staff at (202) 287-
1445 or via email at [email protected].

    Signed in Washington, DC, on July 22, 2019.
Daniel R. Simmons,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2019-15916 Filed 7-25-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P