[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 165 (Monday, August 28, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58575-58576]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18532]


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

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Representative 
Average Unit Costs of Energy

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

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: In this notice, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is 
forecasting the representative average unit costs of five residential 
energy sources for the year 2023 pursuant to the Energy Policy and 
Conservation Act (Act). The five sources are electricity, natural gas, 
No. 2 heating oil, propane, and kerosene.

DATES: The representative average unit costs of energy contained in 
this notice will become effective September 27, 2023 and will remain in 
effect until further notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    Mr. John Cymbalsky, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy 
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, EE-5B, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, 
Washington, DC 20585-0121, Telephone: (202) 287-1692, Email: 
[email protected].
    Ms. Amelia Whiting, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General 
Counsel, GC-33, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0103, 
Telephone: (202) 586-2588, Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 323 of the Energy Policy and 
Conservation Act requires that DOE prescribe test procedures for the 
measurement of the estimated annual operating costs or other measures 
of energy consumption for certain consumer products specified in the 
Act. (42 U.S.C. 6293(b)(3)) These test procedures are found in title 10 
of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 430, subpart B.
    Section 323(b)(3) of the Act requires that the estimated annual 
operating costs of a covered product be calculated from measurements of 
energy use in a representative average use cycle or period of use and 
from representative average unit costs of the energy needed to operate 
such product during such cycle. (42 U.S.C. 6293(b)(3)) The section 
further requires that DOE provide information to manufacturers 
regarding the representative average unit costs of energy. (42 U.S.C. 
6293(b)(4)) This cost information should be used by manufacturers to 
meet their obligations under section 323(c) of the Act. Most notably, 
these costs are used to comply with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 
requirements for labeling. Manufacturers are required to use the 
revised DOE representative average unit costs when the FTC publishes 
new ranges of comparability for specific covered products, 16 CFR part 
305. Interested parties can also find information covering the FTC 
labeling requirements at https://www.ftc.gov/appliances.
    DOE last published representative average unit costs of residential 
energy in a Federal Register notice entitled, ``Energy Conservation 
Program for Consumer Products: Representative Average Unit Costs of 
Energy'', dated March 7, 2022, 87 FR 12681.
    On September 27, 2023, the cost figures published in this notice 
will become effective and supersede those cost figures published on 
March 7, 2022. The cost figures set forth in this notice will be 
effective until further notice.
    DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) has developed the 
2023 representative average unit after-tax residential costs found in 
this notice. These costs for electricity, natural gas, and No. 2 
heating oil are based on simulations used to produce

[[Page 58576]]

the August 2023, EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook (EIA releases the 
Outlook monthly). The representative average unit after-tax cost for 
propane is based on the U.S. residential sector prices found in the 
Annual Energy Outlook 2023, AEO2023) (March 16, 2023). The 
representative average unit after-tax cost for kerosene is derived from 
its price relative to that of heating oil, based on the 2010 to 2013 
averages of the U.S. refiner price to end users, which include all the 
major energy-consuming sectors in the U.S. for these fuels. The source 
for these price data is the July 2023, Monthly Energy Review DOE/EIA-
0035(2023/7). The Short-Term Energy Outlook, the Monthly Energy Review, 
and the Annual Energy Outlook are available on the EIA website at 
https://www.eia.doe.gov. For more information on the data sources used 
in this notice, contact the National Energy Information Center, 
Forrestal Building, EI-30, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 
20585, Telephone: (202) 586-8800, Email: [email protected].
    The 2023 representative average unit costs under section 323(b)(4) 
of the Act are set forth in Table 1, and will become effective 
September 27, 2023. They will remain in effect until further notice.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on August 23, 
2023, by Francisco Alejandro Moreno, Acting Assistant Secretary for 
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, pursuant to delegated authority 
from the Secretary of Energy. That document with the original signature 
and date is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in 
compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the 
undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to 
sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as 
an official document of the Department of Energy. This administrative 
process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon 
publication in the Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on August 23, 2023.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.

         Table 1--Representative Average Unit Costs of Energy for Five Residential Energy Sources (2023)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         Per million
            Type of energy                 Btu \1\      In commonly used terms    As required by test procedure
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electricity..........................          $46.19  15.76[cent]/kWh \2\ \3\  $0.158/kWh.
Natural Gas..........................           13.97  $1.397/therm \4\ or      $0.00001397/Btu.
                                                        $14.49/MCF \5\ \6\.
No. 2 Heating Oil....................           28.36  $3.89/gallon \7\.......  $0.00002836/Btu.
Propane..............................           32.62  $2.98/gallon \8\.......  $0.00003262/Btu.
Kerosene.............................           33.52  $4.53/gallon \9\.......  $0.00003352/Btu.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook (August 8, 2023), Annual Energy
  Outlook (March 16, 2023), and Monthly Energy Review (July 26, 2023).
Notes: Prices include taxes.
\1\ Btu stands for British thermal units.
\2\ kWh stands for kilowatt hour.
\3\ 1 kWh = 3,412 Btu.
\4\ 1 therm = 100,000 Btu.
\5\ MCF stands for 1,000 cubic feet.
\6\ For the purposes of this table, one cubic foot of natural gas has an energy equivalence of 1,037 Btu.
\7\ For the purposes of this table, one gallon of No. 2 heating oil has an energy equivalence of 137,381 Btu.
\8\ For the purposes of this table, one gallon of liquid propane has an energy equivalence of 91,333 Btu.
\9\ For the purposes of this table, one gallon of kerosene has an energy equivalence of 135,000 Btu.

[FR Doc. 2023-18532 Filed 8-25-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P