[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 201 (Thursday, October 17, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83672-83673]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-23893]


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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.

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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 2024 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 November 18, 2024 and will remain in 
effect until further notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    Mr. Lucas Adin, 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. Emma Shahabi, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General 
Counsel, GC-33, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0103, 
Telephone: (202) 586-4789, 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) and (b)(4)) 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 August 28, 2023, 88 FR 58575.
    On November 18, 2024, the cost figures published in this notice 
will become effective and supersede those cost figures published on 
August 28, 2023. The cost figures set forth in this notice will be 
effective until further notice.
    DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) has developed the 
2024 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 the July 2024, EIA 
Short-Term Energy Outlook (EIA releases the Outlook monthly). The 
representative average unit after-tax costs for propane and kerosene 
are based on the projected 2024 U.S. residential sector prices found in 
the Annual Energy Outlook 2023 (AEO2023) (March 16, 2023). The Short-
Term Energy Outlook 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 2024 representative average unit costs under section 323(b)(4) 
of the Act are set forth in Table 1, and will become effective November 
18, 2024. They will remain in effect until further notice.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on October 10, 
2024, by Jeffrey Marootian, Principal Deputy 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

[[Page 83673]]

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 October 10, 2024.
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 (2024)
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                                         $ Per million
            Type of energy                  Btu \1\       In commonly used terms   As required by test procedure
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Electricity...........................           47.36  2 3 16.16 [cent]/kWh.....  $0.1616/kWh
Natural Gas...........................           13.38  $1.34/therm \4\ or $13.87/ $0.00001338/Btu
                                                         MCF 5 6.
No. 2 Heating Oil.....................           27.22  $3.74/gallon \7\.........  $0.00002722/Btu
Propane...............................           33.59  $3.07/gallon \8\.........  $0.00003359/Btu
Kerosene..............................           34.37  $4.64/gallon \9\.........  $0.00003437/Btu
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Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook (July 9, 2024) and Annual Energy
  Outlook (March 16, 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. 2024-23893 Filed 10-16-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P