    [Federal Register Volume 91, Number 58 (Thursday, March 26, 2026)]
    [Notices]
    [Pages 14689-14690]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 2026-05899]

    =======================================================================
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------

    DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

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

    AGENCY: Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation, Department
    of Energy.

    ACTION: Notice.

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

    SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) forecasts the
    representative average unit costs of five residential energy sources
    for the year 2025 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 April 27, 2026 and will remain in
    effect until further notice.

    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
        Mr. Troy Watson, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Critical
    Minerals and Energy Innovation, EE-5B, 1000 Independence Avenue SW,
    Washington, DC 20585-0121, Telephone: (202) 449-9387, Email:
    ApplianceStandardsQuestions@ee.doe.gov.
        Mr. Peter Cochran, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General
    Counsel, GC-33, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0103,
    Telephone: (202) 586-4798, Email: peter.cochran@hq.doe.gov.

    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOE is required to prescribe test procedures
    for measuring the estimated annual operating costs or other measures of
    energy consumption for certain consumer products, as specified in
    Section 323 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (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.
        The estimated annual operating costs of a covered product must 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 the product during the cycle (Section
    323(b)(3) of the Act). (42 U.S.C. 6293(b)(3) and (b)(4)) DOE must
    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. These costs are also 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 October 17, 2024, 89 FR 83672. DOE's Energy Information
    Administration (EIA) developed the 2025 representative average unit
    after-tax residential costs found in this notice. EIA based these costs
    for electricity, natural gas, and No. 2 heating oil on its September
    2025, 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 2025 U.S. residential sector prices
    found in EIA's Annual Energy Outlook 2025 (AEO2025) (April 15, 2025).
    The Short-Term Energy Outlook and the Annual Energy Outlook are
    available on the EIA website at https://www.eia.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: infoctr@eia.doe.gov.
        The 2025 representative average unit costs under section 323(b)(4)
    of the Act are set forth in Table 1, and will become effective April
    27, 2026. They will remain in effect until further notice.

    Signing Authority

        This document of the Department of Energy was signed on March 17,
    2026, by Audrey Robertson, Assistant Secretary (EERE) for Critical
    Minerals and Energy Innovation, 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 March 24, 2026.
    Jennifer Hartzell,
    Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.

                Table 1--Representative Average Unit Costs of Energy for Five Residential Energy Sources
                                                         [2025]
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               $ Per million                                  As required by test
                 Type of energy                   Btu \1\       In commonly used terms             procedure
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Electricity.............................           50.47  17.22 [cent]/kWh \2\ \3\..  $0.1722/kWh.
    Natural Gas.............................           14.37  $1.43/therm \4\ or $14.9/   $0.00001437/Btu.
                                                               MCF \5\ \6\.
    No. 2 Heating Oil.......................           25.91  $3.56/gallon \7\..........  $0.00002591/Btu.
    Propane.................................           25.68  $2.35/gallon \8\..........  $0.00002568/Btu.
    Kerosene................................           25.11  $3.39/gallon \9\..........  $0.00002511/Btu.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook (September 9, 2025) and Annual Energy
      Outlook (April 15, 2025).
    Notes: Prices include taxes.
    \1\ Btu stands for British thermal units.
    \2\ kWh stands for kilowatt hour.
    \3\ 1 kWh = 3,412 Btu.

    [[Page 14690]]

    \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. 2026-05899 Filed 3-25-26; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 6450-01-P