Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 29515-29519 [2019-13383]

Agencies

• FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 121 (Monday, June 24, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29515-29519]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-13383]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') is 
seeking public comment on its proposal to extend for an additional 
three years the current Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA'') clearance for 
information collection requirements in its Energy Labeling Rule. That 
clearance expires on November 30, 2019.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before August 23, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Energy Labeling Rule 
PRA Comment, FTC File No. R611004'' on your comment, and file your 
comment online at https://www.regulations.gov by following the 
instructions on the web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment 
on paper, mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade 
Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 
CC-5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the 
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 
Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex 
J), Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hampton Newsome, (202) 326-2889, 
Attorney, Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 
Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 
20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, federal 
agencies must obtain approval from OMB for each collection of 
information they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of information'' 
means agency requests or requirements that members of the public submit 
reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. 44 
U.S.C. 3502(3); 5 CFR 1320.3(c). As required by section 3506(c)(2)(A) 
of the PRA, the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment 
before requesting that OMB extend the existing paperwork clearance for 
the Energy Labeling Rule, 16 CFR part 305 (OMB Control Number 3084-
0069).
    The Energy Labeling Rule implements the Energy Policy and 
Conservation Act

[[Page 29516]]

of 1975 (``EPCA'').\1\ The Rule establishes testing, reporting, 
recordkeeping, and labeling requirements for manufacturers of major 
household products (refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers; 
dishwashers; clothes washers; water heaters; room air conditioners; 
furnaces; central air conditioners; heat pumps; pool heaters; 
fluorescent lamp ballasts; lamp products; plumbing fittings; plumbing 
fixtures; ceiling fans; consumer specialty lamps; and televisions). The 
requirements relate specifically to the disclosure of information 
relating to energy consumption and water usage. The Rule's testing and 
disclosure requirements enable consumers purchasing products to compare 
the efficiency or energy use of competing models. In addition, EPCA and 
the Rule require manufacturers to submit relevant data to the 
Commission regarding energy or water usage in connection with the 
products they manufacture. The Commission uses this data to compile 
ranges of comparability for covered appliances for publication in the 
Federal Register. These submissions, along with required records for 
testing data, may also be used in enforcement actions involving alleged 
misstatements on labels or in advertisements.
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    \1\ 42 U.S.C. 6294.
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Burden Statement

    Estimated annual hours burden: 478,000.
    The estimated hours burden imposed by Section 324 of EPCA and the 
Commission's Rule include burdens for testing (354,802 hours); 
reporting (1,828 hours); recordkeeping (1,019 hours); labeling (108,864 
hours); retail and online catalog disclosures (6,800 hours); and online 
label posting (4,533 hours). The total burden for these activities is 
478,000 hours (rounded to the nearest thousand).
    The following estimates of the time needed to comply with the 
requirements of the Rule are based on census data, Department of Energy 
figures and estimates, general knowledge of manufacturing practices, 
and industry input and figures. Because the compliance burden falls 
almost entirely on manufacturers and importers (with a de minimis 
burden for retailers), burden estimates are calculated on the basis of 
the number of domestic manufacturers and/or the number of units shipped 
domestically in the various product categories.

A. Testing

    Under the Rule, manufacturers of covered products must test each 
basic model they produce to determine energy usage (or, in the case of 
plumbing fixtures, water consumption). The burden imposed by this 
requirement is determined by the number of basic models produced, the 
average number of units tested per model, and the time required to 
conduct the applicable test.
    Manufacturers need not subject each basic model to testing 
annually; they must retest only if the product design changes in such a 
way as to affect energy consumption. The staff estimates that the 
frequency with which models are tested every year ranges roughly 
between 10% and 50% and that the actual percentage of basic models 
tested varies by appliance category. In addition, the majority of tests 
conducted are required by Department of Energy requirements; therefore, 
it is likely that only a small portion of the tests conducted is 
attributable to the Rule's requirements. Accordingly, the burden 
estimates are based on the assumption that 25% of all basic models are 
tested annually due to the Rule's requirements. Thus, the estimated 
testing burden for the various categories of products covered by the 
Rule is as follows: \2\
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    \2\ The following numbers reflect estimates of the basic models 
in the market. The actual numbers will vary from year to year.

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                                                   Percentage of      Average
                                     Number of     models tested     number of      Labor hours    Total annual
    Category of manufacturer       basic models   (FTC required)   units tested      per unit     testing burden
                                                        (%)          per model        tested           hours
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Refrigerators, Refrigerator-               5,134              25               4               4          20,536
 freezers, and Freezers.........
Dishwashers.....................             875              25               4               1             875
Clothes washers.................             599              25               4               2           1,198
Water heaters...................           3,112              25               2              24          37,344
Room air conditioners...........           1,585              25               4               8          12,680
Furnaces........................           1,900              25               2               8           7,600
Central A/C.....................           1,270              25               2              24          15,240
Heat pumps......................             903              25               2              72          32,508
Pool heaters....................             215              25               2              12           1,290
Fluorescent lamp ballasts.......             454              25               4               3           1,362
Lamp products...................           5,100              25              12              14         214,200
Plumbing fittings...............           1,700              25               2               2           1,700
Plumbing fixtures...............          22,000              25               1           .0833             458
Ceiling Fans....................           6,966              25               3               1           5,225
Televisions.....................           2,586              25               2               2           2,586
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                                  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............         354,802
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B. Reporting

    The Rule requires that manufacturers of covered products ``shall 
submit annually a report for each model in current production 
containing the same information that must be submitted to the 
Department of Energy pursuant to 10 CFR part 429. In lieu of submitting 
the required information to the Commission as required by this section, 
manufacturers may submit such information to the Department of Energy 
via the CCMS at https://regulations.doe.gov/ccms as provided by 10 CFR 
429.12.'' 16 CFR 305.8(a)(1). The Rule also requires manufacturers to 
furnish links to images of their EnergyGuide labels as part of these 
required annual reports. 16 CFR 305.8(a)(5). Manufacturers must submit 
data to the FTC both when they begin manufacturing new models and 
annually. 16 CFR 305.8; 42 U.S.C. 6296(b).

[[Page 29517]]

    Reporting burden estimates are based on information from industry 
representatives. Manufacturers of some products, such as appliances and 
HVAC equipment, indicate that, for them, the reporting burden is best 
measured by the estimated time required to report on each model 
manufactured, while others, such as makers of fluorescent lamp ballasts 
and lamp products, state that an estimated number of annual burden 
hours by manufacturer is a more meaningful way to measure. The figures 
below reflect these different methodologies as well as the varied 
burden hour estimates provided by manufacturers of the different 
product categories that use the latter methodology.
Appliances, HVAC Equipment, Pool Heaters, and Televisions
    Staff estimates that the average reporting burden for these 
manufacturers is approximately two minutes per basic model. Based on 
this estimate, multiplied by a total of 14,633 basic models of these 
products, the annual reporting burden for the appliance, HVAC 
equipment, and pool heater industry is an estimated 838 hours (2 
minutes x 25,145 models / 60 minutes per hour).
Fluorescent Lamp Ballasts, Lamp Products, and Plumbing Products
    The total annual reporting burden for manufacturers of fluorescent 
lamp ballasts, lamp products, and plumbing fixtures is based on the 
estimated average annual burden for each category of manufacturers, 
multiplied by the number of manufacturers in each respective category, 
as shown below:

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                                                                   Annual burden                   Total annual
                    Category of manufacturer                         hours per       Number of       reporting
                                                                   manufacturer    manufacturers   burden hours
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Fluorescent lamp ballasts.......................................               6              20             120
Lamp products...................................................              15              50             750
Plumbing products...............................................               1             120             120
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    The total reporting burden for industries covered by the Rule is 
1,828 hours annually (838 + 120 + 750 + 120).

C. Recordkeeping

    The Rule requires manufacturers to keep records of the test data 
generated in performing the tests to derive information included on 
labels required by the Rule. EPCA and the Rule require manufacturers to 
keep records of the test data generated in performing the tests to 
derive information included on labels and required by the Rule. As with 
reporting, burden is calculated by number of models for appliances, 
HVAC equipment, pool heaters, and televisions, and by number of 
manufacturers for fluorescent lamp ballasts, lamp products, and 
plumbing products.
Appliances, HVAC Equipment, Pool Heaters, and Televisions
    The recordkeeping burden for manufacturers of appliances, HVAC 
equipment, pool heaters, and televisions varies directly with the 
number of tests performed. Staff estimates total recordkeeping burden 
to be approximately 419 hours for these manufacturers, based on an 
estimated average of one minute per record stored (whether in 
electronic or paper format), multiplied by 25,145 tests performed 
annually (1 x 25,145 / 60 minutes per hour).
Fluorescent Lamp Ballasts, Lamp Products, and Plumbing Products
    The total annual recordkeeping burden for manufacturers of 
fluorescent lamp ballasts, lamp products, and plumbing fixtures is 
based on the estimated average annual burden for each category of 
manufacturers (derived from industry sources), multiplied by the number 
of manufacturers in each respective category, as shown below:

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                                                                   Annual burden                   Total annual
                    Category of manufacturer                         hours per       Number of     recordkeeping
                                                                   manufacturer    manufacturers   burden hours
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Fluorescent lamp ballasts.......................................               2              20              40
Lamp products...................................................              10              50             500
Plumbing fixtures...............................................             0.5             120              60
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    The total recordkeeping burden for industries covered by the Rule 
is 1,019 hours annually (419 + 40 + 500 + 60).
D. Labeling
    EPCA and the Rule require that manufacturers of covered products 
provide certain information to consumers through labels on covered 
products. The burden imposed by this requirement consists of (1) the 
time needed to prepare labels, and (2) the time needed to affix 
required labels.
    EPCA and the Rule specify the content, format, and specifications 
for the required labels, so manufacturers need only add the energy 
consumption figures derived from testing. In addition, most companies 
use automation to generate labels, and the labels do not change from 
year to year.
    Given these considerations, staff estimates that the time to 
prepare labels for covered products is no more than four minutes per 
basic model. Based on Department of Energy data, staff has estimated 
that manufacturers offer approximately 54,399 basic models of covered 
products. Based on these estimates, staff estimates that the the 
approximate annual drafting burden involved in labeling covered 
products is 3,627 hours per year [54,399 (all basic models) x four 
minutes (drafting time per basic model) / 60 (minutes per hour)].
    Based on input from industry representatives and trade 
associations, staff estimates that it takes approximately 4 second to 
affix labels to products for retail sales.\3\ Based on an average of 4 
seconds per unit, the annual burden for affixing labels to covered 
products is 105,237 hours [4 (seconds) x 94,713,098 (the estimated 
number of total products shipped for

[[Page 29518]]

sale annually) divided by 3,600 (seconds per hour)].
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    \3\ Estimates from trade association members for labeling costs 
ranged from 1 second to 8 seconds. Staff has chosen a middle-ground 
estimate of 4 seconds, although due to improvements in automation, 
staff believes this estimate likely overstates the time spent 
labeling most covered products.
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    The total labeling burden for all industries covered by the Rule is 
108,864 (105,237 hours for preparation plus 3,627 hours for affixing) 
annually.

E. Online and Retail Sales Catalog Disclosures

    The Rule requires that sellers offering covered products online or 
through retail sales catalogs (i.e., those publications from which a 
consumer can order merchandise) disclose online or in the catalog 
energy or water consumption for each covered product. Because this 
information is supplied by the product manufacturers, the burden on the 
retailer consists of incorporating the information into the online or 
catalog presentation.
    In the past, staff has estimated that there are 100 sellers who 
offer covered products through paper retail catalogs. While the Rule 
initially imposed a burden on catalog sellers by requiring that they 
draft disclosures and incorporate them into the layouts of their 
catalogs, paper catalog sellers now have substantial experience with 
the Rule and its requirements. Energy and water consumption information 
has obvious relevance to consumers, so sellers are likely to disclose 
much of the required information with or without the Rule. Accordingly, 
given the small number of catalog sellers, their experience with 
incorporating energy and water consumption data into their catalogs, 
and the likelihood that many of the required disclosures would be made 
in the ordinary course of business, staff believes that any burden the 
Rule imposes on these paper catalog sellers would be minimal.
    Staff estimates that there are approximately 400 online sellers of 
covered products who are subject to the Rule's catalog disclosure 
requirements. Staff estimates that these online sellers each require 
approximately 17 hours per year to incorporate the data into their 
online catalogs. This estimate is based on the assumption that entry of 
the required information takes 1 minute per covered product and an 
assumption that the average online catalog contains approximately 1,000 
covered products (based on a sampling of websites of affected 
retailers). Given that there is a great variety among sellers in the 
volume of products they offer online, it is very difficult to estimate 
such volume with precision. In addition, this analysis assumes that 
information for all 1,000 products is entered into the catalog each 
year. This is assumption likely overstates the associated burden 
because the number of incremental additions to the catalog from year to 
year is likely to be much lower after initial start-up efforts have 
been completed. The total catalog disclosure burden for all industries 
covered by the Rule is 6,800 hours (400 sellers x 17 hours annually).

F. Online Label Posting

    The Rule require manufacturers to post images of their EnergyGuide 
and Lighting Facts labels online. Given approximately 54,399 total 
models at an estimated five minutes per model, this requirement entails 
a burden of 4,533 hours.
    Estimated annual cost burden: $12,063,968 in labor cost and 
$5,672,500 in other non-labor costs.
    Labor costs: Staff derived labor costs by applying estimated hourly 
cost figures to the burden hours described above. In calculating the 
cost figures, staff assumes that test procedures are conducted by 
skilled technical personnel at an hourly rate of $28.37, and that 
recordkeeping and reporting, and labeling and marking, generally are 
performed by clerical personnel at an hourly rate of $16.24.
    Based on the above estimates and assumptions, the total annual 
labor costs for the five different categories of burden under the Rule, 
applied to all the products covered by it, is $12,064,000 (rounded to 
the nearest thousand).\4\
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    \4\ The labor cost estimates below are derived from the Bureau 
of Labor Statistics figures in ``Table 1. National employment and 
wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey by 
occupation, May 2018,'' available at: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm.

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                                              Burden hours                                         Total annual
                  Activity                      per year          Wage category/hourly rate         labor cost
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Testing....................................         354,802  Engineering technicians ($28.37)...     $10,065,733
Reporting..................................           1,828  Data Entry/Information Processing            29,687
                                                              ($16.24).
Recordkeeping..............................           1,019  Data Entry/Information Processing            16,549
                                                              ($16.24).
Labeling...................................         108,864  Data Entry/Information Processing         1,767,951
                                                              ($16.24).
Online and Catalog disclosures.............           6,800  Data Entry/Information Processing           110,432
                                                              ($16.24).
Online Label Posting.......................           4,533  Data Entry/Information Processing            73,616
                                                              ($16.24).
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                                             ..............  ...................................      12,063,968
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    Capital or Other Non-Estimated annual non-labor cost: $5,672,500.
    Manufacturers must incur the cost of procuring labels used in 
compliance with the Rule. Based on estimates of 189,000,000 units 
shipped annually, at an average cost of three cents for each label, the 
total (rounded) labeling cost is $5,670,000.
    The overwhelming majority of manufacturers submit required annual 
reports through the DOE online reporting system. However, a limited 
number of manufacturers submit required reports to the Commission 
directly (rather than through trade associations) and incur some 
nominal costs for paper and postage. Staff estimates that these costs 
do not exceed $2,500.
    Request for Comment: Pursuant to Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 
the FTC invites comments on: (1) Whether the disclosure, recordkeeping, 
and reporting requirements are necessary, including whether the 
resulting information will be practically useful; (2) the accuracy of 
our burden estimates, including whether the methodology and assumptions 
used are valid; (3) how to improve the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the disclosure requirements; and (4) how to minimize the burden of 
providing the required information to consumers.
    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the FTC to consider 
your comment, we must receive it on or before August 23, 2019. Write 
``Energy Labeling Rule PRA Comment, FTC File No. __'' on your comment. 
Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit 
your comments online, or to send them to the Commission by courier or 
overnight service. To make sure that the Commission considers your 
online comment, you must file it through the https://www.regulations.gov website by

[[Page 29519]]

following the instructions on the web-based form provided. Your 
comment--including your name and your state--will be placed on the 
public record of this proceeding, including the https://www.regulations.gov website. As a matter of discretion, the Commission 
tries to remove individuals' home contact information from comments 
before placing them on the regulations.gov site.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``Energy Labeling Rule 
Comment, FTC File No. __'' on your comment and on the envelope, and 
mail it to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of 
the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex J), 
Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address: 
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 
400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 
20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by 
courier or overnight service.
    Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible 
website at www.regulations.gov, you are solely responsible for making 
sure that your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential 
information. In particular, your comment should not include any 
sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social 
Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state 
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; 
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also 
solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include 
any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other 
individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment 
should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or financial 
information which . . . is privileged or confidential''--as provided by 
Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 
16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including in particular competitively sensitive 
information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, 
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
    Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is 
requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled 
``Confidential,'' and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular, 
the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the 
comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and 
must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from 
the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept 
confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in 
accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your comment has 
been posted publicly at www.regulations.gov, we cannot redact or remove 
your comment unless you submit a confidentiality request that meets the 
requirements for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General 
Counsel grants that request.
    The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit 
the collection of public comments to consider and use in this 
proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and 
responsive public comments that it receives on or before August 23, 
2019. For information on the Commission's privacy policy, including 
routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.

Heather Hippsley,
Deputy General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2019-13383 Filed 6-21-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6750-01-P