Department of Energy September 13, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Deputy Secretary of the Department of Energy confirmed and approved, on an interim basis, Rate Schedules JW-1-J and JW-2-F. The rates were approved on an interim basis up to September 19, 2016, and are subject to confirmation and approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) on a final basis.

The Office of Fossil Energy announces the availability of the 2011 Annual Plan for the Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional Natural Gas and Other Petroleum Resources Research and Development Program on the DOE Web site at https://www.fossil.energy.gov/programs/oilgas/ultra_ and_unconventional/2011-2012_Committees/2011_annual_plan.pdf or in print form (see ``Contact'' below). The 2011 Annual Plan is in compliance with the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Subtitle J, Section 999B(e)(3) which requires the publication of this plan and all written comments in the Federal Register.

In an earlier final rule, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) prescribed amendments to its test procedures for residential furnaces and boilers to include provisions for measuring the standby mode and off mode energy consumption of those products, as required by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. These test procedure amendments are primarily based on provisions incorporated by reference from the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Standard 62301 (First Edition), ``Household electrical appliancesMeasurement of standby power.'' This document proposes to further update the DOE test procedure through incorporation by reference of the latest edition of the industry standard, specifically IEC Standard 62301 (Second Edition). The new version of this IEC standard includes a number of methodological changes designed to increase accuracy while reducing testing burden. DOE's review suggests that this document represents an improvement over the prior version, so DOE has decided to exercise its discretion to consider the revised IEC standard. DOE is also announcing a public meeting to discuss and receive comments on the issues presented in this rulemaking.

On August 30, 2010, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) in which DOE proposed to amend, where appropriate, its test procedures for residential water heaters, direct heating equipment, and pool heaters to include provisions for measuring standby mode and off mode energy consumption, as required by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007). (DOE notes that the test procedure and metric for residential water heaters currently address and incorporate standby mode and off mode energy consumption, so DOE has tentatively concluded that no related amendments are required for those products.). These proposed test procedure amendments are primarily based on provisions of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Standard 62301, ``Household electrical appliancesMeasurement of standby power,'' that DOE would incorporate by reference into its regulations. The NOPR relied upon IEC Standard 62301 (First Edition 2005-06), which was the most current version at the time. However, the IEC recently adopted a new version of its standard which includes a number of methodological changes designed to increase accuracy while reducing testing burden. DOE's review suggests that this document represents an improvement over the prior version. Accordingly, today's supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNOPR) proposes to incorporate the latest edition of that standardIEC Standard 62301 (Second Edition 2011).