Department of Energy October 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

All programs with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) are required to undertake rigorous, objective peer review of their funded projects in order to ensure and enhance the management, relevance, effectiveness, and productivity of those projects. The 2011 Wind and Water Power Program, Water Power Peer Review Meeting will review the Program's portfolio of conventional hydropower and marine and hydrokinetic research and development and projects. The 2011 Water Power Peer Review Meeting will be held November 1 through November 3, 2011 in Alexandria, VA.

Under section 215 of the Federal Power Act, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) proposes to approve Reliability Standards PRC-006-1 (Automatic Underfrequency Load Shedding) and EOP- 003-2 (Load Shedding Plans), developed and submitted to the Commission for approval by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), the Electric Reliability Organization certified by the Commission. The proposed Reliability Standards establish design and documentation requirements for automatic underfrequency load shedding programs that arrest declining frequency and assist recovery of frequency following system events leading to frequency degradation. The Commission also proposes to approve the related Violation Risk Factors and Violation Severity Levels, implementation plan, and effective date proposed by NERC.

On September 7, 2011, DOE published its proposal to amend its regulations concerning unclassified assistance to foreign atomic energy activities. Today, DOE announces its intention to hold one informational Webinar on the proposed amendment to the regulations. Additionally, by this notice DOE is extending by 30 days the deadline for public comment.

This notice publishes the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Decision and Order in Case No. CAC-037, which amends the current waivers applicable to Mitsubishi's S&L Class and WR2 and WY Series products to require the use of Air-conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute 1230 (AHRI) as the alternative test procedure.

This notice publishes the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Decision and Order in Case No. CAC-032, which grants LG Electronics, Inc. (LG) a waiver from the existing DOE test procedures applicable to commercial package air-source and water-source central air conditioners and heat pumps. The waiver is specific to the LG Multi V SYNC II and Multi V Water II variable refrigerant flow (VRF) multi-split commercial heat pumps. As a condition of this waiver, LG must use the alternate test procedure set forth in this notice to test and rate its Multi V SYNC II and Multi V Water II VRF multi-split commercial heat pumps.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has initiated a test procedure rulemaking to develop active mode testing methodologies for residential microwave ovens. DOE specifically is seeking information, data, and comments regarding representative and repeatable methods for measuring the energy use of microwave-only ovens and combination microwave ovens, including: Food loads representative of consumer use; the repeatability of energy use measurements using different food loads; and consumer usage data on the hours of operation in active mode, standby mode, and off mode for the development of an integrated energy use metric.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) proposed amendments to the DOE test procedure for residential central air conditioners and heat pumps in a June 2010 notice of proposed rulemaking (June 2010 NOPR) and in an April 2011 supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (April 2011 SNOPR). The amendments proposed in this subsequent SNOPR would change the off-mode laboratory test steps and calculation algorithm to determine off-mode power consumption for residential central air conditioners and heat pumps. DOE welcomes written comments from the public on any subject within the scope of this test procedure rulemaking for addressing the off-mode energy consumption of residential central air conditioners and heat pumps.

International Transmission Company, d/b/a ITCTransmission (ITC), filed a request to further extend the comment period on its supplemental filing of operational documents in an ongoing Presidential permit proceeding regarding the ITC application to amend Presidential Permit No. PP-230-3.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) invites public comment in Docket No. RD11-10-000 on a proposed collection of information that the Commission is developing for submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Oak Ridge Reservation. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register.