Department of Energy April 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposes to establish test procedures for electrically-powered devices used in residential heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) products to circulate air through ductwork, hereafter referred to as ``furnace fans.'' DOE proposes a test procedure that would be applicable to furnace fans that are used in weatherized and non-weatherized gas, oil and electric furnaces and modular blowers, even though DOE interprets its authority as encompassing more than just circulation fans used in furnaces. This notice proposes to establish a test method for measuring the electrical consumption of the furnace fans used in these products. Concurrently, DOE is undertaking an energy conservation standards rulemaking to address the electrical energy used by these products for circulating air. Once these energy conservation standards are promulgated, the adopted test procedures would be used to determine compliance with the standards. DOE is also requesting written comments on issues presented in this test procedure rulemaking. DOE does not plan to hold a public meeting to discuss the modified proposals of this supplemental notice.

In this Final Rule, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) is amending its regulations to revise the filing requirements for natural gas pipelines that choose to recover Commission-assessed annual charges through an annual charge adjustment (ACA) clause. Currently, natural gas pipelines utilizing an ACA clause must make an annual tariff filing to reflect a revised ACA unit charge authorized by the Commission for that fiscal year. To reduce the regulatory burden on these pipelines, the Commission will eliminate this annual filing requirement. In its place, the Commission will require natural gas pipelines utilizing an ACA clause to incorporate the Commission-authorized annual charge unit rate by reference to that rate, as published on the Commission's Web site located at https:// www.ferc.gov.