Department of Energy February 4, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EIA, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, intends to extend for three years with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Form EIA-111, Quarterly Electricity Imports and Exports Report. 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.

On October 21, 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) to amend the test procedures for fluorescent lamp ballasts. That NOPR serves as the basis for this action. This final rule amends DOE's regulations concerning the test procedures for the measurement of energy consumption for fluorescent lamp ballasts. Specifically, these amendments clarify the requirement to use the test procedures in Appendix Q1 to demonstrate compliance with the energy conservation standards that apply to fluorescent lamp ballasts manufactured on or after November 14, 2014. These revisions follow the intent of the fluorescent lamp ballast test procedure final rule to support any new or revised energy conservation standards at the time those standards require compliance. This final rule also corrects the formula for power factor, which contained a mathematical error as adopted in that final rule.

In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) is submitting its information collections FERC-537 (Gas Pipeline Certificates: Construction, Acquisition and Abandonment), FERC-725F (Mandatory Reliability Standards for Nuclear Plant Interface Coordination), and FERC-725I (Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Northeast Power Coordinating Council), to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review of the information collection requirements. Any interested person may file comments directly with OMB and should address a copy of those comments to the Commission as explained below. The Commission previously issued a Notice in the Federal Register (79 FR 61068, 10/9/2014) requesting public comments. The Commission received no comments on the FERC-537, FERC-725F, and FERC-725I and is making this notation in its submittal to OMB.

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), as amended, prescribes energy conservation standards for various consumer products and certain commercial and industrial equipment, including commercial warm air furnaces (CWAF). EPCA also requires that every six years, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) must consider amending its standards for specified types of commercial heating, air-conditioning, and water-heating equipment in order to determine whether more- stringent, amended standards would be technologically feasible and economically justified, and would save a significant additional amount of energy. DOE has tentatively concluded that there is sufficient record evidence to support more-stringent standards, so DOE is proposing to amend the current energy conservation standards for CWAF. DOE also announces a public meeting to receive comment on these proposed standards and associated analyses and results.