Department of Energy 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On March 17, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) to amend the test procedure for commercial packaged boilers. That proposed rulemaking serves as the basis for the final rule. DOE incorporates by reference certain sections of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/Air- Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) Standard 1500, ``2015 Standard for Performance Rating of Commercial Space Heating Boilers.'' In addition, this final rule incorporates amendments that clarify the coverage for field-constructed commercial packaged boilers and the applicability of DOE's test procedure and standards for this category of commercial packaged boilers, provide an optional field test for commercial packaged boilers with rated input greater than 5,000,000 Btu/h, provide a conversion method to calculate thermal efficiency based on combustion efficiency testing for steam commercial packaged boilers with rated input greater than 5,000,000 Btu/h, modify the inlet water temperatures during tests of hot water commercial packaged boilers, establish limits on the ambient temperature during testing, and standardize terminology and provisions for ``rated input'' and ``fuel input rate.'' DOE originally published this final rule in the Federal Register on November 10, 2016, however that document contained errors and is being withdrawn on December 7, 2016. This is a republication of the final rule that replaces the version published on November 10, 2016 in its entirety.

This document is being issued under the authority of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended. The Department is providing notice of a subsequent arrangement under the Agreement for Cooperation Between the United States of America and the Republic of Kazakhstan Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy and the Agreement for Cooperation Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Japan Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy.

The U.S. Department of Energy is proposing to issue procedural regulations concerning the Secretary of Energy's issuance of an emergency order following the President's declaration of a Grid Security Emergency, under the Federal Power Act, as amended. The proposed procedures, if adopted, are intended to ensure the expeditious issuance of emergency orders under the Federal Power Act.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces its decision in Magnolia LNG, LLC (Magnolia LNG), DOE/FE Docket No. 13-132-LNG, to issue DOE/FE Order No. 3909, granting final long-term, multi contract authorization for Magnolia LNG to engage in the export of domestically produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the proposed Magnolia LNG facility located near Lake Charles, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, in a volume equivalent to 394.2 Bcf/yr (equal to 1.08 Bcf/day) of natural gas for a term of 25 years. Magnolia LNG is seeking to export LNG from the terminal to countries with which the United States has not entered into a free trade agreement (FTA) that requires national treatment for trade in natural gas, and with which trade is not prohibited by U.S. law or policy (non-FTA countries). Order No. 3909 is issued under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) and 10 CFR part 590 of DOE's regulations. DOE participated as a cooperating agency with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) \1\ analyzing the potential environmental impacts resulting from the proposed LNG facility.

On September 23, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNOPR) and announcement of public meeting pertaining to proposed energy conservation standards for residential furnaces in the Federal Register. The notice provided an opportunity for submitting written comments, data, and information by November 22, 2016. This document announces a reopening of the public comment period for submitting comments and data on the SNOPR or any other aspect of the rulemaking for residential furnaces. The comment period is reopened until January 6, 2017.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is revising its regulations to address incremental energy offer caps. We require that each regional transmission organization (RTO) and independent system operator (ISO): Cap each resource's incremental energy offer at the higher of $1,000/megawatt-hour (MWh) or that resource's verified cost- based incremental energy offer; and cap verified cost-based incremental energy offers at $2,000/MWh when calculating locational marginal prices (LMP). Further, we clarify that the verification process for cost-based incremental offers above $1,000/MWh should ensure that a resource's cost-based incremental energy offer reasonably reflects that resource's actual or expected costs. This Final Rule will improve price formation by reducing the likelihood that offer caps will suppress LMPs below the marginal cost of production, while compensating resources for the costs they incur to serve load, by enabling RTOs/ISOs to dispatch the most efficient set of resources when short-run marginal costs exceed $1,000/ MWh, by encouraging resources to offer supply to the market when it is most needed, and by reducing the potential for seams issues.

This notice announces receipt of a petition for waiver from Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (Samsung) seeking an exemption from specified portions of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) test procedure for determining the energy consumption of residential clothes washers. Samsung seeks to use an alternate test procedure to address certain issues involved in testing one clothes washer basic model, as identified in its petition, with a container volume between 6.0 cubic feet and 8.0 cubic feet. Samsung contends the basic model cannot be accurately tested using the currently applicable DOE test procedure. DOE solicits comments, data, and information concerning Samsung's petition and its suggested alternate test procedure. This notice also grants Samsung an interim waiver from the residential clothes washer test procedure for the specified basic model, subject to use of the alternative test procedure set forth in this notice.

In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) is soliciting public comment on the information collection, [FERC-725V (Mandatory Reliability Standards: COM Reliability Standards)] which will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for a review of the information collection requirements.

On June 30, 2016, President Obama signed the Freedom of Information Act Improvement Act of 2016. The Act requires agencies to revise their regulations within 180 days to account for the new statutory mandates. After undertaking a review of Commission regulations in accordance with Section 3 of the Act, the Commission is revising its FOIA regulations to incorporate the statutory mandates. Additionally, this rule updates the delegation regulations with respect to determinations made by the General Counsel in response to FOIA administrative appeals.