[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 116 (Thursday, June 17, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 32403-32404]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-15340]
[[Page 32403]]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
16 CFR Part 305
Rule Concerning Disclosures Regarding Energy Consumption and
Water Use of Certain Home Appliances and Other Products Required Under
the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (``Appliance Labeling Rule'')
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission amends its Appliance Labeling
Rule by publishing new ranges of comparability to be used on required
labels for clothes washers.
EFFECTIVE DATE: September 15, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Mills, Attorney, Division of
Enforcement, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20580 (202-326-
3035).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Appliance Labeling Rule (``Rule'') was issued by the Commission
in 1979, 44 FR 66466 (Nov. 19, 1979), in response to a directive in the
Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975.\1\ The Rule covers eight
categories of major household appliances. Clothes washers are among
those categories. The Rule also covers pool heaters, 59 FR 49556 (Sept.
28, 1994), and contains requirements that pertain to fluorescent lamp
ballasts, 54 FR 28031 (July 5, 1989), certain plumbing products, 58 FR
54955 (Oct. 25, 1993), and certain lighting products, 59 FR 25176 (May
13, 1994, eff. May 15, 1995).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 42 U.S.C. 6294. The statute also requires the Department of
Energy (``DOE'') to develop test procedures that measure how much
energy the appliances use, and to determine the representative
average cost a consumer pays for the different types of energy
available.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Rule requires manufacturers of all covered appliances and pool
heaters to disclose specific energy consumption or efficiency
information (derived from the DOE test procedures) at the point of sale
in the form of an ``EnergyGuide'' label and in catalogs. It also
requires manufacturers of furnaces, central air conditioners, and heat
pumps either to provide fact sheets showing additional cost
information, or to be listed in an industry directory showing the cost
information for their products. The Rule requires manufacturers to
include, on labels and fact sheets, an energy consumption or efficiency
figure and a ``range of comparability.'' This range shows the highest
and lowest energy consumption or efficiencies for all comparable
appliance models so consumers can compare the energy consumption or
efficiency of other models (perhaps competing brands) similar to the
labeled model. The Rule also requires manufacturers to include, on
labels for some products, a secondary energy usage disclosure in the
form of an estimated annual operating cost based on a specificed DOE
national average cost for the fuel the appliance uses.
Section 305.8(b) of the Rules requires manufacturers, after filing
an initial report, to report certain information annually to the
Commission by specified dates for each product type.\2\ These reports,
which are to assist the Commission in preparing the ranges of
comparability, contain the estimated annual energy consumption or
energy efficiency ratings for the appliances derived from tests
performed pursuant to the DOE test procedures. Because manufacturers
regularly add new models to their lines, improve existing models, and
drop others, the data base from which the ranges of comparability are
calculated is constantly changing. To keep the required information
consistent with these changes, under Sec. 305.10 of the Rule the
Commission will publish new ranges (but not more often than annually)
if an analysis of the new information indicates that the upper or lower
limits of the ranges have changed by more than 15%. Otherwise, the
Commission will publish a statement that the prior ranges remain in
effect for the next year.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Reports for clothes washers are due March 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Manufacturers of clothes washers have made the required annual
submissions of data for this product category. In analyzing the data,
the Commission has found that there has been a significant change of
more than 15% in the ranges. Accordingly, the Commission is publishing
new ranges of comparability for the clothes washer category. These
ranges will supersede the current ranges for clothes washers, which
were published originally on April 20, 1998 (63 FR 19398), and which
became effective August 12, 1998.
In consideration of the foregoing, the Commission revises Appendix
F of its Appliance Labeling Rule by publishing the following ranges of
comparability for use in required disclosures (including labeling) for
clothes washers manufactured on or after September 15, 1999. In
addition, as of this effective date, manufacturers must base the
disclosures of estimated annual operating cost required at the bottom
of the EnergyGuide for clothes washers on the 1999 Representative
Average Unit Costs of Energy for electricity (8.22 cents per kiloWatt-
hour) and natural gas (68.8 cents per therm) that were published by DOE
on January 5, 1999, 64 FR 487, and by the Commission on February 17,
1999, 64 FR 7785.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act relating to a
Regulatory Flexibility Act analysis (5 U.S.C. 603-604) are not
applicable to this proceeding because the amendments do not impose any
new obligations on entities regulated by the Appliance Labeling Rule.
Thus, the amendments will not have a ``significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities'' (5 U.S.C. 605). The Commission
has concluded, therefore, that a regulatory flexibility analysis is not
necessary, and certifies, under section 605 of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 605(b)), that the amendments announced today
will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of
small entities.
Paperwork Reduction Act
The Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.,
requires government agencies, before promulgating rules or other
regulations that require ``collections of information'' (i.e.,
recordkeeping, reporting, or third-party disclosure requirements), to
obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB''), 44
U.S.C. 3502. The Commission currently has OMB clearance for the Rule's
information collection requirements (OMB No. 3084-0069). The amendment
will not impose any new information collection requirements. Instead,
it will provide manufacturers with revised ranges of comparability to
use on the EnergyGuide labels already required by the Rule.
List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 305
Advertising, Energy conservation, Household appliances, Labeling,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Accordingly, 16 CFR part 305 is amended as follows:
PART 305--[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for part 305 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6294.
2. Appendix F to Part 305 is revised to read as follows:
Appendix F to Part 305--Clothes Washers
Range Information: ``Compact'' includes all household clothes
washers
[[Page 32404]]
with a tub capacity of less than 1.6 cu. ft. or 13 gallons of water.
``Standard'' includes all household clothes washers with a tub
capacity of 1.6 cu. ft. or 13 gallons of water or more.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Range of estimated
annual energy
Capacity consumption (kWh/yr.)
-------------------------
Low High
------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMPACT....................................... ........... ...........
Top Loading............................... 537 607
Front Loading............................. (*) (*)
STANDARD...................................... ........... ...........
Top Loading............................... 294 1154
Front Loading............................. 156 314
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(*) No Data Submitted
By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-15340 Filed 6-16-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-M
