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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 146 / Tuesday, August 3, 2021 / Proposed Rules
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standard for microwave ovens addresses standby mode and off mode power use only. DOEs test procedures for microwave ovens are prescribed at 10
CFR 430.23i and appendix I to subpart B of 10 CFR part 430 Appendix I.
The following sections discuss DOEs authority to establish test procedures for microwave ovens and relevant background information regarding DOEs consideration of test procedures for this product.
A. Authority The Energy Policy and Conservation Act, as amended EPCA,1 authorizes DOE to regulate the energy efficiency of a number of consumer products and certain industrial equipment. 42 U.S.C.
62916317 Title III, Part B 2 of EPCA
established the Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products Other Than Automobiles, which sets forth a variety of provisions designed to improve energy efficiency. These products include microwave ovens, the subject of this document. 42 U.S.C.
6292a10
The energy conservation program under EPCA consists essentially of four parts: 1 Testing, 2 labeling, 3
Federal energy conservation standards, and 4 certification and enforcement procedures. Relevant provisions of EPCA specifically include definitions 42 U.S.C. 6291, test procedures 42
U.S.C. 6293, labeling provisions 42
U.S.C. 6294, energy conservation standards 42 U.S.C. 6295, and the authority to require information and reports from manufacturers 42 U.S.C.
6296.
The Federal testing requirements consist of test procedures that manufacturers of covered products must use as the basis for: 1 Certifying to DOE that their products comply with the applicable energy conservation standards adopted pursuant to EPCA 42
U.S.C. 6295s, and 2 making representations about the efficiency of those consumer products 42 U.S.C.
6293c. Similarly, DOE must use these test procedures to determine whether the products comply with relevant standards promulgated under EPCA. 42
U.S.C. 6295s Federal energy efficiency requirements for covered products established under EPCA generally supersede State laws and regulations concerning energy conservation testing, labeling, and standards. 42 U.S.C. 6297
DOE may, however, grant waivers of 1 All
references to EPCA in this document refer to the statute as amended through the Energy Act of 2020, Public Law 116260 Dec. 27, 2020.
2 For editorial reasons, upon codification in the U.S. Code, Part B was redesignated Part A.

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Federal preemption for particular State laws or regulations, in accordance with the procedures and other provisions of EPCA. 42 U.S.C. 6297d Under 42 U.S.C. 6293, EPCA sets forth the criteria and procedures DOE must follow when prescribing or amending test procedures for covered products.
EPCA requires that any test procedures prescribed or amended under this section be reasonably designed to produce test results which measure energy efficiency, energy use or estimated annual operating cost of a covered product during a representative average use cycle or period of use and not be unduly burdensome to conduct.
42 U.S.C. 6293b3
In addition, EPCA requires that DOE
amend its test procedures for all covered products to integrate measures of standby mode and off mode energy consumption. 42 U.S.C. 6295gg2A
Standby mode and off mode energy consumption must be incorporated into the overall energy efficiency, energy consumption, or other energy descriptor for each covered product unless the current test procedures already account for and incorporate standby mode and off mode energy consumption or such integration is technically infeasible. If an integrated test procedure is technically infeasible, DOE must prescribe a separate standby mode and off mode energy use test procedure for the covered product, if technically feasible. 42 U.S.C. 6295gg2Aii Any such amendment must consider the most current versions of the International Electrotechnical Commission IEC Standard 62301 3
and IEC Standard 62087 4 as applicable.
42 U.S.C. 6295gg2A
EPCA also requires that, at least once every 7 years, DOE evaluate test procedures for each type of covered product, including microwave ovens, to determine whether amended test procedures would more accurately or fully comply with the requirements for the test procedures to not be unduly burdensome to conduct and be reasonably designed to produce test results that reflect energy efficiency, energy use, and estimated operating costs during a representative average use cycle or period of use. 42 U.S.C.
6293b1A
If the Secretary determines, on her own behalf or in response to a petition by any interested person, that a test procedure should be prescribed or 3 IEC 62301, Household electrical appliances Measurement of standby power Edition 2.0, 2011
01.
4 IEC 62087, Methods of measurement for the power consumption of audio, video, and related equipment Edition 3.0, 201104.

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amended, the Secretary shall promptly publish in the Federal Register proposed test procedures and afford interested persons an opportunity to present oral and written data, views, and arguments with respect to such procedures. The comment period on a proposed rule to amend a test procedure shall be at least 60 days and may not exceed 270 days.5 In prescribing or amending a test procedure, the Secretary shall take into account such information as the Secretary determines relevant to such procedure, including technological developments relating to energy use or energy efficiency of the type or class of covered products involved. 42 U.S.C. 6293b2 If DOE
determines that test procedure revisions are not appropriate, DOE must publish its determination not to amend the test procedures. DOE is publishing this SNOPR in accordance with the 7-year review requirement specified in EPCA.
42 U.S.C. 6293b1A
B. Background On November 14, 2019, DOE
published a NOPR November 2019
NOPR that, in part, proposed to amend the standby mode test procedure of microwave ovens to explicitly provide that microwave ovens with connected functions e.g., microwave ovens that use Bluetooth technology, Wi-Fi, or internet connections are to be tested with network functions disabled.
84 FR 61836, 61843. DOE further proposed that if the connected function cannot be disabled per manufacturers instructions in the owners manual e.g., by pressing a button on the microwave ovens control panel, the energy use of such connected function need not be 5 DOE has historically provided a 75-day comment period for test procedure NOPRs pursuant to the North American Free Trade Agreement, U.S.Canada-Mexico NAFTA, Dec. 17, 1992, 32
I.L.M. 289 1993; the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, Public Law 103
182, 107 Stat. 2057 1993 codified as amended at 10 U.S.C.A. 2576 1993 NAFTA Implementation Act; and Executive Order 12889, Implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, 58
FR 69681 Dec. 30, 1993. However, on July 1, 2020, the Agreement between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and the United Canadian States USMCA, Nov. 30, 2018, 134
Stat. 11 i.e., the successor to NAFTA, went into effect, and Congresss action in replacing NAFTA
through the USMCA Implementation Act, 19 U.S.C.
4501 et seq. 2020, implies the repeal of E.O. 12889
and its 75-day comment period requirement for technical regulations. Thus, the controlling laws are EPCA and the USMCA Implementation Act.
Consistent with EPCAs public comment period requirements for consumer products, the USMCA
only requires a minimum comment period of 60
days. In the present case, DOE initially provided 60
days for comment on the proposed rulemaking. 84
FR 61835 Nov. 11, 2019. DOE is providing an additional 30-day comment period for the supplemental proposal presented in this document.

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