REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS FOR FLUORESCENT LAMP BALLASTS 

TABLE OF CONTENTS
 

RIA.1 INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................1
 

RIA.2 METHODOLOGY ..........................................................................................................1
 

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REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS FOR FLUORESCENT LAMP BALLASTS 

RIA.1 INTRODUCTION 

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will prepare a draft regulatory impact analysis in 

compliance with Executive Order 12866, “Regulatory Planning and Review,” which will be 

subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs. 58 FR 51735 (September 30, 1993). DOE will conduct this analysis as part 

of the notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR). 

RIA.2 METHODOLOGY 

As part of the regulatory impact analysis and as discussed in chapter 12, “Manufacturer 

Impact Analysis,” of the preliminary technical support document (TSD), DOE will identify and 

seek to mitigate the overlapping effects on manufacturers of new or amended energy 

conservation standards and other regulatory actions affecting the same products. Through 

manufacturer interviews and literature searches, DOE will compile information on burdens from 

existing and pending regulations affecting fluorescent lamp ballasts. 

The regulatory impact analysis also will address the potential for non-regulatory 

approaches to supplant or augment energy conservation standards to improve the efficacy of 

fluorescent lamp ballasts. The NOPR will include a complete quantitative analysis of alternatives 

to the proposed energy conservation standards. DOE will use the National Energy Savings (NES) 

model (discussed in chapter 10, “National Impact Analysis,” of the preliminary TSD) to 

calculate the NES and net present value (NPV) for the alternatives to the proposed energy 

conservation standards. Listed below are some of the alternative means of achieving energy 

efficiency improvements that DOE has used in prior rulemakings. 

• no new regulatory action; 

• consumer tax incentives; 

• manufacturer tax incentives; 

• performance standards; 

• rebates; 

• voluntary energy efficiency targets; 

• early replacement (i.e., retrofit); and 

• bulk government purchases. 

The TSD in support of the NOPR will include a complete analysis of each alternative. 

To compare each alternative to proposed energy conservation standards, DOE will need 

to quantify the effect of each alternative on the purchase and use of more efficacious fluorescent 

lamp ballasts. Once DOE estimates the impacts of alternatives to the standard, DOE will run 

these standard-alternative scenarios in the NES model. Key inputs that DOE may adjust in the 

NES model for this analysis include: 

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•	 energy prices and escalation factors; 

•	 implicit market discount rates for trading off purchase price against operating expense 

when choosing equipment efficiency; 

•	 customer purchase price, operating cost, and shipment scenarios; 

•	 customer price versus efficiency relationships; and 

•	 equipment stock data (purchase of new equipment or turnover rates for inventories). 

The output from the NES model for each alternative considered will be as follows: 

•	 Energy use (EJ = 1018 joule) is the cumulative energy use of the equipment from the 

effective date of the amended standard to 2044. DOE will report electricity consumption 

as primary energy. 

•	 National energy savings is the cumulative national energy use from the base case 

projection less the alternative projection. 

•	 Net present value is the value of future operating cost savings from fluorescent lamp 

ballasts bought in the period between the effective date of the new standard and the close 

of the analysis period (2044). DOE calculates the NPV as the difference between the 

present value of equipment and operating expenditures (e.g., energy) in the base case, and 

the present value of expenditures in each alternative case. DOE will discount future 

operating and equipment expenditures to its analysis year using two discount rates: 7 and 

3 percent. DOE will also calculate operating expenses (including electricity costs) over 

the life of the equipment. 

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