### Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 13 / Wednesday , January 21, 1998 / Proposed Rules 3053

(DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

!Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

10 CFR Part 430

Energy Efficiency Test Procedures for Distribution Transformers

[Docket Number EE

- DET-97-550]

RIN 1904-AA85

AGENCY : Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy.

ACTION : Notice of public workshop.

SUMMARY : The Department of Energy (DOE) will hold an informal public workshop to discuss issues and gather information related to test procedures for electric distribution transformers. All persons are hereby given notice of the opportunity to attend this public workshop and to submit written

comments.
DATES : The public workshop will be held on Tuesday, February 10, 1998, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

ADDRESSES : The workshop will be held at the U.S. Department of Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 1E-245, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585. Written comments are welcome, especially following the workshop. Please submit 10 copies (no faxes) to: Ms. Kathi Epping, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, "Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Test Procedures for Distribution Transformers, Docket No. EE-DET-97-550," EE-43, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-7425; Telefax: (202) 586-4617. Copies of the transcript of the public workshop, public comments received, and this notice may be read (or copied) at the Freedom of Information Reading Room, U.S. Department of Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 1E-190, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-7574, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathi Epping, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, EE-43, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121, (202) 586- 7425, email: Kathi.Epping@hq.doe.gov, or Edward Levy, Esq., U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General Counsel, GC-72, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586- 9507, email: Edward.Levy@hq.doe.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 22, 1997, the Secretary determined, based on the best information currently available, that energy conservation standards for
electric distribution transformers are technologically feasible, economically justified, and would result in a significant energy savings. This determination initiated the process of establishing, by notice and comment rulemaking, test procedures and energy conservation standards for this product. The Department of Energy is drafting a proposed rule to implement the provisions of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, 42 U.S.C. 6317, for test procedures for distribution transformers. However, several issues have been raised. The purpose of the public workshop is to discuss the following issues for developing the notice of proposed rulemaking: a. Adoption of national and
international consensus standards in the test procedures for determining energy efficiency of distribution transformers; b. Burden imposed on industry, especially on manufacturers, by additional testing and data processing; c. The definition of "basic model" for distribution transformers; d. Sampling plan for units to be tested; e. Selection of a measure of energy consumption for distribution transformers;f. Selecting reference temperaturesthe reference temperatures in the consensus standards lack uniformity; g. Requirement for applying
corrections to measurement data of both liquid-immersed and dry-types of transformers; and h. Requirement for quality assurance in testing. The Department has prepared a paper entitled "Issues Paper for the Distribution Transformers Test Procedures Workshop on February 10, 1998" that explains and discusses- these

### 3054 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 13 / Wednesday , January 21, 1998 / Proposed Rules

issues in greater detail. For many of the issues, the paper sets forth approaches that the Department is considering and may propose in the notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR). In addition, the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has prepared a draft set of test procedures for transformers, and the Department is considering these as well in preparing the NOPR. Copies of the issues paper and the NIST draft are available upon request. The Department is particularly interested in receiving at the workshop
comments and views of interested parties concerning (1) the above-listed
issues , (2) the approaches the Department is considering for addressing these issues, (3) the NIST draft of test procedures, and (4) possible alternatives to the approaches the Department is considering and to the provisions in NIST's draft test procedures. The Department encourages those who wish to participate in the workshop to obtain the issue paper and the NIST draft, and to make presentations that address their contents. Workshop participants need
not limit their statements to those topics, however. The Department is interested in receiving views concerning other issues that participants believe
would affect the content of distribution transformer test procedures.
The meeting will be conducted in an informal, conference style. A court reporter will be present to record the minutes of the meeting. There shall be no discussion of proprietary information, costs or prices, market shares, or other commercial matters regulated by antitrust law. After the meeting and a period for written statements, the Department will consider the views presented in formulating a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding energy efficiency test procedures for distribution
transformers.
If you would like to participate in the workshop, to receive workshop materials, or to be added to the DOE mailing list to receive future notices and information regarding distribution transformers, please contact Ms. Brenda
EdwardsJones at (202) 586-2945.

Issued in Washington, DC, on January 14,
1998.
Dan W. Reicher,
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy.

[FR Doc. 98-1370 Filed 1-20-98; 8:45 am]

BIU.IN CODE 6450-01-P