[6450-01-P]
 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
 

10 CFR Part 430
 

(Docket No. EERE-2011-BT-STD-0006) 

RIN: 1904-AC43
 

Energy Efficiency Program for Consumer Products: Public Meeting and Availability of the 

Framework Document for General Service Fluorescent Lamps and Incandescent Reflector 

Lamps 

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and availability of the Framework Document. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) is initiating the 

rulemaking and data collection process to consider establishing amended energy conservation 

standards for certain general service fluorescent lamps (GSFLs) and incandescent reflector lamps 

(IRLs). Accordingly, DOE will hold a public meeting to discuss and receive comments on its 

planned analytical approach and the issues it will address in this rulemaking proceeding. DOE 

welcomes written comments from the public on this rulemaking. To inform stakeholders and to 

facilitate this process, DOE has prepared a framework document which details the analytical 

approach and identifies several issues on which DOE is particularly interested in receiving 

comment. The framework document is posted at: 

www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/residential/incandescent_lamps.html 

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DATES: The Department will hold a public meeting on October 4, 2011, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 

p.m. in Washington, DC for both this rulemaking on GSFL and IRL standards and the 

rulemaking on test procedures for GSFLs, general service incandescent lamps (GSILs), and 

IRLs. Any person requesting to speak at the public meeting should submit such request along 

with a signed original and an electronic copy of the statement to be given at the public meeting 

before 4:00 p.m., October 4, 2011. Written comments on the framework document are welcome, 

especially following the public meeting, and should be submitted by [INSERT DATE 45 DAYS 

AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER ]. 

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the U.S. Department of Energy, Forrestal
 

Building, Room 1E-245, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121. 

Please note that foreign nationals participating in the- public meeting are subject to advance
 

security screening procedures. If a foreign national wishes to participate in the public meeting,
 

please inform DOE of this fact as soon as possible by contacting Ms. Brenda Edwards at (202) 

586-2945 so that the necessary procedures can be completed. Please also note that those wishing
 

to bring laptops to the meeting will be required to obtain a property pass. Visitors should avoid 

bringing laptops, or allow an extra 45 minutes. 

Stakeholders may submit comments, identified by docket number EERE-2011-BT-STD0006 and/or Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) 1904-AC43, by any of the following methods: 

•	 Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for 

submitting comments. 

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• E-mail: GSFL-IRL_2011-STD-0006@ee.doe.gov. Include EERE-2011-BT-STD-0006 

and/or RIN 1904-AC43 in the subject line of the message. 

• Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, Building Technologies 

Program, Mailstop EE-2J, Framework Document for General Service Fluorescent Lamps 

and Incandescent Reflector Lamps, EERE-2011-BT-STD-0006 and/or RIN 1904-AC43, 

1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121. Please submit one 

signed paper original. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, Building 

Technologies Program, Sixth Floor, 950 L’Enfant Plaza, SW, Washington, DC 20024. 

Please submit one signed paper original.

 Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name and docket number 

or RIN number for this rulemaking.

 Docket: The docket for this rulemaking is available for review at www.regulations.gov, 

and will include Federal Register notices, framework documents, public meeting attendee lists 

and transcripts, comments, and other supporting documents/materials. All documents in the 

docket are listed in the www.regulations.gov index. Not all documents listed in the index may be 

publicly available, however, such as information that is exempt from public disclosure. 

A link to the docket web page can be found at: 

www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/residential/incandescent_lamps.html. This 

web page contains a link to the docket for this notice on regulations.gov. The regulations.gov 

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web page contains instructions on how to access all documents, including public comments, in 

the docket. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Tina Kaarsberg, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies, EE-2J, 

1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 287-1393. Email: Tina.Kaarsberg@ee.doe.gov. 

Ms. Elizabeth Kohl, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General Counsel, GC-71, 

1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-7796. 

E-mail: Elizabeth.Kohl@hq.doe.gov. 

For information on how to submit or review public comments and on how to participate 

in the public meeting, contact Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of 

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, EE-2J, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC, 20585-0121. Telephone (202) 586-2945. E-mail: 

Brenda.Edwards@ee.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title III of Energy Policy and Conservation Act 

(EPCA) (42 U.S.C. 6291 et seq.) sets forth a variety of provisions designed to improve energy 

efficiency. Part B of Title III (42 U.S.C. 6291-6309) established the “Energy Conservation 

Program for Consumer Products Other Than Automobiles,” which includes major household 

appliances.1

 Subsequent amendments expanded Title III of EPCA to include additional 

1

 Part B was re-designated Part A on codification in the U.S. Code for editorial reasons. 

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consumer products and certain commercial and industrial equipment, including certain 

fluorescent and incandescent lamps—the products that are the focus of this document. In 

particular, amendments to EPCA in the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct 1992), P.L. 102-486, 

established energy conservation standards for certain classes of GSFLs and IRLs, and required 

DOE to conduct two rulemaking cycles to determine whether these standards should be 

amended. (42 U.S.C. 6291(1), 6295(i)(1) and (3)-(4)) EPCA also authorized DOE to adopt 

standards for additional GSFLs if such standards were warranted. (42 U.S.C. 6295(i)(5)) 

DOE completed the first cycle of amendments by publishing a final rule in the Federal 

Register in July 2009 (hereafter referred to as the 2009 Lamps Rule). 74 FR 34080 (July 14, 

2009). The 2009 Lamps rule addressed two statutory directives under 42 U.S.C. 6295(i) by 

amending existing GSFL and IRL energy conservation standards. (42 U.S.C. 6295(i)(3)) and 

adopting standards for additional GSFLs (42 U.S.C. 6295(i)(5)). This rule also amended the 

definition of “colored fluorescent lamp” and “rated wattage” and adopted test procedures 

applicable to the newly covered GSFL. Information regarding the 2009 Lamps Rule can be 

found on DOE’s website at: 

www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/residential/incandescent_lamps.html. 

EPAct 1992 amendments to EPCA added as covered products certain IRLs with wattages 

of 40 watts (W) or higher, and established energy conservation standards for these IRLs. In 

defining the term “incandescent reflector lamp,” EPAct 1992 excluded lamps with elliptical 

reflector (ER) and bulged reflector (BR) bulb shapes, and with diameters of 2.75 inches or less. 

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Therefore, such IRLs were neither included as covered products nor subject to EPCA’s standards 

for IRLs. 

Section 322(a)(1) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007) 

subsequently amended EPCA to expand the Act’s definition of “incandescent reflector lamp” to 

include lamps with a diameter between 2.25 and 2.75 inches, as well as lamps with ER, BR, 

bulged parabolic aluminized reflector (BPAR), or similar bulb shapes. (42 U.S.C. 

6291(30)(C)(ii) and (F)) Section 322(b) of EISA 2007, in amending EPCA to set forth revised 

standards for IRLs in new section 325(i)(1)(C), exempted from these standards the following 

categories of IRLs: (1) lamps rated 50 watts or less that are ER30, BR30, BR40, or ER40; (2) 

lamps rated 65 watts that are BR30, BR40, or ER40 lamps; and (3) R20 incandescent reflector 

lamps rated 45 watts or less. (42 U.S.C. 6295(i)(C)) DOE refers to these three categories of 

lamps collectively as certain reflector (R), ER and BR IRLs. 

DOE has concluded, for the reasons that follow, that it has the authority under EPCA to 

adopt standards for these R, ER, and BR IRLs, and that these lamps are covered by the directive 

in 42 U.S.C. 6295(i)(3) to amend EPCA’s standards for IRLs. First, by amending the definition 

of “incandescent reflector lamp” (42 U.S.C. 6291(30)(C)(ii) and (F)), EISA 2007 effectively 

brought these R, ER and BR IRLs into the Federal energy conservation standards program as 

covered products, thereby subjecting them to DOE’s regulatory authority. Second, although 42 

U.S.C 6295(i)(1)(C) exempts these R, ER and BR IRLs from the standards specified in 42 

U.S.C. 6295(i)(1)(B), EPCA directs that DOE amend the standards laid out in 42 U.S.C 

6295(i)(1), which includes subparagraph (C). As a result, the statutory text exempted these bulbs 

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only from the standards specified in 42 U.S.C. 6295(i)(1), not from future regulation. 

Consequently, DOE is considering energy conservation standards for these R, ER and BR IRLs. 

DOE initiated a new rulemaking for these products by publishing a framework document and 

publishing a notice announcing its availability. 75 FR 23191 (May 3, 2010). DOE held a public 

meeting on May 26, 2010 to seek input from interested parties on its methodologies, 

assumptions, and data sources. 

To initiate the second rulemaking cycle to consider amended energy conservation 

standards for GSFLs and IRLs (other than the certain R, ER and BR IRLs discussed in the 

preceding paragraphs), DOE has prepared a framework document to explain the issues, analyses, 

and processes it anticipates using for the development of potential energy efficiency standards 

for certain GSFLs and IRLs. The framework document is available at 

www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/residential/incandescent_lamps.html. 

In a separate rulemaking proceeding, DOE is also considering amendments to the test 

procedures used for determining the performance of GSFLs and IRLs. DOEs proposed 

amendments to the test procedures for GSFLs and IRLs are published elsewhere in today’s 

Federal Register. 

As noted in DATES, DOE will hold a public meeting on October 4, 2011 in Washington 

D.C. to discuss the analyses presented and issues identified in the framework document prepared 

for the development of potential GSFL and IRL energy efficiency standards. At the public 

meeting, the Department will make a number of presentations, invite discussion on the 

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rulemaking process as it applies to the covered products, and solicit comments, data, and 

information from participants and other interested parties. The Department encourages those 

who wish to participate in the public meeting to obtain the framework document and to be 

prepared to discuss its contents. 

Public meeting participants need not limit their comments to the issues identified in the 

framework document. The Department is also interested in receiving views concerning other 

relevant issues that participants believe would affect energy conservation standards for these 

products or the applicable test procedures. Furthermore, the Department welcomes all interested 

parties, regardless of whether they participate in the public meeting, to submit in writing by the 

date specified in the DATES section, comments and information on matters addressed in the 

framework document and on other matters relevant to consideration of standards for GSFL and 

IRL. 

The public meeting will be conducted in an informal, facilitated, conference style. There 

shall be no discussion of proprietary information, costs or prices, market shares, or other 

commercial matters regulated by U.S. antitrust laws. A court reporter will record the 

proceedings of the public meeting, after which a transcript will be made available on DOE’s 

website at 

www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/residential/incandescent_lamps.html. 

After the public meeting and the close of the comment period on the framework 

document, DOE will begin collecting data, conducting the analyses as discussed in the 

framework document and at the public meeting, and reviewing the comments received. 

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DOE considers public participation to be a very important part of the process for setting 

energy conservation standards. DOE actively encourages the participation and interaction of the 

public during the comment period in each stage of the rulemaking process. Beginning with the 

framework document, and during each subsequent public meeting and comment period, 

interactions with and between members of the public provide a balanced discussion of the issues 

to assist DOE the standards rulemaking process. Accordingly, anyone who would like to 

participate in the public meeting, receive meeting materials, or be added to the DOE mailing list 

to receive future notices and information regarding this rulemaking on GSFL and IRL, should 

contact Ms. Brenda Edwards at (202) 586-2945, or via e-mail at: Brenda.Edwards@ee.doe.gov. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on September 6, 2011. 

__________________________________ 

Kathleen B. Hogan

 Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency

 Office of Technology Development 

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy 

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