Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 57 / Monday, March 25, 2013 / Notices 17927 

1For editorial reasons, on codification in the U.S. 

Code, Part B was re-designated Part A. 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy 

[Case No. DW–009] 

Energy Conservation Program for 

Consumer Products: Decision and 

Order Granting a Waiver to BSH 

Corporation From the Department of 

Energy Residential Dishwasher Test 

Procedure 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Decision and Order. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) gives notice of the 

decision and order (Case No. DW–009) 

that grants to BSH Corporation (BSH) a 

waiver from the DOE dishwasher test 

procedure for certain basic models 

containing integrated or built-in water 

softeners. Under today’s decision and 

order, BSH shall be required to test and 

rate its dishwashers with integrated 

water softeners using an alternate test 

procedure that takes this technology 

into account when measuring energy 

and water consumption. 

DATES: This Decision and Order is 

effective March 25, 2013 through May 

29, 2013. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Bryan Berringer, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Building Technologies Office 

Mail Stop EE–2J, Forrestal Building, 

1000 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–0371. Email: 

Bryan.Berringer@ee.doe.gov. 

Ms. Elizabeth Kohl, U.S. Department 

of Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 

Mail Stop GC–71, Forrestal Building, 

1000 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0103. 

Telephone: (202) 586–7796. Email: 

Elizabeth.Kohl@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOE gives 

notice of the issuance of its decision and 

order as set forth below. The decision 

and order grants BSH a waiver from the 

applicable residential dishwasher test 

procedure in 10 CFR part 430, subpart 

B, appendix C for certain basic models 

of dishwashers with built-in or 

integrated water softeners, provided that 

BSH tests and rates such products using 

the alternate test procedure described in 

this notice. Today’s decision prohibits 

BSH from making representations 

concerning the energy efficiency of 

these products unless the product has 

been tested consistent with the 

provisions of the alternate test 

procedure set forth in the decision and 

order below, and the representations 

fairly disclose the test results. 

Distributors, retailers, and private 

labelers are held to the same standard 

when making representations regarding 

the energy efficiency of these products. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on March 19, 

2013. 

Kathleen B. Hogan, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy 

Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy. 

Decision and Order 

In the Matter of: BSH Corporation 

(Case No. DW–009). 

I. Background and Authority 

Title III of the Energy Policy and 

Conservation Act (EPCA) sets forth a 

variety of provisions concerning energy 

efficiency. Part B of Title III provides for 

the ‘‘Energy Conservation Program for 

Consumer Products Other Than 

Automobiles.’’ 1 42 U.S.C. 6291–6309. 

Part B includes definitions, test 

procedures, labeling provisions, energy 

conservation standards, and the 

authority to require information and 

reports from manufacturers. Further, 

Part B authorizes the Secretary of 

Energy to prescribe test procedures that 

are reasonably designed to produce 

results that measure energy efficiency, 

energy use, or estimated operating costs, 

and that are not unduly burdensome to 

conduct. 42 U.S.C. 6293(b)(3). The test 

procedure for residential dishwashers, 

the subject of today’s notice, is 

contained in 10 CFR part 430, subpart 

B, appendix C. 

DOE’s regulations for covered 

products contain provisions allowing a 

person to seek a waiver for a particular 

basic model from the test procedure 

requirements for covered consumer 

products when (1) the petitioner’s basic 

model for which the petition for waiver 

was submitted contains one or more 

design characteristics that prevent 

testing according to the prescribed test 

procedure, or (2) when prescribed test 

procedures may evaluate the basic 

model in a manner so unrepresentative 

of its true energy consumption 

characteristics as to provide materially 

inaccurate comparative data. 10 CFR 

430.27(a)(1). Petitioners must include in 

their petition any alternate test 

procedures known to the petitioner to 

evaluate the basic model in a manner 

representative of its energy 

consumption characteristics. 

The Assistant Secretary for Energy 

Efficiency and Renewable Energy (the 

Assistant Secretary) may grant a waiver 

subject to conditions, including 

adherence to alternate test procedures. 

10 CFR 430.27(l). Waivers remain in 

effect pursuant to the provisions of 10 

CFR 430.27(m). 

Any interested person who has 

submitted a petition for waiver may also 

file an application for interim waiver of 

the applicable test procedure 

requirements. 10 CFR 430.27(a)(2). The 

Assistant Secretary will grant an interim 

waiver request if it is determined that 

the applicant will experience economic 

hardship if the interim waiver is denied, 

if it appears likely that the petition for 

waiver will be granted, and/or the 

Assistant Secretary determines that it 

would be desirable for public policy 

reasons to grant immediate relief 

pending a determination on the petition 

for waiver. 10 CFR 430.27(g). 

II. BSH’s Petition for Waiver: Assertions 

and Determinations 

On November 30, 2012, BSH 

submitted the instant petition for waiver 

and interim waiver from the test 

procedure applicable to dishwashers set 

forth in 10 CFR part 430, subpart B, 

appendix C. BSH’s petition was 

published in the Federal Register on 

December 31, 2012. 77 FR 77064. In 

every respect except the introduction of 

a new model number, the instant 

petition is identical to petitions 

submitted by BSH on February 4, 2011, 

December 7, 2011, and March 27, 2012 

(DW–005, DW–007, and DW–008, 

respectively) with the exception of the 

model numbers. DOE granted the 

February 4th petition on June 29, 2011 

(76 FR 38144), and the December 7th 

and March 27th petitions on October 1, 

2012 (77 FR 59916 and 77 FR 59918 

respectively). 

DOE received one comment on the 

petition recommending that BSH 

provide sufficient market, equipment 

price, shipments and other 

manufacturer impact information prior 

to allowing the interim waiver. DOE 

may grant interim waivers on the basis 

of economic hardship but, in the 

absence of such information, may grant 

interim waivers if it appears likely that 

the petition for waiver will be granted, 

or it would be desirable for public 

policy reasons to grant immediate relief 

while the petition for waiver is pending. 

10 CFR 430.27(g). BSH’s interim waiver 

was granted on these alternative 

grounds. 

BSH stated in its petition that ‘‘hard’’ 

water can reduce customer satisfaction 

with dishwasher performance resulting 

in increased pre-rinsing and/or hand 

washing as well as increased detergent 

and rinse agent usage. According to 

BSH, a dishwasher equipped with a 

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17928 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 57 / Monday, March 25, 2013 / Notices 

water softener will minimize pre-rinsing 

and rewashing, and consumers will 

have less reason to periodically run 

their dishwasher through a clean-up 

cycle. 

BSH also stated that the amount of 

water consumed by the regeneration 

operation of a water softener in a 

dishwasher is very small, but that it 

varies significantly depending on the 

adjustment of the softener. The 

regeneration operation takes place 

infrequently, and the frequency is 

related to the level of water hardness. 

BSH included test results and 

calculations showing the water and 

energy use of the specified dishwasher 

models using the same method as that 

used by Whirlpool in its petition for 

waiver, which was granted previously 

by DOE. (75 FR 62127, Oct. 7, 2010). 

Specifically, BSH requested that 

constant values of 47.6 gallons per year 

for water consumption and 8.0 kWh per 

year for energy consumption be used. 

DOE notes that use of industry 

standard European Standard EN 50242, 

‘‘Electric Dishwashers for Household 

Use—Methods for Measuring the 

Performance’’ would provide repeatable 

results, but would underestimate the 

energy and water use of the specified 

models. If water consumption of a 

regeneration operation were 

apportioned across all cycles of 

operation, manufacturers would need to 

make calculations regarding average 

water hardness and average water 

consumptions due to regeneration 

operations. In lieu of these calculations, 

constant values could also be used to 

approximate the energy and water use 

due to softener regeneration. As noted 

above, BSH provided data on the 

constant values that should be added to 

approximate the energy and water use of 

the basic models listed in its petition 

that have an integrated water softener. 

Because of the variability in test 

results described by BSH in its petition, 

DOE has determined that testing the 

basic models for which BSH has 

requested a waiver according to the DOE 

test procedure at appendix C may 

evaluate the basic models in a manner 

so unrepresentative of their true energy 

and water consumption so as to provide 

materially inaccurate comparative data. 

As a result, and as described in Section 

III, DOE grants BSH’s waiver subject to 

use of the alternate test procedure 

prescribed by DOE. 

Consultations With Other Agencies 

DOE consulted with the Federal Trade 

Commission (FTC) staff concerning the 

BSH petition for waiver. The FTC staff 

did not have any objections to granting 

a waiver to BSH. 

III. Conclusion 

After careful consideration of all the 

material that was submitted by BSH and 

consultation with the FTC staff, it is 

ordered that: 

(1) The petition for waiver submitted 

by the BSH Corporation (Case No. DW– 

009) is hereby granted as set forth in the 

paragraphs below. 

(2) BSH shall be required to test and 

rate the following models according to 

the alternate test procedure as set forth 

in paragraph (3) below: 

Bosch brand: 

• Basic Model—SHX7PT#### 

• Basic Model—SHP7PT#### 

• Basic Model—SHE7PT#### 

• Basic Model—SHV7PT#### 

• Basic Model—SHX8PT#### 

• Basic Model—SHE8PT#### 

• Basic Model—SHE9PT#### 

• Basic Model—SHX9PT#### 

• Basic Model—SHV9PT#### 

• Basic Model—SGV63E#### 

Gaggenau brand: 

• Basic Model—DF2417#### 

(3) BSH shall be required to test the 

products listed in paragraph (2) above 

according to the test procedures for 

dishwashers prescribed by DOE at 10 

CFR part 430, appendix C, except that, 

for the BSH products listed in paragraph 

(2) only: 

In Section 4.1, Test cycle, add at the 

end, ‘‘The start of the DOE test should 

begin on a cycle immediately following 

a regeneration cycle.’’ 

In Section 4.3, the water energy 

consumption, W or Wg, is calculated 

based on the water consumption as set 

forth below: 

§ 4.3 Water consumption. Measure 

the water consumption, V, expressed as 

the number of gallons of water delivered 

to the machine during the entire test 

cycle, using a water meter as specified 

in section 3.3 of this Appendix. 

Where the regeneration of the water 

softener depends on demand and water 

hardness, and does not take place on 

every cycle, BSH shall measure the 

water consumption of dishwashers 

having water softeners without 

including the water consumed by the 

dishwasher during softener 

regeneration. If a regeneration operation 

takes place within the test, the water 

consumed by the regeneration operation 

shall be disregarded when declaring 

water and energy consumption. 

Constant values of 47.6 gallons/year of 

water and 8 kWh/year of energy shall be 

added to the values measured by 

appendix C. 

(4) Representations. BSH may make 

representations about the energy use of 

its dishwashers containing integrated or 

built-in water softeners for compliance, 

marketing, or other purposes only to the 

extent that such products have been 

tested in accordance with the provisions 

outlined above and such representations 

fairly disclose the results of such 

testing. 

(5) This waiver shall remain in effect 

consistent with the provisions of 10 CFR 

430.27(m). The dishwasher test 

procedure final rule, issued on 

September 14, 2012 and available at 

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ 

appliance_standards/pdfs/aham1_tp_final_rule.pdf, includes procedures 

to measure the energy and water use of 

integrated or built-in water softeners. 

The compliance date for these 

procedures is May 30, 2013. Therefore, 

this Decision and Order is valid through 

May 29, 2013. Beginning on May 30, 

2013, all manufacturers must use the 

amended test procedures to determine 

the energy and water use associated 

with water softener regeneration. 

(6) This waiver is granted for only 

those models specifically set out in 

BSH’s petition, not future models that 

may be manufactured by BSH. BSH may 

submit a new or amended petition for 

waiver and request for grant of interim 

waiver, as appropriate, for additional 

dishwasher models for which it seeks a 

waiver from the DOE test procedure. 

Grant of this waiver also does not 

release BSH from the certification 

requirements set forth at 10 CFR part 

429. 

(7) This waiver is issued on the 

condition that the statements, 

representations, and documentary 

materials provided by the petitioner are 

valid. DOE may revoke or modify this 

waiver at any time if it determines the 

factual basis underlying the petition for 

waiver is incorrect, or the results from 

the alternate test procedure are 

unrepresentative of the basic models’ 

true energy consumption characteristics. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on March 19, 

2013. 

Kathleen B. Hogan, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy 

Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2013–06736 Filed 3–22–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

Combined Notice of Filings #2 

Take notice that the Commission 

received the following electric rate 

filings: 

Docket Numbers: ER13–625–001. 

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