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contains regulatory documents having general

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Rules and Regulations Federal Register

21215 

Vol. 78, No. 69 

Wednesday, April 10, 2013 

1 DOE Docket No. EERE–2010–BT–TP–0039, 11/ 

30/12, http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=EERE-2012-BT-PET-0053. 

2 In addition, DOE emphasizes, as discussed in 

Section III of this notice, that adjustments, if any, 

required under 42 U.S.C. 6293(e)(2) would be made 

based on the average change in measured energy 

use. According to AHAM’s data, this shipment 

adjusted average would be only a 0.29 kWh per year 

change, or 0.1 percent of the energy use for standard 

dishwashers allowed under the standards 

established in the direct final rule. 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 430 

[Docket No. EERE–BT–PET–0053] 

Energy Conservation Program for 

Consumer Products: Association of 

Home Appliance Manufacturers 

Petition for Reconsideration 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of denial of petition for 

reconsideration. 

SUMMARY: This document announces the 

U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) 

denial of a petition from the Association 

of Home Appliance Manufacturers 

(AHAM) requesting reconsideration of 

DOE’s final rule to amend the test 

procedures for residential dishwashers, 

dehumidifiers, and conventional 

cooking products, as well as the direct 

final rule to amend energy conservation 

standards for dishwashers. 

DATES: This denial is effective April 10, 

2013. 

ADDRESSES: Docket: For access to the 

docket to read the petition or comments 

received thereon, go to the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal at http://www.

regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=EERE2012-BT-PET-0053. In addition, 

electronic copies of the Petition are 

available online at DOE’s Web site at 

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

appliance_standards/current_

rulemakings-notices.html. For access to 

the docket for DOE’s direct final rule to 

amend energy conservation standards 

for dishwashers, go to the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal at http://www.

regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=

EERE-2011-BT-STD-0060-0005. For 

access to the docket for the final rule to 

amend the test procedures for 

residential dishwashers, dehumidifiers, 

and conventional cooking products, go 

to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!documentDetail;D=EERE-2010-BT-TP0039-0040. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Stephen Witkowski, 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, (202) 

586–7892, or email: 

Stephen.Witkowski@ee.doe.gov. 

Elizabeth Kohl, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of General Counsel, 

GC–71, 1000 Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202) 

586–7796, email: 

Elizabeth.Kohl@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice involves a petition by AHAM for 

reconsideration of DOE’s final test 

procedure rule to amend the test 

procedures for dishwashers, 

dehumidifiers, and conventional 

cooking products (77 FR 65942, Oct. 31, 

2012) and its direct final rule to amend 

the energy conservation standards 

applicable to dishwashers (77 FR 31918, 

May 30, 2012; 77 FR 59712, Oct. 1, 

2012).1 Specifically, AHAM requested 

that DOE stay the effectiveness of the 

test procedure final rule and final 

standards rule until DOE either: (1) 

Revises the standards in the final 

standards rule to account for the impact 

on measured energy resulting from test 

procedure amendments to measure fanonly mode and standby and off mode 

energy use; or (2) delays requirements 

regarding measurement of fan-only 

mode and standby and off mode energy 

use until promulgation of a revised 

standard for dishwashers. After 

carefully considering AHAM’s request 

and the comments submitted in 

response to publication of the petition 

for comment, DOE declines to grant the 

request. 

I. AHAM Petition Summary 

In support of its request, AHAM 

asserts that the test procedure 

amendments for fan-only mode and 

standby and off mode energy use impact 

the measured energy use of 

dishwashers. As a result, AHAM states 

that the Energy Policy and Conservation 

Act of 1975 (EPCA), as amended, 

requires DOE to adjust the stringency of 

the energy conservation standards in the 

direct final rule accordingly or delay 

compliance with those test procedure 

amendments until a subsequent 

amended standard is promulgated for 

dishwashers. AHAM acknowledges that 

the standards established in the direct 

final rule were submitted to DOE in a 

consensus agreement to which it was a 

party and adopted pursuant to DOE’s 

authority at 42 U.S.C. 6295(p)(4). 

A. Fan-Only Mode 

In support of AHAM’s contention that 

the fan-only mode test procedure 

revisions require an adjustment of the 

standard, AHAM cited DOE’s 

conclusion that measurement of fanonly mode energy use would increase 

the measured energy use of the 

dishwasher by 0.4–17 kilowatt-hours 

per year (kWh/year). In addition, AHAM 

cited a statement from a supplemental 

notice of proposed rulemaking (SNOPR) 

that the higher end of the range is 

greater than 5 percent of the maximum 

allowable annual energy consumption 

for a standard dishwasher. (77 FR 

31444, May 25, 2012) (May 2012 

SNOPR). (DOE notes that the percentage 

cited in the May 2012 SNOPR references 

the 355 kWh per year standard 

applicable to standard dishwashers 

until May 30, 2013. The statement 

should therefore read ‘‘less’’ than 5 

percent because 17 kWh/year represents 

4.8 percent of 355 kWh/year.) 2 AHAM 

stated that this conclusion was 

unchanged when DOE proposed a less 

burdensome method to measure the 

energy use in fan-only mode in response 

to public comment (77 FR 49064, Aug. 

15, 2012) (August 2012 SNOPR). AHAM 

also stated that it collected data showing 

that measuring fan-only mode energy 

use would add a shipment-weighted 

average of 0.29 kWh per year in 

measured energy. According to AHAM, 

this increase in energy use could add up 

to 2 percent of the 2013 standard in 

measured energy for some models. 

AHAM asserted that notwithstanding 

DOE’s arguments that the energy use in 

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21216 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 69 / Wednesday, April 10, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

3 DOE held the public meeting to discuss its 

notice of proposed rulemaking to amend the test 

procedure for dishwashers, dehumidifiers and 

conventional cooking products (75 FR 75920, Dec. 

2, 2010) (December 2010 NOPR). 

4 DOE Docket No. EERE–2012–BT–PET–0053, 

Comment 3, January 30, 2013. 

5 DOE Docket No. EERE–2012–BT–PET–0053, 

Comment 7, January 31, 2013. 

6BSH also commented regarding the test 

procedure provisions for measuring the energy used 

during water softener regeneration. As stated in 

DOE’s final test procedure rule, manufacturers have 

been required to measure this energy (and water) 

use to demonstrate compliance with existing 

standards. 77 FR 65942, 65946–47 (Oct. 31, 2012). 

As a result, such energy and water use would not 

be considered in determining whether standards 

adjustments may be required under 42 U.S.C. 

6293(e). 

fan-only mode is de minimis—the fanonly mode energy use is estimated to be 

less than 5 percent of the total energy 

use of standard dishwashers, and 65 

percent of dishwashers currently on the 

market meet the amended energy 

conservation standards adopted in the 

direct final rule—DOE is still required 

to ensure that the stringency of the 

amended standards adopted in the 

direct final rule remains unchanged. 

AHAM argued that DOE has not 

explained what it considers to be de 

minimis, and that Congress did not 

provide a de minimis exception to the 

standards amendment requirements in 

42 U.S.C. 6293. AHAM also pointed out 

that the stakeholders to the consensus 

agreement, upon which the standards in 

the direct final rule were based, stated 

that if DOE amended the test procedure 

prior to the compliance date of the 

agreed-to standards, the stakeholders 

would recommend that DOE translate 

the standards to equivalent levels 

specified under revised test procedures, 

as specified in 42 U.S.C. 6293(e). 

B. Standby and Off Mode 

In support of AHAM’s contention that 

the standby and off mode test procedure 

revisions require an adjustment of the 

standard, AHAM noted DOE’s 

conclusion that while DOE did not 

expect the estimated annual energy use 

(EAEU) or estimated annual energy cost 

to be significantly affected by the 

proposed amendments to measure 

standby and off mode energy use, 

integrating such energy use into the 

overall efficiency metric would produce 

a measureable difference in EAEU 

(Public Meeting Transcript, Dec. 17, 

2010).3 AHAM also disagreed with 

DOE’s conclusion, reiterated in the 

September 2011 SNOPR, that the 

proposed standby and off mode 

amendments would not measurably 

alter the existing energy efficiency and 

energy use metrics for dishwashers (76 

FR 58346, 58355, Sept. 20, 2011). 

AHAM stated that because the proposed 

amendments change what energy will 

be measured (i.e., the end of cycle 

energy, including cycle finished mode, 

would be measured under the proposed 

revisions), DOE should amend the 

standards to account for this change. 

AHAM also stated that it collected data 

showing that measuring standby and off 

mode energy use would add a shipmentweighted average of 1.10 kWh per year. 

In addition, because the 1.10 kWh is an 

average, AHAM stated that some 

manufacturers will be more significantly 

affected. 

As with fan-only mode, AHAM 

pointed out that the stakeholders to the 

consensus agreement, upon which the 

standards in the direct final rule were 

based, agreed that if the test procedure 

were amended, the stakeholders would 

recommend that DOE translate the 

standards to equivalent levels specified 

under revised test procedures, as 

specified in 42 U.S.C. 6293(e). In 

addition, AHAM asserted that DOE took 

this approach in establishing revised 

standards for room air-conditioners and 

clothes dryers in its direct final rule 

establishing amended energy 

conservation standards (76 FR 22454, 

Apr. 21, 2011; 76 FR 52854, Aug. 24, 

2011). 

II. Discussion of Comments Received 

DOE published AHAM’s petition for 

comment on December 31, 2012 (77 FR 

76952). DOE received five comments on 

the petition. These comments and 

DOE’s responses are set forth in the 

paragraphs that follow. 

BSH Home Appliances Corporation 

(BSH) 4 and General Electric Appliances 

(GE) 5 supported AHAM’s petition and 

stated that DOE should determine the 

impacts on measured energy use 

resulting from the test procedure and 

adjust the applicable standards levels 

accordingly. BSH commented further 

that the impacts of the new standby 

power measurement ranged from 0–21 

kWh/year for the BSH models tested, 

which BSH stated was not ‘‘de 

minimis’’.6 BSH also stated that DOE 

should recognize: (1) Any reduction in 

energy consumption will have an 

influence on cleaning performance; (2) 

Changes in product ratings are 

expensive, difficult to manage on sales 

floors and cause confusion to the 

consumer and to rebate programs; (3) 

The changes could cause some units to 

fall off of the ‘‘Energy Star’’ list, which 

may result in discontinuing production 

of the impacted models and increased 

cost. 

Further analysis of DOE’s de minimis 

conclusion in light of the data submitted 

by AHAM and BSH, as well as DOE’s 

analysis concerning the appropriateness 

of adjusting the energy conservation 

standard levels established in the direct 

final rule is set forth in Section III of this 

notice. In the paragraphs that follow, 

DOE provides information developed 

during the test procedure rulemaking in 

support of the de minimis conclusion 

and responds to the related comments 

offered by BSH. 

For standby and off mode energy use, 

DOE proposed to measure such energy 

use in the December 2010 proposed test 

procedure amendments using IEC 

Standard 62301 ‘‘Household electrical 

appliances—Measurement of standby 

power,’’ First Edition 2005–06 (IEC 

62301). 75 FR 75290 (Dec. 2, 2010). In 

the September 2011 SNOPR, DOE 

proposed to measure such energy use 

using the Second Edition of IEC 62301, 

as recommended by commenters. 76 FR 

58346 (Sept. 20, 2011). DOE analyzed 

the change in measured energy use, if 

any, that would occur as a result of 

these proposed changes and concluded 

that these amendments would not 

measurably alter the energy use of 

dishwashers. 75 FR 75290, 75316–17; 76 

FR 58346, 58355 (Dec. 2, 2010). 

For fan-only mode energy use, DOE 

proposed a method to measure such 

energy use in the May 2012 SNOPR (71 

FR 31444, 31447) and proposed an 

alternative method to measure such 

energy use in the August 2012 SNOPR 

based on comments received from 

interested parties, including 

manufacturers (77 FR 49064, 49067). 

DOE determined that the energy use 

measured in fan-only mode would 

represent less than 5 percent of the total 

energy use of standard dishwashers. 

Given that 65 percent of all standard 

dishwashers currently on the market 

meet or exceed the minimum energy 

conservation standards established in 

the direct final rule, inclusion of this 

small amount of energy use would have 

virtually no impact on compliance with 

the revised standard. As a result, DOE 

determined that the energy use in fanonly mode is de minimis and 

insufficient to alter in a material manner 

the measured energy use of 

dishwashers. 77 FR 65942, 65947 (Oct. 

31, 2012). 

In response to BSH’s other comments, 

DOE considered impacts to consumer 

utility in adopting the standards 

established in the direct final rule and 

concluded that the standards adopted in 

that rule would not impact product 

utility. 77 FR 31918, 31956–57 (May 30, 

2012). In addition, DOE takes no 

position on the business or marketing 

decisions made by manufacturers in 

response to amendments to applicable 

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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 69 / Wednesday, April 10, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 21217 

7EPCA also states that models of covered 

products in use before the date on which the 

amended standard becomes effective (or revisions 

of such models that have the same energy 

efficiency, energy use, or water use characteristics) 

that comply with the energy standard applicable to 

those products are deemed to comply with the 

amended standard. 42 U.S.C. 6293(e)(3). Because 

DOE determined that amended standards were not 

warranted, this provision does not apply in this 

case. 

DOE regulations, including whether to 

discontinue models that no longer meet 

ENERGY STAR standards. DOE further 

notes that changes to the ENERGY 

STAR compliance of certain models can 

occur with any amendment of DOE’s 

energy conservation standards and are 

not specific to DOE’s amendments to the 

standards for dishwashers in the direct 

final rule. 

The California IOUs (Pacific Gas and 

Electric Company, Southern California 

Gas Company, San Diego Gas and 

Electric, and Southern California 

Edison) and a number of energy 

efficiency advocates and consumer 

groups (Appliance Standards Awareness 

Project, American Council for an Energy 

Efficient Economy, Alliance to Save 

Energy, Consumer Federation of 

America, Natural Resources Defense 

Council, Northwest Energy Efficiency 

Alliance, Northwest Power and 

Conservation Council, and Earthjustice, 

hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Joint 

Commenters’’) opposed staying the 

effective date of the direct final rule. 

These commenters also stated that if 

manufacturers provide data 

documenting non-compliance with the 

standard as a result of the test procedure 

changes, DOE could stay those portions 

of the test procedure specified in 

AHAM’s petition. 

The Joint Commenters also stated that 

AHAM has not shown that DOE was 

incorrect in concluding that any impact 

on measured energy consumption 

would be de minimis. Based on 

AHAM’s data, the Joint Commenters 

concluded that the change in measured 

energy use as a result of the disputed 

test procedure provisions would only be 

one-half of one percent of the new 

standard levels, rather than the two 

percent noted by AHAM. In addition, 

because any adjustment to the standard 

pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 6293(e) would be 

made based on averages, the Joint 

Commenters concluded that any 

products that fall out of compliance 

with the new standards due to their 

significantly above-average fan-only and 

standby and off mode energy use would 

still be non-compliant even if DOE 

adjusted the standards. The Joint 

Commenters also offered that EPCA, as 

amended, does not authorize DOE to 

amend the standards in response to 

AHAM’s petition because the test 

procedure rulemaking had concluded. 

As explained in Section III of this 

notice, DOE declines to grant AHAM’s 

request to stay the effective date of the 

standards established in the direct final 

rule until DOE: (1) Revises the standards 

in the final standards rule to account for 

the impact on measured energy 

resulting from test procedure 

amendments to measure fan-only mode 

and standby and off mode energy use; 

or (2) delays requirements regarding 

measurement of fan-only mode and 

standby and off mode energy use until 

promulgation of a revised standard for 

dishwashers. As part of this 

determination, DOE maintains its 

conclusion that the energy use in fanonly and standby and off mode is de 

minimis. DOE welcomes data on 

dishwasher performance under the 

amended test procedure at any time. 

Given DOE’s conclusions, DOE does not 

reach the Joint Commenter’s argument 

concerning compliance with 42 U.S.C. 

6293(e) once a test procedure 

rulemaking has been completed. 

DOE also received a comment from a 

private citizen asserting the need for 

energy efficient appliances as soon as 

possible at a reasonable cost. The 

commenter recommended that the 

Federal government provide incentives 

to the American manufacturers to 

produce these products. This comment 

is outside the scope of DOE’s response 

to the AHAM petition. 

III. Legal Analysis and Decision 

EPCA requires DOE to determine to 

what extent, if any, proposed test 

procedure amendments would alter the 

measured energy efficiency, energy use, 

or water use of any covered product as 

determined under the existing test 

procedure. 42 U.S.C. 6293(e)(1). If DOE 

determines that the amended test 

procedure will alter the measured 

energy efficiency, energy use, or water 

use of a covered product, DOE must 

amend the applicable energy 

conservation standard. The amended 

standard is calculated as the average of 

the energy efficiency, energy use, or 

water use determined by testing a 

representative sample of products that 

minimally comply with the existing 

standard using the amended test 

procedure. 42 U.S.C. 6293(e)(2).7 DOE’s 

authority to amend energy conservation 

standards does not affect DOE’s 

obligation to issue final rules as 

described in 42 U.S.C. 6295. 42 U.S.C. 

6293(e)(4). 

In applying these provisions to the 

energy conservation standards adopted 

in the direct final rule for dishwashers, 

DOE determined that no adjustment to 

the standard levels was warranted 

because the changes in measured energy 

use resulting from the test procedure 

amendments for the measurement of 

fan-only mode and standby and off 

mode energy use were de minimis and, 

therefore, the extent of change in 

measured energy use, if any, would not 

materially alter the standard levels. 

AHAM argues in its petition that DOE 

must grant the requested relief, either 

adjusting the standard levels established 

in the direct final rule or delaying 

compliance with the test procedure 

provisions for measuring energy use in 

fan-only mode and standby and off 

mode, because Congress did not provide 

a de minimis exception to the 

requirements of 42 U.S.C. 6293(e)(2). In 

response, DOE emphasizes that 42 

U.S.C. 6293(e)(1) requires DOE to 

determine ‘‘to what extent, if any’’ the 

proposed test procedure would alter the 

measured energy efficiency or energy or 

water use of a covered product. This 

provision, requiring DOE to determine 

‘‘the extent’’, if any, of any alteration in 

measured energy use, means the 

provision must apply only beyond some 

minimum amount. That is, there would 

be no reason for the Secretary to 

determine ‘‘the extent’’ of the change if 

any alteration in measured energy use 

would trigger the requirements of 42 

U.S.C. 6293(e)(2). Thus, DOE has the 

discretion to determine that the amount 

of change in measured energy use is so 

insignificant that the standard would 

not be materially altered. As such, when 

DOE determines the change in measured 

energy use is de minimis, amendment of 

the standard under 42 U.S.C. 6293(e)(2) 

would serve no purpose and would 

therefore not be required. 

As noted in Section II of this notice, 

DOE analyzed the change in measured 

energy use, if any, that would occur as 

a result of the proposed changes to the 

measurement of standby mode and off 

mode energy use, and fan-only mode 

energy use. As discussed in the 

paragraphs that follow, DOE determined 

that the data submitted by manufacturer 

commenters does not change the 

conclusion that measurement of the 

energy use in fan-only mode and 

standby and off mode is insufficient to 

materially alter the measured energy use 

of dishwashers and therefore does not 

require an adjustment of the energy 

conservation standards established in 

the direct final rule. 

DOE estimated fan-only mode energy 

use at 0.4–17 kWh per year, which even 

at the high end of the range is less than 

5 percent of the energy use of standard 

dishwashers. DOE emphasizes, and 

agrees with the point made by the Joint 

Commenters, that a standards 

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21218 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 69 / Wednesday, April 10, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

8 DOE notes that if a test procedure amendment 

would account for less energy use, thus raising the 

standard by some amount that DOE determined was 

not de minimis, 42 U.S.C. 6293(e)(3) would 

‘‘grandfather’’ existing models in use on or before 

the date on which the amended energy conversation 

standard becomes effective (or revisions of such 

models that have the same energy efficiency, energy 

use or water use characteristics) that complied with 

the standard prior to the test procedure 

amendments that raised the standard. 

adjustment required by 42 U.S.C. 

6293(e)(2) would be based on the 

average change in measured efficiency, 

which would be less than the high end 

of the range estimated by DOE. In fact, 

based on the data AHAM collected, fanonly mode energy use would represent 

an estimated 0.29 kWh per year for a 

shipment-weighted average, which is 

less than the lower end of the range 

calculated by DOE and represents 

roughly only 0.1 percent of the energy 

use for standard dishwashers allowed 

under the standards established in the 

direct final rule. DOE assumes that the 

2 percent increase in energy use cited by 

AHAM in its petition refers to units that 

used more than the shipment-weighted 

average energy use in fan-only mode. As 

noted, if any adjustment to an energy 

conservation standard were determined 

necessary under 42 U.S.C. 6293(e)(2), 

the adjustment would be based on the 

average change in measured efficiency, 

or the 0.1 percent figure. The data 

submitted by AHAM are therefore 

insufficient to change DOE’s conclusion 

that the energy use in fan-only mode is 

de minimis. 

DOE estimates standby and off mode 

energy use at 2 percent of total energy 

use of a standard dishwasher. As noted 

in the test procedure rulemaking and in 

Section II of this notice, DOE further 

estimated that the test procedure 

amendments made for appendix C1 

would not materially alter that 

measured energy use. AHAM collected 

data showing that the updated test 

procedure for measuring standby and off 

mode energy use in Appendix C1 would 

add a shipment-weighted average of 

1.10 kWh per year. BSH submitted data 

indicating that standby and off mode 

energy use could add up to 21 kWh per 

year for the BSH models tested. 

AHAM’s figure of 1.10 kWh/year is only 

0.4 percent of the May 2013 standard 

level for standard dishwashers. DOE 

notes that the BSH estimate of an 

additional 21 kWh per year of standby 

and off mode energy use would 

represent an increase in low-power 

mode consumption of 2 to 3 Watts 

compared to the standby power 

measured according to Appendix C, 

which is at least three times the 

maximum inactive or off mode power 

consumption that DOE measured in its 

sample of 14 dishwashers tested for the 

December 2010 proposed test procedure 

amendments. DOE also notes that its 

statement about a measurable difference 

in EAEU at the public meeting, noted in 

Section II of this notice, was meant to 

convey that integration of the standby 

and off mode energy use into the overall 

efficiency metric pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 

6295(gg)(3) would still allow for 

calculation of this energy use, even 

though the energy use measurement was 

very small. After considering the data 

submitted by commenters, DOE 

maintains its conclusion that the 

amendments to measure standby and off 

mode energy use would not measurably 

alter the energy use of dishwashers. 

AHAM also argues in its petition that 

DOE must adjust the standard levels 

established in the direct final rule or 

delay compliance with the test 

procedure provisions for measuring 

energy use in fan-only mode and 

standby and off mode because it has not 

provided a definition of de minimis. 

DOE does not believe that it is necessary 

or appropriate to, for example, specify 

an amount or percentage of energy use 

that would be de minimis. Such a 

concept necessarily depends on factors 

such as the product at issue, the total 

amount of energy used by the product, 

and the test procedure change at issue. 

DOE has determined in at least one 

instance that adjustment of the standard 

levels based on test procedure 

amendments was warranted. As AHAM 

noted, in the direct final rule 

establishing energy conservation 

standards for clothes dryers and room 

air conditioners, DOE adjusted the 

standard for clothes dryers based on its 

estimate of the increase in average 

energy factor that would result from use 

of the amended test procedure, which 

ranged from 10.3–22.5 percent (77 FR 

22454, 22477, Apr. 21, 2011). This range 

is significantly larger than the 

percentage increase DOE estimated for 

the dishwasher rule and the average 

percentage increase that AHAM 

estimated—0.29 kWh/year for fan-only 

mode and 1.10 kWh/year for standby 

and off mode, which represent in total 

approximately 0.45 percent of the May 

2013 standards for dishwashers. 

Regarding DOE’s statement that 65 

percent of standard dishwashers on the 

market would meet the standards 

established in the direct final rule, DOE 

intended to convey that the standard 

adopted in the direct final rule, which 

represented the maximum improvement 

in energy efficiency that was 

technologically feasible and 

economically justified, was not so 

stringent that only a very small 

percentage of dishwashers would 

comply. In such a case, DOE might 

consider whether a smaller change in 

measured energy use could trigger the 

requirements of 42 U.S.C. 6293(e)(2). 

Even if DOE had determined that the 

change in measured energy use as a 

result of test procedure provisions for 

the measurement of standby and off 

mode energy use were not de minimis, 

DOE could not adjust the standard to 

account for the increase in measured 

energy use, which would result in 

lowering the current standard by a 

corresponding amount. Such an 

adjustment would be prohibited by 

EPCA’s anti-backsliding provision, set 

forth in 42 U.S.C. 6295(o)(1). DOE’s 

authority to amend energy conservation 

standards in 42 U.S.C. 6293(e) 

specifically does not affect DOE’s 

obligation to issue any final rules as 

described in 42 U.S.C. 6295, including 

adherence to the anti-backsliding 

provision in 6295(o)(1). 42 U.S.C. 

6293(e)(4).8

As a result of the above analysis, and 

in consideration of AHAM’s petition 

and the comments received thereon, 

DOE declines to grant the petition. 

Issued in Washington, DC on April 4, 2013. 

Kathleen B. Hogan, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy 

Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2013–08350 Filed 4–9–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL 

PROTECTION 

12 CFR Chapter X 

[Docket No. CFPB–2012–0023] 

Disclosure of Consumer Complaint 

Data 

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection. 

ACTION: Final Policy Statement. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer 

Financial Protection (Bureau) is issuing 

a final policy statement (Policy 

Statement) to provide guidance on how 

the Bureau plans to exercise its 

discretion to publicly disclose certain 

consumer complaint data that do not 

include personally identifiable 

information. The Bureau receives 

complaints from consumers under the 

terms of Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall 

Street Reform and Consumer Protection 

Act (Dodd-Frank Act). The Policy 

Statement also identifies additional 

ways that the Bureau may disclose 

consumer complaint data but as to 

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