LYNN A. WESTMORELAND 

3RO DISTRICT, GEORGIA 

WASHINGTON OFFICE· 

2433 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING 

1202) 225-5901 

DISTRICT OFFICE 

1601 EAST HIGHWAY 34 

SUITE B 

NEWNAN, GA 30265 

(7701 683-2033 

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DEPUTY WHIP 

The Honorable Ernest Moniz 

Secretary 

U.S. Department of Energy 

1000 Independence Avenue, SW 

Washington, DC 20585-0800 

Dear Secretary Moniz, 

April 1, 2014 

COMMITTEES 

FINANCIAL SERVICES 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS 

AND CONSUMER CREDIT 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HousH\G ANO INSURANCE 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON CAPITAL MARKETS AND 

GOVERNMENT SPONSORED ENTERPRISE 

HOUSE PERMANENT SELECT 

COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE 

CHAIRMAN, SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT 

I am writing to oppose the U.S. Department of Energy rulemaking that would 

establish new energy efficiency standards for commercial ice makers with capacities 

between 50 and 2,500 pounds per 24-hour period. I have serious concerns that these new 

guidelines would impose great strain on manufacturers in both their development and 

product costs in order to be compliant of a 70% reduction in energy efficiency from the 

2005 standard by 2017. Additionally, DOE announced this rule might be expanded to 

cover new standards for those with capacities above 2,500 pounds per 25-hour period. I 

strongly oppose expansion of this rule to larger capacity commercial ice makers and urge 

you to reconsider the decision considering the negative consequences it will have. 

Of greatest concern, the DOE rule does not account for research, development and 

production time frame. On average, redesigning all machines would take six to eight 

years if the parts were available. As most commercial ice makers in use today do not 

meet the new energy efficiency requirements, the industry will have to invest heavily in 

research and development. This process is already underway; however, the technology to 

achieve the proposed standard is not currently available. Manufacturers of the component 

parts for commercial ice makers do not currently have energy efficient parts available due 

to pending Significant New Alternative Policy (SNAP) regulations, which are currently 

under development at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It concerns me 

greatly there seems to be no coordination between DOE and EPA on regulations that 

would significantly impact one industry. The result would leave companies with a Catch22; either violate the DOE rule on energy efficiency or violate the EPA rule regarding the 

viability of component parts. 

Notwithstanding the disconnect between DOE and EPA, the DOE rule would 

have a direct cost to customers who will find commercial ice makers are more expensive. 

As a result, companies will likely delay needed equipment upgrades. I request Secretary 

Moniz to please respond to the following questions by April 15, 2014: 

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1. Has the technology used by DOE to set the new energy efficiency standards been 

proven to be attainable for U.S. manufacturers? 

2. Have the analysis and theoretical models used by DOE to set these standards 

been tested and/or accurate? 

3. Has DOE conducted a cost-benefit analysis of this rule and its impact to delay 

equipment upgrades? 

4. Detail the coordination between DOE and EPA on two overlapping regulations? 

Sincerely, 

Westmoreland (GA-03) 

ember of Congress