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Determination for Non-Class A External Power Supplies

This page presents additional information on a determination due to be published by

December 19, 2009, as well as instructions for interested parties to submit

comments, and contact information for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Return to the Battery Charger and External Power Supplies page for information on

all of DOE's activities related to these products.

Background

Section 301 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) amended

the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), creating a subset of external power

supplies called Class A External Power Supplies. These devices are "able to convert

to only 1 AC or DC output voltage at a time" and have "nameplate output power that

is less than or equal to 250 watts." (42 U.S.C. 6291(36)(C)(i)) Section 301 of EISA

also amended EPCA, establishing minimum standards for Class A EPSs effective July

1, 2008, and directing DOE to conduct two successive rulemakings to review and

possibly amend the energy conservation standards for external power supplies, the

first of which is to be completed by July 1, 2011.

Section 309 of EISA amended EPCA instructing DOE to "[n]o later than 2 years after

the date of enactment ... issue a final rule that determines whether energy

conservation standards shall be issued for external power supplies or classes of

external power supplies." (42 U.S.C. 6295(u)(1)(E)(i)(I)).

Because DOE cannot conduct a determination analysis on whether it should issue

energy conservation standards for a product for which standards have already been

set, DOE is interpreting these sections jointly as a requirement to determine, in a

separate rulemaking to be completed by December 19, 2009, whether energy

conservation standards shall be issued for external power supplies that are not

classified as Class A External Power Supplies. DOE refers to such products as

Non-Class A External Power Supplies.

Notice of Proposed Determination

DOE published its Notice of Proposed Determination and Availability of the Technical

Support Document (TSD) for Non-Class A External Power Supplies on November 3,

2009. In this notice, DOE proposes to determine that energy conservation standards

are warranted for Non-Class A external power supplies. The accompanying TSD

provides additional analysis in support of the proposed determination.

Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Determination

Concerning the Potential for Energy Conservation Standards for Non-Class A

External Power Supplies; Proposed Rule, Federal Register, 74FR56928,

November 3, 2009 (PDF 741 KB)

TSD (PDF 1.9 MB)

Usage and Unit Energy Consumption Calculations (Excel 264 KB)

Determination NOPR National Impact Analysis Part A (Excel 3 MB)

Determination NOPR National Impact Analysis Part B (Excel 3 MB)

Public Comments

A public meeting to discuss the proposal will not take place. However, DOE

welcomes comments and inquiries from interested parties during the designated

comment period for this rulemaking. The comment period for the notice of proposed

determination ends on December 18, 2009. Specific instructions for submitting

written comments are contained in the notice of proposed determination.

Contact Information

Victor Petrolati

Project Manager

202-586-4549

Printable Version

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