'· -, 

GAO U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITYOFFICE 

441 G St. N.W. 

Washington, DC 20548 

8-326630 

February 10, 2015 

The Honorable Lisa Murkowski 

Chairman 

The Honorable Maria Cantwell 

Ranking Member 

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

United States Senate 

The Honorable Fred Upton 

Chairman 

The Honorable Frank Pallone, Jr. 

Ranking Member 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

House of Representatives 

Subject: Department of Energy: Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation 

Standards for General Service Fluorescent Lamps and Incandescent Reflector 

Lamps 

Pursuant to section 801 (a)(2)(A) of t.itle 5, United States Code, this is our report on a 

major rule promulgated by the Department of Energy (DOE) entitled "Energy 

Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for General Service 

Fluorescent Lamps and Incandescent Reflector Lamps" (RIN: 1904-AC43). We 

received the rule on January 28, 2015. It was published in the Federal Register as a 

final rule on January 26, 2015, with a stated effective date of March 27, 2015. 80 Fed. 

Reg. 4042. 

The final rule adopts more stringent energy conservation standards for general service 

fluorescent lamps. DOE has determined that the amended energy conservation 

standards for these products would result in significant conservation of energy and are 

technologically feasible and economically justified. DOE also concluded in this final rule 

that amending energy conservation standards for incandescent reflector lamps would 

not be economically justified and therefore did not amend those standards. 

Enclosed is our assessment of DOE's compliance with the procedural steps required by 

section 801(a)(1)(B)(i) through (iv) of title 5 with respect to the rule. Our review of the 

procedural steps taken indicates that DOE complied with the applicable requirements. 

GA0-15-381 R 
If you have any questions about this report or wish to contact GAO officials responsible 

for the evaluation work relating to the subject matter of the rule, please contact 

Shirley A Jones, Assistant General Counsel, at (202) 512-8156. 

Robert J. Cramer 

Managing Associate General Counsel 

Enclosure 

cc: Daniel Cohen 

Assistant General Counsel for Legislation, 

Regulation, and Energy Efficiency 

Department of Energy 

Page 2 GA0-15-381 R 
REPORT UNDER 5 U.S.C. § 801(a)(2)(A) ON A MAJOR RULE 

ISSUED BY THE 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

ENTITLED 

ENCLOSURE 

"ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAM: ENERGY CONSERVATION 

STANDARDS FOR GENERAL SERVICE FLUORESCENT LAMPS 

AND INCANDESCENT REFLECTOR LAMPS" 

(RIN: 1904-AC43) 

ID Cost-benefit analysis 

The Department of Energy (DOE) evaluated the benefits and costs to consumers, the impact on 

manufacturers, and the national benefits and costs of this final rule. For consumers, DOE found 

that the weighted-average life-cycle cost (LCC) savings were positive for all product classes 

with amended standards. Using a real discount rate of 9.2 percent, DOE estimates that the 

industry net present value (NPV) for manufacturers of general service fluorescent lamps 

(GSFLs) would be $1,551.6 million in 2013 dollars. Under this rule, DOE expects that 

manufacturers may lose up to 21.3 percent of their industry NPV, which is approximately $330.0 

million. Additionally, based on DOE's interviews with the manufacturers of GSFLs, DOE does 

not expect any plant closings or significant loss of employment. 

DOE estimates that this final rule will result in energy savings of 7.1 percent for GSFLs. The 

cumulative NPV of total consumer costs and savings of these standards for GSFLs ranges from 

$2.0 billion (at a 7 percent discount rate) to $5.5 billion (at a 3 percent discount rate). This NPV 

expresses the estimated total value of future operating-cost savings minus the estimated 

increased product costs for products purchased in 2018-2047. In addition, these standards for 

GSFLs would have significant environmental benefits. The energy savings from the 30-year 

product purchase period with these standards, relative to the base case without amended 

standards, would result in cumulative greenhouse gas emission reductions of approximately 

160 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, 650 thousand tons of methane, 140 thousand tons of 

sulfur dioxide, 230 thousand tons of nitrogen oxides, 2.0 thousand tons of nitrous oxide, and 

0.43 tons of mercury. 

Based on the analyses culminating in this final rule, DOE found that for GSFLs the benefits to 

the nation of the standards (energy savings, consumer LCC savings, positive NPV of consumer 

benefit, and emission reductions) outweigh the burdens (loss of industry NPV and LCC 

increases for some users of these products). DOE has conpluded that the standards in this rule 

represent the maximum improvement in energy efficiency that is technologically feasible and 

economically justified and would result in significant conservation of energy. 

(ii) Agency actions relevant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFAl, 5 U.S.C. §§ 603-605, 607, 

and 609 

DOE performed a final regulatory flexibility analysis for the standards governing GSFLs in this 

final rule, but not on the standards governing incandescent reflector lamps, as they are 

unchanged by this final rule. The Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis included (1) a description 

and estimated number of small entities regulated; (2) a description and estimate of compliance 

requirements; (3) a description of any duplication, overlap, and conflict with other rules and 

regulations; and (4) significant alternatives to the rule. 

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liiil Agency actions relevant to sections 202-205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995. 

2 U.S.C. §§ 1532-1535 

DOE has concluded that this final rule would likely require expenditures of $100 million or more 

on the private sector. Such expenditures may include: (1) investment in research and 

development and in capital expenditures by GSFL manufacturers in the years between the final 

rule and the compliance date for the new standards, and (2) incremental additional expenditures 

by consumers to purchase higher efficacy GSFLs, starting at the compliance date for the 

applicable standard. 

(iv) Other relevant information or requirements under acts and executive orders 

Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq. 

DOE initiated this rulemaking process with the publication of a framework document on 

September 14, 2011. 76 Fed. Reg. 56,678. DOE then held a public meeting on the framework 

on October 4, 2011. DOE published a preliminary analysis on February 28, 2013, and a notice 

of proposed rulemaking on April 29, 2014. 78 Fed. Reg. 13,563; 79 Fed. Reg. 24,068. DOE 

held a public meeting on the proposed rule on May 1, 2014. 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. §§ 3501-3520 

DOE has established regulations for the certification and recordkeeping requirements for all 

covered consumer products and commercial equipment, including GSFLs. 76 Fed. Reg. 12,422 

(Mar. 7, 2011 ). The collection-of-information requirement for the certification and recordkeeping 

is subject to review and approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the 

Act. This requirement has been approved by OMB under OMB Control Number 1910-1400. 

Public reporting burden for the certification is estimated to average 30 hours per response, 

including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 

maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. 

Statutory authorization for the rule 

DOE promulgated this final rule under the authority of sections 6291 to 6309 of title 42 and 

section 2461 note of title 28, United States Code. 

Executive Order No. 12,866 (Regulatory Planning and Review) 

DOE determined that this final rule is economically significant under the Order and presented it 

to OMB for review. 

Executive Order No. 13, 132 (Federalism) 

On March 14, 2000, DOE published a statement of policy describing the intergovernmental 

consultation process it will follow in the development of regulations. 65 Fed. Reg. 13,735. The 

Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, as amended, (EPCA) governs and prescribes 

federal preemption of state regulations as to energy conservation for the products that are the 

subject of this final rule. States can petition DOE for exemption from such preemption to the 

extent, and based on criteria, set forth in EPCA. 42 U.S.C. § 6297. DOE determined that no 

further action is required by the Order. 

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