, I,, 

GAO U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 

441 G St. N.W. 

Washington, DC 20548 

B-326631 

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 ConsetVation Program: Energy ConsetVation 

Standards for Automatic Commercial Ice Makers 

Pursuant to section 801 (a)(2)(A) of title 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 Automatic Commercial Ice 

Makers" (RIN: 1904-AC39). We received the rule on January 28, 2015. It was 

published in the Federal Register as a final rule on January 28, 2015, with a stated 

effective date of March 30, 2015. 80 Fed. Reg. 4646. 

The final rule adopts more-stringent energy conservation standards for some classes of 

automatic commercial ice makers as well as establishes energy conservation standards 

for other classes of automatic commercial ice makers. 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. 

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. 

GA0-15-382R 
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 

Page2 GA0-15-382R 

/,I,• 
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 AUTOMATIC COMMERCIAL ICE MAKERS" 

(RIN: 1904-AC39) 

(i) Cost-benefit analysis 

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

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

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

customers were impacted by the new standards. Using a real discount rate of 9.2 percent, DOE 

estimated that the industry net present value (NPV) for manufacturers of automatic commercial 

ice makers is $121.6 million in 2013 dollars. Under the amended standards, DOE expects that 

manufacturers may lose up to 12.5 percent of their industry NPV, or approximately $15.1 

million. 

DOE estimates that this final rule will result in energy savings of 8 percent for automatic 

commercial ice makers. The cumulative national NPV of total customer savings of the amended 

standards for automatic commercial ice makers in 2013 dollars ranges from $430 million (at a 

7 percent discount rate) to $942 million (at a 3 percent discount rate). This NPV expresses the 

estimated total value of future operating cost savings minus the estimated increased installed 

costs for equipment purchased in the period from 2018-2047, discounted back to 2014. In 

addition, DOE expects the amended standards to have significant environmental benefits. The 

energy savings described above are estimated to result in cumulative emission reductions of 

10.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, 16.2 thousand tons of nitrogen oxides, 0.1 thousand 

tons of nitrous oxide, 47.4 thousand tons of methane, 0.03 tons of mercury, and 9.3 thousand 

tons of sulfur dioxide based on energy savings from equipment purchased over the period from 

2018-2047. DOE estimates the net present monetary value of the carbon dioxide emissions 

reduction is between $0.08 and $1.11 billion, expressed in 2013 dollars and discounted to 2014. 

Based on these analyses, DOE found the benefits to the nation of the amended 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 

this equipment). DOE has concluded that the standards in this final rule represent the 

maximum improvement in energy efficiency that is both technologically feasible and 

economically justified and would result in significant conservation of energy. 

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

and 609 

DOE performed a final regulatory flexibility analysis on this final rule. This 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; (4) significant alternatives to the rule; and (5) responses to small business 

comments and comments from the Office of Advocacy. 

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(iiil 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 automatic commercial ice maker 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-efficiency automatic 

commercial ice makers, 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 by publishing on its website "Rulemaking Framework for 

Automatic Commercial Ice Makers" on November 4, 2010. 75 Fed. Reg. 70,852 (Nov. 19, 

2010). DOE held public meetings on the framework on December 16, 2010, and February 16, 

2012. 75 Fed. Reg. 70,852 (Nov. 19, 2010); 77 Fed. Reg. 3404 (Jan. 24, 2012). DOE also 

requested and received comments on the framework. On March 17, 2014, DOE published a 

proposed rule. 79 Fed. Reg. 14,846. DOE held another public meeting on April 14, 2014, and 

on September 11, 2014, DOE published a notice of data availability. 79 Fed. Reg. 54,215. 

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 commercial refrigeration 

equipment. 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 (OMS) under the Act. This requirement has been approved by OMS 

under OMS Control Number 1910-1400. Public reporting burden for the certification is 

estimated to average 20 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 6317 of title 42, 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 OMS 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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