[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 75 (Monday, April 20, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 19397-19399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-10391]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 305


Rule Concerning Disclosures Regarding Energy Consumption and 
Water Use of Certain Home Appliances and Other Products Required Under 
the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (``Appliance Labeling Rule'')

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission amends its Appliance Labeling 
Rule by publishing new ranges of comparability to be used on required 
labels for clothes washers.

DATES: Effective: August 12, 1998.
    Compliance: Manufacturers of clothes washers must begin using these 
revised ranges on labels on clothes washers manufactured on or after 
August 12,

[[Page 19398]]

1998. Manufacturers may begin using these revised ranges on labels on 
clothes washers manufactured on or after July 1, 1998, in order to 
comply with the July 1, 1998 mandatory effective date of recent 
amendments to the Department of Energy's (``DOE'') test procedure for 
clothes washers, 62 FR 45484 (August 27, 1997).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
James Mills, Attorney, Division of Enforcement, Federal Trade 
Commission, Washington, DC 20580 (202-326-3035).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Appliance Labeling Rule (``Rule'') was 
issued by the Commission in 1979, 44 FR 66466 (Nov. 19, 1979), in 
response to a directive in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 
1975.\1\ The Rule covers eight categories of major household 
appliances. Clothes washers are among those categories. The Rule also 
covers pool heaters, 59 FR 49556 (Sept. 28, 1994), and contains 
requirements that pertain to fluorescent lamp ballasts, 54 FR 28031 
(July 5, 1989), certain plumbing products, 58 FR 54955 (Oct. 25, 1993), 
and certain lighting products, 59 FR 25176 (May 13, 1994, eff. May 15, 
1995).
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    \1\ 42 U.S.C. 6294. The statute also requires DOE to develop 
test procedures that measure how much energy the appliances use, and 
to determine the representative average cost a consumer pays for the 
different types of energy available.
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    The Rule requires manufacturers of all covered appliances and pool 
heaters to disclose specific energy consumption or efficiency 
information (derived from the DOE test procedures) at the point of sale 
in the form of an ``EnergyGuide'' label and in catalogs. It also 
requires manufacturers of furnaces, central air conditioners, and heat 
pumps either to provide fact sheets showing additional cost 
information, or to be listed in an industry directory showing the cost 
information for their products. The Rule requires that manufacturers 
include, on labels and fact sheets, an energy consumption or efficiency 
figure and a ``range of comparability.'' This range shows the highest 
and lowest energy consumption or efficiencies for all comparable 
appliance models so consumers can compare the energy consumption or 
efficiency of other models (perhaps competing brands) similar to the 
labeled model. The Rule requires that manufacturers also include, on 
labels for some products, a secondary energy usage disclosure in the 
form of an estimated annual operating cost based on a specified DOE 
national average cost for the fuel the appliance uses.
    Section 305.8(b) of the Rule requires manufacturers, after filing 
an initial report, to report certain information annually to the 
Commission by specified dates for each product type.\2\ These reports, 
which are to assist the Commission in preparing the ranges of 
comparability, contain the estimated annual energy consumption or 
energy efficiency ratings for the appliances derived from tests 
performed pursuant to the DOE test procedures. Because manufacturers 
regularly add new models to their lines, improve existing models, and 
drop others, the data base from which the ranges of comparability are 
calculated is constantly changing. To keep the required information 
consistent with these changes, under Section 305.10 of the Rule, the 
Commission will publish new ranges (but not more often than annually) 
if an analysis of the new information indicates that the upper or lower 
limits of the ranges have changed by more than 15%. Otherwise, the 
Commission will publish a statement that the prior ranges remain in 
effect for the next year.
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    \2\ Reports for clothes washers are due March 1.
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    On August 27, 1997, DOE revised its test procedure for the clothes 
washer category. 62 FR 45,484. Manufacturers of clothes washers have 
made the required annual submissions of data for this product category, 
and the data are based on the revised version of the test, which will 
become effective July 1, 1998. In analyzing the date, the Commission 
has found that a significant number of the upper and lower limits of 
the ranges have changed by more than 15%. Accordingly, the Commission 
is publishing new ranges of comparability for the clothes washer 
category. These ranges will supersede the current ranges for clothes 
washers, which were published originally on May 14, 1997 (62 FR 
26,383), and later corrected on August 6, 1997 (62 FR 42,209), and 
which became effective August 12, 1997.
    Section 326(c) of EPCA, 42 U.S.C. 6296, states that the Commission 
may not require labels to be changed to reflect revisions to the ranges 
of comparability more often than annually. Thus, the effective date of 
today's revision to the ranges of comparability for clothes washers is 
August 12, 1998, one day beyond a year from the effective date of the 
previous ranges. The Commission notes, however, that manufacturers of 
clothes washers may begin using these revised ranges on labels on 
clothes washers manufactured on or after July 1, 1998, in order to 
comply with the mandatory effective date of the amended DOE test 
procedure for those products.
    In consideration of the foregoing, the Commission revises Appendix 
F of its Appliance Labeling Rule by publishing the following ranges of 
comparability for use in required disclosures (including labeling) for 
clothes washers manufactured on or after August 12, 1998. In addition, 
as of this effective date, manufacturers must base the disclosures of 
estimated annual operating cost required at the bottom of the 
EnergyGuide for clothes washers on the 1998 Representative Average Unit 
Costs of Energy for electricity (8.42 cents per kiloWatt-hour) and 
natural gas (61.9 cents per therm) that were published by DOE on 
December 8, 1997, 62 FR 64,574, and by the Commission on December 29, 
1997, 62 FR 67,560. On July 1, 1998, manufacturers may voluntarily 
begin basing the disclosures of estimated annual operating cost 
required at the bottom of the EnergyGuide for clothes washers on the 
1998 Representative Average Unit Costs of Energy for electricity and 
natural gas.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act relating to a 
Regulatory Flexibility Act analysis (5 U.S.C. 603-604) are not 
applicable to this proceeding because the amendments do not impose any 
new obligations on entities regulated by the Appliance Labeling Rule. 
Thus, the amendments will not have a ``significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities'' (5 U.S.C. 605). The Commission 
has concluded, therefore, that a regulatory flexibility analysis is not 
necessary, and certifies, under Section 605 of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 605(b)), that the amendments announced today 
will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., 
requires government agencies, before promulgating rules or other 
regulations that require ``collections of information'' i.e., 
recordkeeping, reporting, or third-party disclosure requirements), to 
obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB''), 44 
U.S.C. 3502. The Commission currently has OMB clearance for the Rule's 
information collection requirements (OMB No. 3084-0069). The amendment 
will not impose any new information collection requirements. Instead, 
it will provide manufacturers with revised ranges of comparability to 
use the EnergyGuide labels already required by the Rule.

[[Page 19399]]

List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 305

    Advertising, Energy conservation, Household appliances, Labeling, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
    Accordingly, 16 CFR Part 305 is amended as follows:

PART 305--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for Part 305 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6294.

    2. Appendix F to Part 305 is revised to read as follows:

Appendix F to Part 305--Clothes Washers

    Range Information:
    ``Compact'' includes all household clothes washers with a tub 
capacity of less than 1.6 cu. ft. or 13 gallons of water.
    ``Standard'' includes all household clothes washers with a tub 
capacity of 1.6 cu. ft. or 13 gallons of water or more.

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                                             Range of estimated annual  
                                           energy consumption  (kWh/yr.)
                Capacity                 -------------------------------
                                                Low            High     
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Compact:                                                                
    Top Loading.........................             592             607
    Front Loading.......................             (*)             (*)
Standard:                                                               
    Top Loading.........................             294            1231
    Front Loading.......................             241             318
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(*) No data submitted.                                                  

    By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-10391 Filed 4-17-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-M