Department of Energy (DOE) Fiscal Year 2022 Agency Report

1. Please provide a summary of your agency’s activities undertaken to carry out the provisions of 

OMB Circular A-119, “Federal Participation in the Development and Use of Voluntary Consensus 

Standards and in Conformity Assessment Activities” and the National Technology Transfer and 

Advance Act (NTTAA). The summary should contain a link to the agency’s standards-specific 

website(s) where information about your agency’s standards and conformity assessment related 

activities are available.

In 2022, as in previous reporting years, the Department of Energy (DOE) relied heavily on voluntary 

consensus standards (VCSs) to fulfill its mission and has a long history of working with the VCS 

community to develop standards that help DOE achieve its missions. DOE supports federal and 

contractor participation on appropriate VCS committees and writing bodies and tracks participation. 

Appropriate VCSs are referenced or invoked in our directives or contracts to meet our specific 

requirements.

The DOE Technical Standards Program has a detailed set of procedures called Technical Standards 

Program Procedures (TSPPs), which include the requirement to perform a mandatory search for existing 

VCSs prior to initiating a DOE Standard development or revision project. The Department has a robust 

project justification process which demands that a potential DOE Standard developer perform searches 

for existing VCSs and document not only the results of those searches, but also the methods used to 

perform the searches. In September 2021 the DOE acquired an online subscription to VCS access. This 

subscription is managed through the DOE Technical Standards Program. Having this subscription 

enables Department standards developers to conduct more efficient searches for VCS which could be 

used in lieu of developing, revising, or reaffirming DOE Technical Standards documents. In 2022, the 

scope of the subscription service was further expanded in response to an increased demand for VCS 

access. The Department recognizes that new VCSs are always being developed and approved. 

Therefore, the project justification process includes the requirement to perform VCS searches when 

revising DOE Standards as well as when developing new DOE Standards. Lastly, DOE Standards can also 

be reaffirmed, meaning that the DOE Standard does not require technical changes to remain 

appropriate for use. The next revision of the TSPPs is scheduled to take place in CY-2023 and will 

include a VCS search requirement for reaffirmation. This requirement will make it mandatory to 

perform searches for any newly approved VCSs which could be used in lieu of reaffirming a DOE 

Standard.

DOE does not have a conformity assessment program, and therefore does not track conformity 

assessment activities regarding VCSs.

DOE Technical Standards Program Internet Link

https://www.standards.doe.gov/

2. Please list the government-unique standards (GUS) your agency began using in lieu of voluntary 

consensus standards during FY 2022. Please note that GUS which are still in effect from previous years 
should continue to be listed, thus the total number in your agency's report will include all GUS 

currently in use (previous years and new as of this FY):

Current total GUS: 0