DOE Releases Regional Standards Enforcement Proposed Rule

Industry will have 45 days from date of publication to comment on enforcement NOPR

WASHINGTON — On Nov. 12, The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released a pre-publication Federal Register notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) regarding enforcement of the new regional energy conservation standards for split-system and single package central air conditioners.

The long-awaited announcement comes more than a year after the Regional Standards Enforcement Working Group submitted to DOE a negotiated plan of enforcement for the standards, which went into effect Jan. 1. Industry stakeholders will have 45 days after the NOPR is published in the Federal Register to submit comments, data, and information regarding the NOPR to DOE.

The Thursday release of the NOPR tentatively ends a one-year period of uncertainty for the HVACR industry, which has adapted to the new energy conservation standards without any enforcement guidance from DOE.

To view the rulemaking website for split-system and single package central air conditioners, visit http://bit.ly/RSEnforcement. To download the proposed rule, click here.

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Jen Anesi is Legislation Editor. She can be contacted at 248-244-6495 or jenanesi@achrnews.com. Jen’s responsibilities include covering state and federal legislative and regulatory actions relevant to the HVACR industry, running the annual Best Instructor and Best Trainer contests, managing the Regulatory Update section of The NEWS, and producing the monthly Tech of the Month feature. She has six years of writing and editing experience, holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Oakland University, and is currently working toward her MA in English at Wayne State University.