Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Energy Conservation Standards for Clothes Washers

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act, as amended (EPCA or Act), requires the Department of Energy (DOE or Department) to consider amending the energy conservation standards for certain major household appliances. This supplemental advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANOPR) addresses the requirement of EPCA to consider amending the energy conservation standards for clothes washers no later than five years after the date of publication of the previous final rule (May 14, 1991). The purpose of this supplemental ANOPR is to provide interested persons with an opportunity to comment on: First, the product classes that the Department is planning to analyze; Second, the analytical framework, models (e.g., the Government Regulatory Impact Model (GRIM)), and tools (e.g., a Monte Carlo sampling methodology, and life-cycle-cost (LCC) and national energy savings (NES) spreadsheets) that the Department expects to use in performing analyses of the impacts of standards; and Third, the results of preliminary analyses for life-cycle-cost, payback and national energy savings contained in the Preliminary Technical Support Document: Energy Efficiency Standards for Consumer Products: Clothes Washers (TSD) and summarized in this supplemental ANOPR.