The Office of Advocacy will host a roundtable to discuss whether the United States Department of Energy should reopen comments on its 2021 final process rule in light of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) report entitled, “Review of Methods Used by the U.S. Department of Energy in Setting Appliance and Equipment Standards.” The roundtable will take place on Friday, February 11, 2022, from 1-2 p.m. (ET). Roundtable participation details will be provided upon receipt of RSVP. RSVPs should be sent to Prianka.Sharma@sba.gov. The purpose of the roundtable will be to gather small entity input and feedback on the issue for discussion.
Agenda
1:00 p.m. – 1:05 p.m. Introductory Remarks
Prianka Sharma, Assistant Chief Counsel, Office of Advocacy Tyler Richards, Regulatory Economist, Office of Advocacy
1:05 p.m. – 1:20 p.m. Presentation on NAS Report
Linda Cohen, Professor of Economics and Law, Emeritus,
University of California at Irvine (Committee Chair)
Susan Dudley, Director, GW Regulatory Studies Center
Distinguished Professor of Practice, Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration (Committee Member)
1:20 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Input from Interested Small Entity Representatives
Roundtable meetings are open to all interested persons, with the exception of the press, in order to facilitate open and frank discussion about the impacts of Federal regulatory activities on small entities. Agendas and presentations are available to all, including the press. Anyone who wants to receive roundtable agendas or presentations, or to be included in the distribution list, should forward such requests to Prianka.Sharma@sba.gov. The purpose of these Roundtable meetings is to exchange opinions, facts and information and to obtain the attendees’ individual views and opinions regarding small entity concerns. The meetings are not intended to achieve or communicate any consensus positions of the attendees.
Small Entity Energy Roundtable
Issue for Discussion
February 11, 2022
Reopening of Comments on 2021 Process Rule
On December 13, 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) finalized a rule entitled, “Energy Conservation Program for Appliance Standards: Procedures, Interpretations, and Policies for Consideration in New or Revised Energy Conservation Standards and Test Procedures for Consumer Products and Commercial/Industrial Equipment.” This rule repealed several provisions of a 2020 final rule that revised procedures for establishing energy efficiency standards for covered products. DOE also published a second proposed rule with the same title on April 12, 2021, that proposed additional revisions to the process rule. DOE accepted comments on that proposed rule until September 13, 2021, and has not finalized the rule yet.
Also, in 2021, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a report entitled, “Review of Methods Used by the U.S. Department of Energy in Setting Appliance and Equipment Standards”. The report, available for download, outlined several findings and recommendations for revising DOE’s process rule.
Advocacy is hosting a roundtable to discuss whether DOE should reopen the comment dockets for its process rules, and what if any comments small entities have on the report.
• Advocacy contact: Email Prianka Sharma or call (202) 205-6938.