Small Business Administration: Energy Roundtable

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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 [email protected]. The purpose of the roundtable will  be to gather small entity input and feedback on the issue for discussion.

Agenda

1:00 pm - 1:05 pm     |     Introductory Remarks

• Prianka Sharma, Assistant Chief Counsel, Office of Advocacy
• Tyler Richards, Regulatory Economist, Office of Advocacy

1:05 pm - 1:20 pm     |     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)
  • Read a joint letter and a public intereest comment submitted by the authors of the NAS Report to the Dept. of Energy.
  • Read Susan Dudley's related op-ed in Forbes.

1:20 p.m. - 2:00 p.m     |     Input from Interested Small Entity Representatives

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 This rule repealed several provisions of a 2020 final rule that revised procedures for establishing energy efficiency standards for covered products.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 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.