DOE has issued a pre-publication Federal Register notice proposing to establish a test procedure for a category of cooking products, i.e., conventional cooking tops, under a proposed new appendix. The proposed test procedure would adopt the latest version of the relevant industry standard with modifications to adapt the test method to gas cooking tops, offer an optional method for burden reduction, normalize the energy use of each test cycle, include measurement of standby mode and off mode energy use, update certain test conditions, and provide certain clarifying language. This NOPR also proposes to retitle the existing cooking products test procedure for microwave ovens only. DOE is seeking comment from interested parties on the proposal.

• DOE will accept comments, data, and information regarding this NOPR until 60 days after date of publication in the Federal Register. DOE will send a follow-up e-mail once the notice publishes to announce the closing date of the comment period.
• Interested persons may submit comments identified by docket number EERE–2021–BT–TP-0023, by email (CookingProducts2021TP0023@ee.doe.gov), Federal eRulemaking portal (http://www.regulations.gov).
• DOE will hold a webinar on Wednesday, December 15, 2021, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Click here to register for the webinar.
• Foreign Nationals interested in participating in this webinar, must be screened by DOE Headquarters Security prior to being granted access. Please email Regina.Washington@ee.doe.gov to complete the necessary documentation at least two weeks prior to scheduled meeting date.
• Additional webinar registration information, participant instructions, and information about the capabilities available to webinar participants will be published on DOE’s website: https://energy.gov/eere/buildings/public-meetings-and-comment-deadlines

DOE has published a Federal Register notification of proposed determination (NOPD) and request for comment pertaining to Standards for Consumer Conventional Cooking Products. Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), prescribes energy conservation standards for various consumer products and certain commercial and industrial equipment, including consumer conventional cooking products. EPCA also requires DOE to periodically determine whether more-stringent standards would be technologically feasible and economically justified, and would result in significant energy savings. In this NOPD, DOE has initially determined that amended energy conservation standards for consumer conventional cooking products would not be economically justified and would not result in a significant conservation of energy. DOE requests comment on this proposed determination and the associated analyses and results.

• Frequently Asked Questions on the Notice of Proposed Determination, Request for Comment and Notice of Public Webinar Pertaining to Standards for Consumer Conventional Cooking Products

DOE has published a Federal Register notice Final Rule pertaining to test procedures for cooking products. On August 9, 2019, as a result of a petition from the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) and data received in response to that petition, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) proposing to withdraw the test procedure for conventional cooking tops established under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA). In this final rule, DOE withdraws the test procedure for conventional cooking tops under EPCA. DOE has determined that the conventional cooking tops test procedure is not representative of energy use or efficiency during an average use cycle and is overly burdensome to conduct.

• The effective date of this rule is September 17, 2020.

On August 9, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NOPR”) to withdraw the test procedure for conventional cooking tops. This NOPR announced that the details of a public meeting would be provided in a subsequent notice published in the Federal Register and stated that public comments will be accepted until October 8, 2019. DOE has now published a Federal Regsiter notice announcing a public meeting and webinar to be held on October 9, 2019. Given the date of the meeting, DOE is extending the public comment period for submitting comments and data on the NOPR by 14 days.

• Frequently Asked Questions on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking pertaining to Test Procedures Cooking Products

On April 25, 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a notification of petition from the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) to withdraw, and immediately stay the effectiveness of, the conventional cooking top test procedure. DOE has now published a Federal Register notice proposing to withdraw the test procedure for conventional cooking tops established under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA). DOE has tentatively determined that the conventional cooking top test procedure may not accurately represent consumer use for gas cooking tops, may not be repeatable or reproducible for both gas and electric cooking tops, and is overly burdensome to conduct.

DOE has published a Federal Register correction notice pertaining to test procedures for cooking products. 84FR5346 (February 21, 2019).

• This correction is effective February 21, 2019.

Petition for Rulemaking

DOE has published a Federal Register notice announcing receipt of a petition from the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers to withdraw, and immediately stay the effectiveness of, the conventional cooking top test procedure. 83 FR 17944 (April 24, 2018)

The docket EERE-2018-BT-TP-0004 contains all notices, public comments, and supporting documents pertaining to this petition.

For the latest information on the planned timing of future DOE regulatory milestones, see the current Office of Management and Budget Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. All planned dates are preliminary and subject to change.

Residential conventional cooking products manufactured and distributed in commerce, as defined by 42 U.S.C. 6291(16), must meet the energy conservation standards specified in the Code of Federal Regulations at 10 CFR 430.32(j)(1) and (2).

Test procedure methods for conventional cooking products are available at 10 CFR 430, Subpart B, Appendix I.