DOE has published a Federal Register notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) pertaining to energy conservation standards for automatic commercial ice makers. The Energy Policy and Conservation Act 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 NOPR, DOE proposes to amend and establish standards for automatic commercial ice makers and also announces a public meeting to receive comment on these proposed standards and associated analyses and results.

• DOE will accept comments, data, and information regarding this NOPR until July 10, 2023.
• Interested persons may submit comments identified by docket number EERE-2017-BT-STD-0022, by email (ACIM2017STD0022@ee.doe.gov), Federal eRulemaking portal (http://www.regulations.gov).
• DOE will hold a webinar on Wednesday, June,14, 2023, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 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 final rule amending the test procedure for automatic commercial ice makers to update incorporated references to the latest version of the industry standards; establish a relative humidity test condition; provide additional detail regarding certain test conditions, settings, setup requirements, and calculations; include a voluntary measurement of potable water use; clarify certification and reporting requirements; and add enforcement provisions. This final rule also provides additional detail to the DOE test procedure to improve the representativeness and repeatability of the current test procedure.

• The effective date of this rule is December 1, 2022.
• The final rule changes will be mandatory for equipment testing starting October 27, 2023. 
• The incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in this rule is approved by the Director of the Federal Register December 1, 2022.

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.

Automatic commercial icemakers 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 431.136.

To determine that automatic commercial icemakers that are currently manufactured or distributed into commerce are in compliance with DOE standards, manufacturers must follow the test procedure methods specified at 10 CFR 431.134.