DOE has issued a pre-publication Federal Register notice of proposed rule pertaining (NOPR) to energy conservation standards for expanded scope electric motors. The Energy Policy and Conservation Act, as amended (EPCA), prescribes standards for various consumer products and certain commercial and industrial equipment, including electric motors. In this NOPR, DOE proposes new standards for a subset of electric motors, expanded scope electric motors, expressed in terms of average full-load efficiency, 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 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-2020-BT-STD-0007, by email (ElecMotors2020STD0007@ee.doe.gov), Federal eRulemaking portal (http://www.regulations.gov).
• DOE will hold a public meeting and webinar on Wednesday, January 17th, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., in Washington, DC.
• The public meeting will be held at the U.S. Department of Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 1E-245,1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585.
• To attend in-person please email appliance_standards_public_meetings@ee.doe.gov
• Click here to register for the webinar.
• Foreign Nationals interested in participating in this meeting or 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 direct final rule on June 1, 2023 pertaining to energy conservation standards for electric motors. The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) 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 direct final rule, DOE is adopting new and amended standards for electric motors. It has determined that the new and amended standards for these products would result in significant conservation of energy, and are technologically feasible and economically justified.

• The effective date of this rule is September 29, 2023 unless adverse comment is received by September 19, 2023.
• DOE published a notice on October 20, 2023 confirming the effective date and compliance date upon determining that the comments receive din response to the direct final rule do not provide a reasonable basis for withdrawing the direct final rule. Accordingly, the effective date is September 29, 2023. Compliance with the new standards established in the direct final rule is required on and after June 1, 2027.

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.

Electric motors manufactured and distributed in commerce, as defined by 42 U.S.C. 6311(7), must meet the energy conservation standards specified in the Code of Federal Regulations at 10 CFR 431.25 through 431.26.

Manufacturers must follow the test procedure methods specified in 10 CFR 431.14 through 431.21 to determine that electric motors that are currently manufactured or distributed into commerce are in compliance with DOE standards.