DOE Issues a Notice of Petition and Request for Public Comment pertaining to Test Procedures for Electric Motors and Small Electric Motors

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a pre-publication Federal Register notice announcing receipt of petitions requesting that DOE incorporate the IEC 60034-2-1:2014 (2014) test methods 2-1-1A and 2-1-1B as alternative test methods in addition to the existing test methods referenced in its regulations for determining the energy efficiency of certain electric motors and small electric motors.

• DOE requests and will accept comments, data, and information concerning the petitions until 60 days after the notice publishes in the Federal Register. DOE will send a follow-up e-mail when the notice publishes to announce the closing date of the comment period.
• Interested persons are encouraged to submit comments using the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Alternatively, interested persons may submit comments, identified by docket number EERE-2017-BT-TP-0047, by Email (SmallElectricMotors2017TP0047@ee.doe.gov), postal mail, or hand delivery/courier.
• The petitions and accompanying supporting documentation were submitted to DOE by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and UL LLC (UL). NEMA’s petition is available at https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EERE-2017-BT-TP-0047-0028 and UL’s https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EERE-2017-BT-TP-0047-0029.   NEMA found IEC 60034-2-1:2014 Method 2-1-1B to be equivalent to IEEE 112-2004 Method B (subpart B of 10 CFR 431) and CSA C390-10 (subpart B of 10 CFR 431). UL testing found IEC 60034-2-1:2004 Method 2-1-1B results to be in close agreement with those of CSA C390-10, and noted that the respective methodologies of IEC 60034-2-1:2014 Method 2-1-1A and CSA C747 were also in accord. DOE solicits comments, data, and information concerning NEMA’s and UL’s petitions.
• DOE welcomes written comments from the public on any subject within the scope of this document (including topics not raised in this notice).
• Find product information for Electric Motors and Small Electric Motors including current standards and test procedures; statutory authority; waivers, exceptions and contact information. The docket for this rulemaking is EERE-2017-BT-TP-0047.