BASIN ELECTRIC POWER COOPERATIVE WHITE PAPER
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING
ENERGY CONSERVATION STANDARDS FOR RESIDENTIAL WATER HEATERS
D O C K E T N U M B E R : E E R E – 2 0 1 2 – B T – S TD – 0 0 2 2 - 0 1 5 8 , R I N N U M B E R : 1 9 0 4 – A C 7 8 ,
FEDERAL REGISTER NUM BER 2013-04099
APRIL 19, 2013
A proposed amendment to the U.S. Department of Energy 2010 rule banning large-volume electric
resistance water heaters does not sufficiently protect cooperative electric thermal storage
activities, which are critical to cooperative demand-side management programs. Basin Electric
Power Cooperative urges DOE to instead implement a simplified, long-term waiver process for
large-volume electric resistance hot water heaters that is necessary for continued successful
demand-side management programs.
Basin Electric Power Cooperative member cooperatives and other utilities sharing similar concerns
are urged to take action by submitting comments opposing the proposed rule and recommending a
simplified, long-term waiver. Comments are due April 29, 2013.
BACKGROUND
The U.S. Department of Energy amended its standards for residential water heaters on April 16,
2010, which banned the manufacture of large capacity units. Compliance with the amended
standards is required beginning on April 16, 2015. The standards for residential water heaters
raised the minimum efficiency requirements for electric storage water heaters with storage
volumes above 55 gallons to levels that are currently achieved only through the use of heat pump
water heater technology.
Utilities are concerned that the amended levels will negatively impact programs designed to reduce
peak energy demand by heating water only during off-peak times and storing the water for use
during peak demand periods. Such programs are referred to “electric thermal storage,” or ETS, in
the rulemaking. ETS is a vital part to utility demand-side management programs.
In response to utility concerns, the DOE issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) on Feb. 26,
2013, proposing a waiver process that would mitigate the utility concerns by allowing for the
manufacture of certain large-volume electric storage water heaters provided that utilities and
manufacturers meet a set of conditions.
Manufacturers and/or utility companies can request a waiver from the DOE. The waiver would
allow for the manufacture and sale of limited numbers of electric water heaters with storage
volumes above 55 gallons for a one-year period exclusively for the purpose of installation in
residences enrolled in a utility’s ETS program.
If the request is made individually by a manufacturer, it must identify each of the utility ETS
programs for which the water heaters are intended to participate. Similarly, if the request is made
by a utility, it must identify the manufacturer that would be responsible for producing the units.
POTENTIAL IMPACT TO ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES
While Basin Electric Power Cooperative is pleased the DOE has recognized the negative impacts of
their 2010 rulemaking, the amendments proposed in the 2013 NOPR do not adequately address
cooperative concerns and continue to place ETS programs in jeopardy. If DOE does not make
significant changes to the NOPR, cooperatives may still lose the ability to use large-volume
electric water heaters for demand-side management programs at great cost to cooperative
member-owners.
A one-year wavier does not give Basin Electric Power Cooperative member cooperatives
enough certainty to maintain their current load management programs. Development and
implementation of demand-side management programs is a complex, multi-year process. Year-toyear certainty on the availability of the necessary components, like large-volume electric water
heaters, is essential to justify continued investment in such a program.
The strict conditions placed on the waiver process are also overly burdensome and
impractical. The proposal assumes the existence of a coordinated distribution network between
cooperatives, water heater manufacturers, and control device manufacturers. This is not the case.
Cooperatives and manufacturers do not control the distribution channel of water heaters from
point of manufacture to point of use, and it is impractical to expect that such distribution channels
could be developed for this program. Nor do cooperatives and manufacturers have a process in
place that would allow every water heater to be manufactured with the exact load control device
needed in the field, as the NOPR proposes. Each load control strategy has a unique control device
with multiple load control configurations, making it impossible for the manufacturer to package the
correct load control device with the water heater.
If ETS is no longer an option for demand-side management programs, cooperatives will lose a
valuable tool for balancing load in their systems, which helps keep power costs down and leads to
more efficient use of the generation and transmission system. The National Rural Electric
Cooperative Association estimates an annual cost savings to cooperatives nationwide from such
programs to be $60 million. Member-owners would lose access to discounted electrical rates and
financial incentives received for voluntarily participating in such programs.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Basin Electric Power Cooperative recommends the DOE adopt a separate classification for
grid-enabled, large-volume, electric water heaters with lower efficiency factors. Such a
classification would preserve ETS programs into the future. However, the cooperative understands
this may or may not be within the authority of the DOE.
Alternately, Basin Electric Power Cooperative recommends the DOE adopt a simple waiver for
grid-enabled large-volume electric water heaters. The waiver process described in the NOPR
provides for a timeframe that is too short to provide certainty to utilities with ETS programs. The
process itself is wrought with practicality challenges, also limiting its usefulness. That waiver
should be valid for at least five years – from 2015 to 2020 – and thereafter should be subject to
modification or elimination with three years notice.
A simple, long-term waiver can give the electric utility industry the certainty it needs to continue to
invest in effective ETS programs. It also provides the manufacturing community the certainty it
needs to continue to produce the water heaters needed for those successful programs.
CALL TO ACTION
Basin Electric Power Cooperative member cooperatives and other utilities sharing similar concerns
are encouraged to submit comments opposing the rulemaking and recommending alternative
actions. The quantity of comments is especially critical. The more comments opposing the
rulemaking received by DOE, the more likely they will view these concerns as valid.
Submit comments using the following methods. The NOPR is identified by docket number EERE2012-BT-STD-0022 and/or RIN 1904-AC78:
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Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting
comments.
Email: ResWaterHtrsRFI-2012-STD-0022@ee.doe.gov. Include the docket number and/or RIN
in the subject line of the message. Submit electronic comments in WordPerfect, Microsoft Word,
PDF, or ASCII file format, and avoid the use of special characters or any form of encryption.
Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, Building Technologies Program,
Mailstop EE-2J, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC, 20585-0121. If possible,
please submit all items on a compact disc (CD), in which case it is not necessary to include
printed copies.