Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Distribution Transformers

Document 2026-11971 is a Proposed Rule published by the Department of Energy in the Federal Register on June 15, 2026. A Presidential determination issued on April 20, 2026, found that grid infrastructure supply chains, including distribution transformers and electrical core steel, are essential to national defense, and that U.S. industry faces critical constraints from limited domestic product capacity, extended procurement timelines, and foreign supply dependence. The U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") is initiating an information and data gathering effort to understand how the energy conservation standards for distribution transformers adopted in an April 2024 final rule, with compliance required in 2029, interact with these national security considerations, including impacts on domestic manufacturing capacity, supply chain resilience, and the availability and cost of key materials. DOE is also seeking information on whether the revised energy conservation standards result in special hardship, inequity, or unfair distribution of burdens, including investment needs and market conditions associated with redesigning equipment to comply by the 2029 compliance date. View the original at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/06/15/2026-11971/energy-conservation-program-energy-conservation-standards-for-distribution-transformers.

No. Document 2026-11971 is not classified as economically significant under Executive Order 12866. Economically significant rules require OIRA review and are estimated to have impacts of $100 million or more per year.