Petition by EchoFirst
EchoFirst Inc. (EchoFirst) filed a petition on July 18, 20113 requesting the Commission modify D.10-01-022 to clarify language regarding the SRCC certification requirement. According to EchoFirst, the statute is ambiguous in its use of the terms "standard" and "certification" and the issue of whether OG-300 certification can be granted to an SWH system by an entity other than SRCC is not addressed in Section 2864.
Commission Staff interpret the SRCC certification requirement in Section 2864 and D.10-01-022 to mean that only SRCC may certify equipment as meeting the SRCC OG-300 and OG-100 standard. EchoFirst contends this is unduly restrictive and confers monopoly status on SRCC, whereas the logical outcome is to distinguish standards from certification bodies. Therefore, EchoFirst requests that any approved Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL)4 or American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited laboratory that certifies solar energy products, such as the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), be considered a qualified certifying body to certify equipment to the SRCC OG-300 standard. This would be similar to ETL,5 which has authority to certify Underwriters Laboratories Inc. standards.
In support of its petition, EchoFirst attaches a May 23, 2011 letter from Assemblymember Jared Huffman, author of AB 1470, to Commission President Michael Peevey, wherein Huffman states that he intended to make the SRCC standard, not SRCC as a certifying entity, the requirement for SWH system eligibility. Huffman's letter states that he never intended to sole-source certification to SRCC. (EchoFirst Petition, Attachment 2, Exhibit A.) Furthermore, EchoFirst provides documentation that three entities currently allow certification of SWH systems by IAPMO. Specifically, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognizes IAPMO for third-party certification of SWH systems for the EPA's "Energy Star" product labeling system, and the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District and the Arizona Corporation Commission recognize IAPMO certification of SWHs to the SRCC OG-300 standard for their programs as well. (EchoFirst Petition at 5.)
EchoFirst contends that by distinguishing the SRCC OG-300 standard from certification bodies, SWH manufacturers are given the appropriate latitude to choose a certifying body. According to EchoFirst, this is uniform industry practice in all major consumer product categories and would have the practical effect of assuring reliability, durability, safety, installation, performance and operation of SWH systems. In a declaration attached to the Petition, Richard Reed of SunEarth, Inc., a manufacturer of solar thermal collectors and packaged SWH systems, notes the protracted wait times for SRCC to make additions or changes to SunEarth's product listings. Reed contends that multiple certifying agencies are standard industry practice and are required to accommodate the industry's growth and development. (EchoFirst Petition, Attachment 1.)
3 EchoFirst initially filed its petition on July 18, 2011 in Rulemaking (R.) 08-03-008, the rulemaking in which D.10-01-022 was adopted. The petition was resubmitted on July 21, 2011 in R.10-05-004, and served on the service lists of both R.08-03-008 and R.10-05-004, per the instructions in Ordering Paragraph 3 of R.10-05-004, the successor rulemaking to R.08-03-008.
4 An NRTL is a testing facility recognized by the United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration to provide product safety testing and certification services to manufacturers.
5 "ETL" was originally a trademark of ETL Testing Laboratories, and is now a trademark of Intertek Testing Services.
