Data / Federal rules / 2026-03300
Petroleum-Equivalent Fuel Economy Calculation
The Energy Department published this final rule in the Federal Register on February 19, 2026. It took effect on February 19, 2026. Comments closed on March 23, 2026.
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What the agency says
The Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (formerly the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy) of the Department of Energy (DOE) has reviewed the petroleum-equivalency factor (PEF) for electric vehicles (EVs) used by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in calculating light-duty vehicle manufacturers' compliance with the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. DOE has determined that revisions to the PEF are necessary. DOE is first publishing a final rule that removes the fuel content factor (FCF) from the calculation of the PEF. Removal of the FCF is consistent with a United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit decision that held, among other things, that the inclusion of the FCF in the PEF calculation exceeded DOE's authority under the substantive statute. DOE will propose additional revisions to the PEF in a forthcoming notice of proposed rulemaking.
Key facts
- Document number
- 2026-03300
- Type
- Final rule
- Action
- Interim final rule; request for comments
- Agency
- Energy Department
- Published
- February 19, 2026
- Takes effect
- February 19, 2026
- Comments due
- March 23, 2026
- Dates
- The effective date of this interim final rule is February 19, 2026. DOE will accept comments, data, and information regarding this interim final rule no later than March 23, 2026.
- Docket
- EERE-2025-VT-0073
- Regulation ID (RIN)
- 1904-AF47
- Code of Federal Regulations
- 10 CFR 474
- Topics
- Electric power; Energy conservation; Fuel economy; Motor vehicles; Research
- Significant
- Yes, under Executive Order 12866
- Pages
- 8
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Everything from the Energy Department · Rules on electric power · Rules on energy conservation · Rules on fuel economy · Published in February 2026
Read from the Federal Register API, last updated 2026-10-23. The document on federalregister.gov is the official record; dates and dockets can change through later corrections. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0.