Refusal Letter (Legitimacy)

U.S. Department of Energy
Washington, DC 20585

[Building Manager]
[Company Name]
[Address]
[City], [State] [Zip Code]
[Building Manager],
Recently an interviewer from the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago
contacted you on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy and asked for your participation in the 2007
Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS). I am writing to address any concerns you may
have about the survey.
Let me assure you that no one is trying to sell you anything and that this is not a marketing survey. This study is
being conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy. The CBECS is conducted every four years to gather
information about how U.S. commercial buildings like this one use energy. The data gathered by the survey
provide important information about commercial building energy costs and usage that helps those planning for
your nation’s energy future. You can get more information about the CBECS at
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cbecs.
NORC, the organization that is administering this survey under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy, is a
non-profit research organization with a long history of national service. It is one of the premier organizations in
the survey research field and is recognized for its sensitivity to the concerns of all those who participate in the
surveys they conduct. You can obtain more information about NORC at http://www.norc.org.
It is only because this building is essential to the survey that I am asking again for your participation. Each
building in the survey was scientifically selected to represent similar buildings – in some cases as many as 5,000
buildings. We need your help in this important survey that is sponsored by your government.
I have asked one of NORC’s interviewers to contact you again to schedule an interview. You should be hearing
from an interviewer shortly. If you have any other questions or concerns about this survey, or would like to
schedule an interview appointment directly, you can contact a NORC representative at (XXX) XXX-XXXX or
by e-mail at [email protected]. If you want to speak to someone at the U.S. Department of Energy, please call
Joelle Michaels at (202) 586-8952 or send her an e-mail at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Stephanie J. Battles
Director, Energy Consumption Division
Energy Information Administration

Authorizing Legislation:
The survey of the commercial sector is authorized under the Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974;
Public Law 93-275, as amended, and the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-486). The Commercial
Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS), conducted by the Energy Information Administration of
the U.S. Department of Energy, is a voluntary survey that provides information about energy use in U.S.
buildings.
Respondent Confidentiality:
This survey will be conducted under the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act
(CIPSEA) of 2002 (P.L. 107-347). Data collected under the provisions of this legislation are required to be
kept confidential and to be used only for statistical purposes (i.e., characterizations for population subgroups
that do not reveal any information that could identify individual responses). The Energy Information
Administration, as the sponsoring organization for the CBECS, is responsible for assuring that all identifying
information such as respondent names and addresses and/or building names and addresses are kept
confidential and cannot be linked to the data collected in the CBECS.
Public Reporting Burden:
Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average between 30 and 45 minutes
per questionnaire. Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of
information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to:
Energy Information Administration
Statistics and Methods Group EI-70
1000 Independence Ave, SW
Washington, D.C. 20585
and
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Office of Management and Budget
Washington, D.C. 20503