Sample NG Respondent Letters

SAMPLE EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS TO RESPONDENTS

Sample EIA-176 confirmation of contact information email notification:

Dear <CONTACT>

Thank you for your company’s participation in last year’s “Annual Report of Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply and Disposition” (Form EIA-176). Form EIA-176 collects data on natural, synthetic, and other supplemental gas supplies, disposition, and certain revenues by state. The data appear in the EIA publications Monthly Energy Review, Natural Gas Annual, and Natural Gas Monthly.

We are sending this letter to request you verify the company Respondent Information contained in our records. Response to this survey is mandatory your timely response to this annual survey enables us to meet our legislative mandates to provide timely, high quality natural gas supply and disposition information to Federal and state agencies, and to a wide variety of customers in the private sector, including those in your company. The information you report on this form is considered pubic information and may be released in an identifiable form. Your continued cooperation is essential for us to continue to provide this service in the future.

EIA has a legal mandate to carry out a central, comprehensive, and unified energy data and information program. All persons owning or operating facilities or business premises who are engaged in any phase of energy supply shall make available to the Administrator such information and periodic reports. By law, the EIA Administrator has the authority to conduct mandatory information collections and obtain the information by issuing subpoenas, conducting physical inspections or by other means identified in 15 U.S.C. 779.

It is now time to prepare Form EIA-176 for the Report Year 20xx. Because Form EIA-176 is an annual survey, the Respondent Information we have in our records may have changed since last year’s filing. The estimated respondent burden for this survey is 12 hours. This is your company contact information that we have in our records.

EIA ID Number: <ID>

Company Name: <NAME1>

Site Name: <NAME2>

Contact Name: <CONTACT>

Phone Number: <PHONE>

Fax Number: <FAX>

Email Address: <EMAIL>

We request that you verify that the information shown above is “CORRECT.” If it has changed please reply to this email by December 10, 20yy so that future correspondence concerning this year’s Form EIA-176 is sent to the correct person in your company.

The due date for filing Form EIA-176 is March 1, 20yy. The person shown as the “Contact Name” (listed above) will receive an email approximately eight weeks before the due date. This email will direct them to EIA internet links to access copies of this year’s EIA-176 survey form and updated form instructions.

If you have any questions regarding this request or Form EIA-176, please contact Jennifer Wade at (202) 586-4749. Thank you in advance for your continued cooperation in our data collection efforts.

Sincerely,

Barbara Mariner-Volpe

Team Leader

Natural Gas Downstream Team

Office of Petroleum and Biofuels Statistics

U.S. Energy Information Administration

Sample EIA-176 email activation notification:

Dear Respondent:

It’s time again to complete Energy Information Administration (EIA) Form EIA-176 “Annual Report of Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply and Disposition” for the natural gas company or companies that you operate.Form EIA-176 collects data on natural, synthetic, and other supplemental gas supplies, disposition, and certain revenues by state. The data appear in the EIA publications Monthly Energy Review, Natural Gas Annual, and Natural Gas Monthly.

Response to this survey is mandatory. The information you report on this form is considered pubic information and may be released in an identifiable form.

All persons owning or operating facilities or business premises who are engaged in any phase of energy supply shall make available to the Administrator such information and periodic reports. By law the EIA Administrator has the authority to conduct mandatory information collections and obtain the information by issuing subpoenas, conducting physical inspections or by other means identified in 15 U.S.C. 779.

Statistics collected using Form EIA-176 will be posted on the EIA website (http://www.eia.gov) for use by people who make business and public policy decisions affecting your company and the natural gas industry as well as U.S. energy security, the economy, and the environment. Reporting on Form EIA-176 is mandatory because it is important for us to compile and present complete, accurate, and timely information. The estimated respondent burden for this survey is 12 hours.

Your report must be completed and sent to EIA by mm dd yy.

Our records indicate you are the person assigned by your company to complete Form EIA-176 for the following companies. Please let me know immediately if you are not the person responsible for completing Form EIA-176 for any or all of the companies listed so that I can contact the appropriate person.

EIA ID Number Company Name Site Name

<DUPLICATE_ID_NAME1_NAME2>

Materials needed to complete Form EIA-176 (survey form, instructions, and definitions) are available on the EIA website at the following address.

http://www.eia.gov/survey/#eia-176

Form EIA-176 may be downloaded in portable document format (PDF) or as a spreadsheet (.xls) file. If you choose to use the spreadsheet file, you will first need to copy the file to your local computer. Data cannot be entered into the spreadsheet interactively on the EIA Website. There is an EIA-176 Electronic Filing System that can be downloaded to your PC that can be used to enter and submit your data electronically.

The following option is available for sending your completed Form EIA-176 report(s) to EIA.

• Secure File Transfer: https://signon.eia.doe.gov/upload/noticeoog.jsp

The secure file transfer option uses an industry-standard encryption process to prevent anyone outside of EIA from viewing your data. This is the same method commonly used for conducting business transactions over the Internet. Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or newer or Netscape 4.77 or newer are recommended when using secure file transfer.

Please let me know if I can be of any help as you complete the Annual Report of Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply and Disposition. I can be contacted by email at [email protected] or by phone at 202-586-4749.

Thank you for your cooperation in this important matter.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Wade

Survey Manager, EIA-176

Natural Gas Downstream Team

Office of Oil, Gas & Coal Supply Statistics

U.S. Energy Information Administration

Sample EIA-176 non-response notification:

Dear Respondent,

I am writing to you because the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has not received Form EIA-176, “Annual Report of Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply and Disposition” from you for Report Year 20yy. The EIA-176 was due March 1, 20yy. As of today we have not received your survey form(s). According to our records, you are the contact person responsible for submitted information for operations in the following company/state list:

EIA ID Number Company for Operations in State

<DUPLICATE_ID_NAME1_NAME2>

EIA is required by law to obtain these and other data, and you also have a legal obligation to provide the data (Public Law 93-275). Copies of the 20yy version of Form EIA-176 and Instructions (including FAQ's) are available on our website at: http://www.eia.gov/survey/#eia-176. Form EIA-176 collects data on natural, synthetic, and other supplemental gas supplies, disposition, and certain revenues by state. The data appear in the EIA publications Monthly Energy Review, Natural Gas Annual, and Natural Gas Monthly.

Response to this survey is mandatory. Filings of the EIA-176 are not confidential. The information you report on this form is considered public information and may be released in an identifiable form. Please complete the EIA-176 for each of the States listed above and submit it promptly. The estimated respondent burden for this survey is 12 hours. Your company is required to file for the States specified above and for any other operations that may meet the filing requirements outlined in the instructions. The form may be submitted by secure file transfer to https://signon.eia.doe.gov/upload/noticeoog.jsp .

In recent years, some companies have filed using an electronic filing system (EFS) prepared by EIA. This software is now available on our Website for downloading at: http://www.eia.gov/survey/form/eia_176/efs176.cfm. For additional questions and concerns, please call 877-800-5261.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Wade

Survey Manager, EIA-176

Natural Gas Downstream Team

Office of Oil, Gas & Coal Supply Statistics

U.S. Energy Information Administration

Sample EIA-857 notification of discontinuation of data collection:

Dear Respondent,

Once you have submitted your December 20yy Form EIA-857, “Monthly Report of Natural Gas Purchases and Deliveries to Consumers,” your company will have completed its reporting requirement for the 20yy cycle for operations in the State(s) shown below:

Control ID Entity for State

<DUPLICATE_ID_NAME1_NAME2>

These operations were not selected for the 20yy survey cycle; therefore, no further filings are required. During the coming year, as part of our ongoing quality assurance activities, you may be contacted regarding 20yy data reported by your firm. A resubmission may be required should it be discovered that any data previously submitted is in error.

Your company is also still required to file Form EIA-857, "Annual Report of Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply and Disposition.” Please follow instructions in any separate correspondence related to Form EIA-857.

On behalf of the Energy Information Administration, thank you for your cooperation and attention in this survey operation.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Wade

Survey Manager, EIA-857

Natural Gas Downstream Team

Office of Oil, Gas & Coal Supply Statistics

U.S. Energy Information Administration

Sample EIA-912 new respondent welcome letter:

<DATE>

Company Name: <COMPANY_NAME>

Control (ID) Number: <CONTROL_ID>

Dear <RESPONDENT_NAME>

This letter is to notify you that your company has been selected by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) to report on Form EIA-912, "Weekly Underground Natural Gas Storage Report," a mandatory weekly survey of working gas volumes in underground storage. The survey covers all underground storage facilities that your company operates. The data your company is required to provide will be used to estimate total U.S. natural gas storage inventories for the Lower 48 states—an important market and economic indicator for our country.

Filing Form EIA-912 is mandatory pursuant to Section 13(b) of the Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-275) and must be completed by underground natural gas storage operators in the United States. Your company's participation will continue into the future unless notified by EIA.

The information you provide on Form EIA-912 will be used for statistical purposes only and is confidential by law. In accordance with the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 and other applicable Federal laws, your responses will not be disclosed in identifiable form without your consent. Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, Federal information systems are protected from malicious activities through cybersecurity screening of transmitted data. Every EIA employee, as well as every agent, is subject to a jail term, a fine, or both if he or she makes public ANY identifiable information you reported.

Copies of the EIA-912 form and instructions are available on EIA’s website. Please also note that your company’s reports must be submitted through EIA’s Secure File Transfer System which provides enhanced data security. You should access the Secure File Transfer System at: https://signon.eia.doe.gov/upload/notice912.jsp.

Your company’s first report using the Form EIA-912 is due by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 6, 2017, for underground storage volumes held as of November 3, 2017. Subsequent filings must be submitted to EIA no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time each Monday. The estimated respondent burden for this survey is 1 hour. According to our records, you are responsible for filing for the following natural gas storage fields with the associated region:

Region Field

<REGION> <FIELD_NAME>

Please contact EIA at 202-586-4993 if you have any questions regarding this mandatory weekly data collection requirement or if another person will be completing this form for your company. Your cooperation and participation in this important survey is appreciated.

Sincerely,

Robert Merriam, Director

Office of Petroleum and Biofuels Statistics

U.S. Energy Information Administration

Natural Gas Data Collection Program Package 1905-1975 Page 7 of 6