Generic Clearance for Wholesale Electric Power

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 1905-0210)

2020 EIA Web Product Survey - U.S. Wholesale Electric Power Survey

PURPOSE: The purpose of this customer survey is to collect feedback from users who view electricity data and information on Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) website. EIA plans to expand its coverage of U.S. wholesale electricity markets by developing a new web product with data and information from the seven regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs) in one location. These RTOs and ISOs serve nearly two-thirds of U.S. electricity demand. The feedback will help EIA to learn more about the user’s specific wholesale electricity data and information needs.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Respondents will be users of U.S. Energy Information Administration’s electricity products.

Websites and URL Addresses

Electricity website homepage: https://www.eia.gov/electricity

This web page received the following activity from users:

Page views in year 2019: 196,112

Page views: Jan 2020–Feb 19, 2020: 27,309

U.S. Electric System Operating Data: https://www.eia.gov/realtime_grid/

This web page received the following activity from users:

Page views in year 2019: 165,811

Page views: Jan 2020–Feb 19, 2020: 32,600

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [X] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software [ ] Small Discussion Group

[ ] Focus Group [ ] Other: ______________________

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name: Thomas Leckey, Director, Office of Survey Development and Statistical Integration,

U.S. Energy Information Administration

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [X ] No

2. If Yes, will any information that is collected be included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No

3. If Yes, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [X] No

BURDEN HOURS

The attached survey will take about four minutes to complete based on tests conducted with sample participants. The burden for the targeted customer group should not exceed 100 hours (1,500 potential respondents multiplied by 4 minutes each).

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Totals	1,500	4 minutes	100 hours

ESTIMATE OF RESPONDENT BURDEN HOURS AND COST – The burden to respondents is 100 hours and the cost to the respondents is estimated to be ($80.14* 100) = $8,014.

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [X] Yes [ ] No

The frame is the 64,512 users that currently subscribe to the email distribution lists to receive electricity and natural gas data and information on the EIA website. EIA will send an email invitation notice to those 64,512 subscribers asking them to participate in the survey.

The medium for administration of this survey will be through EIA’s website. A URL to take the electronic survey (Word document with the questions is attached) will be posted on two electricity web pages, electricity home page and U.S. Electric System Operating Data), allowing customers to easily and automatically submit their feedback. We will present the invitation to the survey after the customer has been on these electricity web pages for a brief period of time. EIA plans to have the survey on its website until 1,500 responses are received. The number of completed returns will be monitored daily to prevent exceeding the 1,500-response limit.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[X] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [X] No

The invitation will ask if the data user wants to take the survey at that moment or have it presented to them later (in five minutes). EIA’s code ensures that our survey will not be blocked by pop-up blocker software. Our program code uses temporary cookies to ensure that the survey is only presented once per customer. If they respond to the survey or say they do not want to take it, they will not see the invitation again.

Only users that visit the electricity home page and U.S. Electric System Operating Data will receive the pop-up invitation. We expect responses from a diverse group of customers based on responses from past customer satisfaction studies on information products.

All participation in this survey is voluntary. No self-identification information will be requested. All results will be presented in aggregate form. Subsequent analysis of the data collected will limit any divulgence of individual customer responses.

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

Instructions for completing Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback”

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Provide the name of the collection that is the subject of the request. (e.g. Comment card for soliciting feedback on xxxx)

PURPOSE: Provide a brief description of the purpose of this collection and how it will be used. If this is part of a larger study or effort, please include this in your explanation.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Provide a brief description of the targeted group or groups for this collection of information. These groups must have experience with the program.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: Check one box. If you are requesting approval of other instruments under the generic, you must complete a form for each instrument.

CERTIFICATION: Please read the certification carefully. If you incorrectly certify, the collection will be returned as improperly submitted or it will be disapproved.

Personally Identifiable Information: Provide answers to the questions. Note: Agencies should only collect PII to the extent necessary, and they should only retain PII for the period of time that is necessary to achieve a specific objective.

Gifts or Payments: If you answer yes to the question, please describe the incentive and provide a justification for the amount.

BURDEN HOURS:

Category of Respondents: Identify who you expect the respondents to be in terms of the following categories: (1) Individuals or Households; (2) Private Sector; (3) State, local, or tribal governments; or (4) Federal Government. Only one type of respondent can be selected per row.

No. of Respondents: Provide an estimate of the Number of respondents.

Participation Time: Provide an estimate of the amount of time required for a respondent to participate (e.g. fill out a survey or participate in a focus group)

Burden: Provide the Annual burden hours: Multiply the Number of responses and the participation time and divide by 60.

FEDERAL COST: Provide an estimate of the annual cost to the Federal government.

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents. Please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them. If the answer is yes, to the first question, you may provide the sampling plan in an attachment.

Administration of the Instrument: Identify how the information will be collected. More than one box may be checked. Indicate whether there will be interviewers (e.g. for surveys) or facilitators (e.g., for focus groups) used.

Submit all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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