Respondent Communications 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 Form EIA-176 Annual Report of Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply and Disposition.

We are sending this letter to request you verify the company Respondent Information contained in our records. Your timely response to this mandatory 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. 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 for Form EIA-176 for the Report Year 20xx. Because the Form EIA-176 is an annual survey, the Respondent Information we have in our records may have changed since last year’s filing. The following is what we currently show 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 either “CORRECT” or 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 the 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 survey, please contact Michael Kopalek at (202) 586-4001. Thank you in advance for your continued cooperation in our data collection efforts.

Sincerely,

Robert Merriam

Office Director

Office of Energy Production, Conversion, and Delivery

U.S. Energy Information Administration

Sample EIA-176 email activation notification:

Dear Respondent:

It’s time again to complete U.S. 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. We will use the data from your report(s) to compile statistics showing U.S. natural gas supply and disposition as of December 31, 20xx.

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. The expected time burden for this form is 12 hours.

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.

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

The EIA-176 survey form 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 options are available for sending your completed Form EIA-176 report(s) to EIA.

• Facsimile: (202) 586-1076

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

Please note that facsimile and email are not secure transmission methods and there is some possibility your data could be compromised. 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,

Michael Kopalek

Survey Manager, EIA-857

Office of Energy Production, Conversion, and Delivery

U.S. Energy Information Administration

Sample EIA-176 non-response notification:

Dear Respondent,

I am writing to you because the 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. Form EIA-176 was due March 1, 2016. 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. Your responses are mandatory under 15 U.S.C. §772(b). 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. The expected reporting burden for this annual form is 12 hours.

Filings of the EIA-176 are not confidential. Please complete Form EIA-176 for each of the States listed above and submit it promptly. 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 or email to [email protected] or faxed to (202) 586-1076 or sent by U.S. mail as described in both the form and instructions.

For additional questions and concerns, please call 877-800-5261.

Sincerely,

Michael Kopalek

Survey Manager, EIA-857

Office of Energy Production, Conversion, and Delivery

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-176 Annual Report of Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply and Disposition. Please follow instructions in any separate correspondence related to Form EIA-176.

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

Sincerely,

Michael Kopalek

Survey Manager, EIA-857

Office of Energy Production, Conversion, and Delivery

U.S. Energy Information Administration

Natural Gas Data Collection Program Package 1905-1975 Page 4 of 6