Introduction Letter

D epartment of Energy

Washington, DC 20585

Date

Contact Name

Supplier Name

Address

City, State ZIP

Dear (Contact Name):

You have recently been contacted by Westat (a statistical research company) on our behalf, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), about completing the Energy Supplier Survey (ESS). As the statistical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy, we are making the ESS data request as part of the 2018 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS). The CBECS-ESS, conducted just once every four years, provides the only public, statistically reliable source of commercial building energy consumption data for the United States.

Why is your company included in the ESS? Last year, we spoke with building owners, energy managers, and other agents at over 7,000 commercial buildings across the country to collect information about the energy characteristics in their buildings. One or more of these CBECS Building Survey respondents named your company as an energy provider. The billing or delivery data we are asking you to provide is for these buildings.

Please note that your company’s response to the ESS (Form EIA-871) is required under Public Law 93-275 (Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974). The burden for each form is 15 minutes. Our goal is to assist you as much as possible in your reporting effort. We offer electronic data reporting and receipt through a secure website. On the ESS website, you will find a list of your customers who participated in the CBECS. You can use the website to complete online forms for these customers, upload electronic files directly, download ready-to-use spreadsheets, or print hard copy forms, if desired. Westat will provide technical support to help you complete the Form EIA-871 and submit your data. The website also contains important information about how CBECS secures and protects all individual building and supplier information collected for this study.

To access the ESS website, you will need your secure user ID and password:

Website: www.CBECS2018ESS.org

User ID: XXXXXXXX

For security reasons, your password has been sent to you in a separate mailing. Please check to see that you received your password, and if not, contact Westat as soon as possible at the toll-free telephone number provided below.

Westat staff stands ready to assist you on the toll-free CBECS ESS Hotline at (855) 886-8291. You may also contact EIA directly by contacting Joelle Michaels, the CBECS Survey Manager, at (202) 586-8952 or joelle.michaels@eia.gov.

Your participation is vital to the success of the 2018 CBECS. Thank you again, and we greatly appreciate your support for this study.

Sincerely,

Thomas J. Leckey, Director,

Office of Energy Consumption and Efficiency Statistics

U.S. Energy Information Administration,

U.S. Department of Energy