On Highway Diesel Fuel Generic Clearance Template

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for Questionnaire Testing and Research” (OMB Control Number: 1905-0186)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: On-Highway Diesel Fuel Cognitive Research

PURPOSE:

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) seeks to conduct cognitive interviews of retailers of on-highway diesel fuel to obtain feedback on retail marketing of on-highway diesel fuel and assess their understanding of terminology used in the trucking industry. The research results will be used for selecting a new sample to report on Form EIA-888, “On-Highway Diesel Fuel Price Survey.” EIA’s weekly retail on-highway diesel survey is one of the most popular information products that the agency releases at https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel.

The main goal of this cognitive research project is to develop a comprehensive definition of a “truck-stop”, identify attributes of a truck stop, the differences between a truck stop and a gas station, and seek to identify any unique marketing practices of farm cooperatives (co-op) and hypermarketers. This research will also explore operational and pricing structures of co-ops, hypermarketers, and fuel stations in Oregon. New regulations were implemented in Oregon in 2020 that allow retailers of gasoline and diesel fuel to advertise a retail price that excludes federal and state taxes. EIA also seeks to understand how Oregon retail outlets display price data and identify what taxes (federal and/or state) are excluded from reported retail prices. Currently only outlets in the 48 states that comprise the continental United States are included in the EIA-888 sample. EIA seeks to assess whether retailers in HI and AK have similar understanding of the terminology and marketing practices as retailers in the lower 48 states

Other goals for this research are to assess whether or not participants are able to report annual sales volumes and if they are able to break out annual sales volumes by truck and auto diesel and the burden associated with reporting that information. This research will provide EIA with information to build a frame file that can be used to draw samples for accurately measuring average retail prices for on-highway diesel fuel.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

The participants for this study will be retailers who sell on-highway diesel fuel in the United States. Contact information from the following files: Form EIA-888, “On-Highway Diesel Fuel Price Survey”, Form EIA-878, “Motor Gasoline Price Survey”, Form EIA-821, “Annual Fuel Oil and Kerosene Sales Report”, and Form EIA-877, “Winter Heating Fuels Telephone Survey”. The frame files EIA-877 and EIA-821 are essential to contact farm cooperatives (co-op). The file from Form EIA-878 will be essential to contact hypermarketers. Retailer for each special group (Oregon, Hawaii, and Alaska stations) are present in the four files.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Field Testing [X ] Cognitive Interviews

[ ] Usability Testing [ ] Focus Groups

[ ] Pilot Surveys [ ] Other: ______________________

[ ] Respondent Debriefings

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true regarding the proposed collection of information:

1. It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions.

2. It avoids unnecessary duplication.

3. It reduces burden on small entities.

4. It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents.

5. Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices.

6. It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements.

7. It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

   1. Why the information is being collected;

   2. Use of information;

   3. Burden estimate;

   4. Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);

   5. Nature and extent of confidentiality; and

   6. Need to display currently valid OMB control number

8. It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

9. It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable).

10. It makes appropriate use of information technology.

Name: Thomas Leckey, Assistant Administrator for Energy Statistics,

U.S. Energy Information Administration

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

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? [ ] Y [X ] No

BURDEN HOURS

Round 1 Cognitive Interview: Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Time Burden
Retailers of on-highway diesel fuel	15	30 minutes	7.5 hours
Co-Ops	5	30 minutes	2.5 hours
Hypermarketers	5	30 minutes	2.5 hours
Hawaii Stations	5	30 minutes	2.5 hours
Alaska Stations	5	30 minutes	2.5 hours
Oregon stations	5	30 minutes	2.5 hours
Totals	40	30 minutes	20 hours

If needed to reach the saturation on any target variables EIA will conduct a second round of interviews.

Round 2 Cognitive Interviews: Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Time Burden
Retailers of on-highway diesel fuel	10	30 minutes	5 hours
Totals	10	30 minutes	5 hours

ESTIMATE OF RESPONDENT BURDEN HOURS AND COST – The burden to respondents for both rounds is 25 hours and the cost to the respondents is estimated to be ($80.14 * 25) = $2,003.15.

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is:

Drafting the Protocol	6 hours
Analyzing Results	8 hours

14 hours * $80.14 (FTE hourly pay rate) = $1,121.96.

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

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

This design includes contacting active respondents that report on Forms EIA-888, 878, 821, and 877. These four surveys are sample surveys. A special effort will be made to interview hypermarketers, farm cooperatives, and retailers selling on-highway diesel fuel in Alaska, Hawaii, and Oregon. In the event that EIA cannot obtain the target number of interviews from these four sample files, then EIA will use the petroleum marketing frame file based on data reported on Form EIA-863, “Petroleum Product Sales Identification Survey”. The EIA-863 frame file will be used as a backup because the last data collection was done for reference year 2010.

EIA will send invitations to active respondents reporting on these surveys and request their participation in a 30-minute telephone interview. Participation in this research is voluntary. A second round of 10 cognitive interviews is planned in the event the information collected from the 40 interviews is insufficient for reaching the saturation point for the research goals.

Administration of the Instrument

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

[ ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[X] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

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

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 Questionnaire Testing and Research”

(OMB Control Number: 1905-0186)

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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