2014-01853. Proposed Agency Information Collection

AGENCY:

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION:

Submission for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review; comment request.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Energy (DOE) has submitted to the OMB for clearance, a proposal for collection of information pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The collection would be used to measure the impact and progress of DOE's Workplace Charging Challenge (Challenge). The Challenge is an initiative through which DOE provides employers with specialized resources, expertise, and support to incorporate workplace charging programs into their operations successfully.^[1] The initiative is a part of the EV Everywhere Grand Challenge, which focuses on enabling U.S. vehicle manufacturers to be the first in the world to produce plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) that are as affordable and convenient for the average American family as today's gasoline-powered vehicles by 2022. As the EV Everywhere Grand Challenge is focused on PEV research and development as well as deployment, it has been developed with input from sustainability professionals, industry representatives, and DOE's Clean Cities program staff coordinators.

DATES:

Comments regarding this proposed information collection must be received on or before March 3, 2014. If you anticipate difficulty in submitting comments within that period, please advise the OMB Desk Officer of your intention to make a submission as soon as possible. The Desk Officer may be telephoned at 202-395-4650.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments should be sent to:

DOE Desk Officer, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10102, 735 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503, [e-mail].

And to

Sarah Olexsak, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EE-3V), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121, or by email at [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should be directed to Sarah Olexsak, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EE-3V), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121, [phone], [e-mail]:.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This information collection request contains: (1) OMB No. New; (2) Information Collection Request Title: Workplace Charging Challenge; (3) Type of Request: New collection; (4) Purpose: DOE's Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) has developed a voluntary initiative, the EV Everywhere Workplace Charging Challenge. This initiative, launched in January 2013, aims to increase the number of U.S. employers offering workplace charging for PEVs to their employees. Participating employers may sign on as Partners to signal their commitment to workplace charging and otherwise promote workplace charging. As designed, the initiative is intended to benefit both employees and employers.

The goal of the Workplace Charging Challenge is to increase to over 500 the number of employers offering workplace charging to their U.S. employees by 2018, the scheduled end of the program. Individual employers that make available at least one electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), or charger, to their employees at one major employer location will count towards this goal, regardless of whether or not the employer is a partner in the Workplace Charging Challenge.

As part of this program, DOE will conduct outreach to deploy workplace charging, provide technical assistance to support employers' workplace charging programs, and identify specific success stories, lessons learned, and best practices employers have deployed, thereby increasing the value and facilitating the deployment of additional workplace charging programs. The effort is part of the larger EV Everywhere Grand Challenge, and as the Grand Challenge by necessity incorporates a deployment component, DOE will be able to use its experience and expertise through the VTO Clean Cities Program to educate the public about PEVs, as well as help identify potential workplace charging barriers and the means to remove such barriers.

The Challenge does not endeavor to engage an exhaustive number of employers, but rather will work with self-identified employers committed to leading the way in reducing petroleum consumption through the deployment of PEVs and associated charging infrastructure.

In January 2013, relying on employers' public records and communications, DOE began identifying employers that might be interested in becoming voluntary partners to the Workplace Challenge Program. To measure progress towards the Workplace Charging Challenge goal of more than 500 employers through 2018, DOE will be monitoring some employers directly, and others through data DOE can gather from available online resources, including the Alternative Fuels Data Center. For those employers DOE is monitoring directly, DOE will develop an annual progress update and will publish the generalized results gathered. To generate this annual update, DOE will collect annually from these Workplace Charging Challenge Partners, or employers, data and narratives associated with their PEV charging program and infrastructure.

The principal objective of collecting the information DOE seeks to gather through the Challenge is to allow DOE to develop an objective assessment and estimate of the number of U.S. employers that have established a workplace charging program or otherwise installed EVSE, and to document specific information associated with the offering of such a program to employees. Information requested would be used to establish basic information for Partner employers, which will then be used for future comparisons and analysis of instituted programs and policies. A designated representative for each participating Partner will provide the requested information. The intended respondent is expected to be aware of relevant aspects of the company's charging infrastructure and program if such exists, such that the gathering of information is not expected to be very resource consuming. DOE will compile and issue an annual progress update that would provide an update on the Workplace Charging Challenge program partners' activities, as well as report on metrics DOE is evaluating related to energy consumption, costs, numbers of employers in the program, and best practices that can be identified for the purpose of helping others take steps to deploy charging infrastructure.

The Challenge effort will rely on data the Partners will provide via an online response tool. The data collection would address the following topic areas: (1) Charging infrastructure and use; (2) employee PEV ownership; and (3) feedback on the Challenge.

The data will be compiled for the purpose of assessing and setting forth in the annual progress updates the Workplace Charging Challenge program's impact in terms of increasing both the number of employers offering workplace charging and the deployment of EVSEs and PEVs.

The data and subsequent analyses will allow DOE to compare historical records dynamically, and provide the opportunity for DOE to determine annual progress toward Workplace Charging Challenge goals. Calculation of progress and impacts will be undertaken on an annual basis.

The Workplace Charging Challenge program is targeted at U.S. employers. Providing initial baseline information for each participating employer, which occurs only once, is expected to take 1.5 hours. Follow-up questions and clarifications for the purpose of ensuring accurate analyses may take up to 3.5 hours; (5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 400; (6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 400; (7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 2,000; (8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: The total estimated annual cost for all respondents to respond to the voluntary collection is $9,702.

Authority: 42 U.S.C. Sec 13233; 42 U.S.C. Sec. 13252(a)-(b); 42 U.S.C. 13255.

Issued in Washington, DC, on January 24, 2014.

Patrick B. Davis,

Director, Vehicle Technologies Office, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Footnotes

1.  Excluded from the Challenge are the Federal government and employers that are integrally involved in the sale of EVSE products and services.