2024-04374. Agency Information Collection Extension

AGENCY:

Department of Energy.

ACTION:

Notice of request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Energy (DOE) invites public comment on a proposed collection of information that DOE is developing for submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES:

Comments regarding this proposed information collection must be received on or before April 1, 2024. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments but find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this notice, please advise the DOE Desk Officer at OMB of your intention to make a submission as soon as possible. The Desk Officer may be telephoned at 202–395–4718.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ira Birnbaum, [e-mail], 202–304–4940.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the extended collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

This information collection request contains:

(1) OMB No.: 1910–NEW;

(2) Information Collection Request Title: DOE Qualified List of Energy Service Companies;

(3) Type of Request: New;

(4) Purpose: The ESPC statute (42 U.S.C. 8287(b)(2)(A)–(B)) requires the Secretary of Energy to establish and maintain a list of firms qualified to perform energy efficiency and renewable energy projects specifically using the energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) project financing methodology. The forms subject to this Paperwork Reduction Act submission constitute the application and recertification statement for inclusion on the DOE Qualified List of Energy Service Companies (ESCOs). The ESCOs on the DOE Qualified List constitute the group of firms that are eligible for contract award under 10 CFR 436.32. ESCOs that would like to bid on ESPC contracts for the Federal government must apply to the DOE Qualified List of ESCOs and complete the annual recertification statement;

(5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 128;

(6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 128;

(7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 466;

(8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $57,318.

Statutory Authority: The ESPC statute (42 U.S.C. 8287(b)(2)(A)–(B)) requires the Secretary of Energy to establish and maintain a list of firms qualified to perform energy efficiency and renewable energy projects specifically using the energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) project financing methodology.

Signing Authority

This document of the Department of Energy was signed on February 23, 2024, by Mary Sotos, Director, Federal Energy Management Program, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of Energy. That document with the original signature and date is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as an official document of the Department of Energy. This administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the Federal Register .

Signed in Washington, DC, on February 27, 2024.

Treena V. Garrett,

Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.