G8 Environmental Futures Forum 2000

Detailed Description of Best Practices
United States of America No.9

I. Title of the Best Practice

Infrastructure for Information on Energy Markets and Policy

II. Overview of the Best Practice

The United States has developed an extensive information infrastructure to systematically collect, publish, and analyze data on energy production, consumption and usage practices in U.S. energy supply and end-use sectors. This includes a national statistic-based sampling data system, as well as data collected for direct use by individual policy programs. Having a strong infrastructure for information on energy markets and policy data is recognized as a foundation for policy formulation, implementation, and evolution.

A. General Description
National Energy Information System: In the U.S., the Energy Information Administration (EIA) - a national energy information agency within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) --develops and runs a national information system of energy production, supply, price, consumption, and usage data. EIA's information systems help enhance the understanding of energy issues. The data generated from EIA's energy information system is available for use by the U.S. government, businesses, and the general public.

EIA has legal authority to survey energy companies and individuals in the United States. EIA's information includes data and analyses for the past, the present, and the future, using more than 80 of its own statistical surveys and its National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) as a basis of data and analysis information. EIA regularly reports detailed data about the supply, consumption, distribution, and price of energy in the United States. EIA also gathers information for other demand sectors (e.g., residential, buildings, and industrial sectors), as well as the supply sectors (e.g., petroleum, natural gas, coal, nuclear, electricity, renewables, and alternative fuels). Two examples of EIA's statistical surveys are the Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) and the Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS) that provide basic statistical information on energy-related characteristics and energy consumption and expenditures for commercial buildings and the manufacturing sectors, respectively.

Although, EIA's energy information is developed independently of the policy objectives of the Department of Energy and other parts of government, as mandated by the U.S. Congress, the extensive data collected has been usefully applied to assess policies and measures. Staff policy experts within U.S. Government agencies and national laboratories regularly use the EIA data for detailed as well as macroeconomic analysis of policies. Staff experts within EIA perform their own independent data analyses and forecasting, prepare both regular and special analyses on subjects of current and long-term importance, and produce regularly issued reports covering the whole supply and demand balance of energy.

In parallel with EIA's national energy information system, many individual policy programs have developed specialized information systems to provide benchmarking information for participants, and to aid the evaluation of progress and policy effectiveness. Two such examples are the DOE National Motor Systems Market Opportunities Assessment and the ENERGY STAR database managed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

National Motor Systems Market Opportunities Assessment: DOE has developed a statistically representative sample of manufacturing facilities (at the 2-digit SIC level) to inventory the stock of motors and motor-driven equipment used in manufacturing, as well as purchase and maintenance practices. The National Motor Systems Market Opportunities Assessment is comprised of a detailed profile of the national motor and driven equipment population, and data on the prevalence of actions identified as "good practice" in the use/application of motor systems.

ENERGY STAR: EPA has developed a database to track and monitor the overall progress of its program participants, and to evaluate whether performing appropriate upgrades are in fact maximizing energy savings and pollution prevention. This database, called the Strategic Tracking And Recruiting (STAR) database, tracks accomplishments of voluntary programs such as the ENERGY STAR Buildings and Green Lights Partnership. EPA collects partner reports on actions taken through the program; these reports are facility by facility and technology specific, i.e. the partner reports what technology has been installed and what it is replacing so EPA is able to calculate the energy savings, cost savings and carbon savings associated with each upgrade. EPA currently maintain information on over 80,000 organizations, and this number is anticipated to grow dramatically in the near future.

The goal of STAR data management is to provide checks and controls that ensure integrity with regard to energy savings numbers, hardware accuracy, project financial information, pollution prevention savings, and trends in overall achievements and accomplishments.

B. Special characteristics of the Best Practice
EIA's energy information systems have extensive energy and sector coverage. For example, its data cover petroleum, natural gas, coal, electricity, and various forms of renewable energy. EIA collects data from approximately 120,000 respondents, including oil companies, electric power companies, power marketers, as well as scientifically selected samples of all industries, commercial buildings, and residences in the United States.

The EIA emphasizes accuracy, timeliness, and accessability. Its quality control procedures and measures ensure data quality and include an external review of its selected methods by a committee of the American Statistical Association. EIA publishes survey results and the detailed methodological information needed for third parties to assess the quality of the data. Third parties may also utilize the primary modeling framework used by EIA, the NEMS model, to facilitate analyses beyond those undertaken by EIA.

The Industrial Electric Motor Systems Market Opportunities Assessment of DOE provides a detailed profile of the motor system population, as well as the first profile of current motor system practices for motor replacement patterns, rewind vs. replacement decisions, purchase practices, maintenance practices, practices concerning the use of system efficiency measures, and motor sizing practices. A motor system energy "savings opportunity" is also identified and estimated by type of savings measure, motor application, and horsepower. In providing these detailed national profiles, the Market Assessment establishes the national baseline conditions for equipment use, practices, and opportunities. The market transformation effects created by nationwide motor system programs can now be measured against the baseline conditions.

The ENERGY STAR database contains information voluntarily submitted by over 3,000 participants. Participants include organizations from the commercial and industrial marketplace as well as publically owned facilities. The database maintains information on individual organizations including contact information, facility type (e.g. office, education, healthcare, lodging, etc.), building size, utility data (usage and costs) broken down by fuel type (electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, steam, and coal), and upgrade project cost. Each organization also submits additional utility information from past years in order to establish a baseline by which to measure energy efficiency improvements. All data undergo quality assurance and quality control measures including a review by technical staff and an automated electronic inspection.

C. Reasons for Inclusion as Best Practice
Provide excellent examples of ongoing efforts to systematically collect and archive data on energy-related consumption, practices, and savings for a range of sectors and end-use markets,

Provide essential information that contributes to the formation of future energy and GHG-related policies to prevent global warming, and

Facilitate efforts to quantitatively formulate policy programs at national and program levels and assess their progress.

III. Categorizing the Best Practice

The following responses are combined for all programs listed in this section.

1. Classification(s) (Indicate main classification(s) only.)
( X ) Regulatory Approach (Policy approaches-- regulations, incentives, etc.)
( ) Practical Action (Action undertaken independently by a social actor)
( X ) Social Network Mechanism (Cooperative structure)
Note: Some EIA surveys are mandatory and some are voluntary.

2. Social Actor(s) Involved (Indicate main social actor(s) only.)
( X ) Citizens
( X ) Central government
( X ) Local government
( X ) Business

3. Sector(s) (Indicate main sector(s) only.)
( X ) Energy
( X ) Household
( X ) Transportation
( X ) Industrial Enterprises
( X ) Other (Non-Industrial) Business
( ) Agriculture/ Land Use/ Forestry
( ) Other (Please specify)

4. Target Greenhouse Gas(es)
( X ) CO2
( X ) CH4
( X ) N2O
( X ) HFC
( X ) PFC
( X ) SF6
( ) Other (Please specify)

IV. List of References

http://www.eia.doe.gov

V. Please indicate a person to contact for more information about this Best Practice.

Energy Information Administration:
Contact: W. Calvin Kilgore
Title: Director, Office of Energy Markets and End Use
Organization: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration
Email: cal.kilgore@eia.doe.gov
Tel: 202-586-1617
Fax: 202-586-9753
Address: EI-50, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585, USA
Contact: Kenneth A. Vagts
Title: Director, Office of Oil and Gas
Organization: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration
Email: ken.vagts@eia.doe.gov
Tel: 202-586-6012
Fax: 202-586-9739
Address: EI-40, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585, USA
Contact: John C. Geidl
Title: Director, Office of Coal, Nuclear, Electric and Alternative Fuels
Organization: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration
Email: john.geidl@eia.doe.gov
Tel: 202-426-1200
Fax: 202-426-1278
Address: EI-50, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585, USA
Contact: Mary J. Hutzler
Title: Director, Office of Integrated Analysis and Forecasting
Organization: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration
Email: mary.hutzler@eia.doe.gov
Tel: 202-586-2222
Fax: 202-586-3045
Address: EI-80, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585, USA
Contact: John Weiner
Title: Director, National Energy Information Center
Organization: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration
Email: john.weiner@eia.doe.gov
Tel: 202-586-8800
Fax: 202-586-0114
Address: EI-23, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585, USA
Contact: Lynda Carlson
Title: Director, Statistics and Methods Group
Organization: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration
Email: lynda.carlson@eia.doe.gov
Tel: 202-426-1068
Fax: 202-426-1083
Address: EI-73, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585, USA

National Electric Motor Systems Market Assessment
Contact: Paul E. Scheihing
Title: Program Manager
Organization: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Industrial Technologies
Email: Paul.Scheihing@hq.doe.gov
Tel: 202-586-7234
Fax: 202-586-6507
Address: 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585, USA

Energy Star Database
Contact: Maureen McNamara
Title: Director, Energy Star Programs
Organization: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Email: mcnamara.maureen@epa.gov
Tel: 202-564-1058
Fax: 202-565-2079
Address: 401 M Street SW (6202N), Washington, DC 20460, USA

Detailed Description of Best Practices - USA No.9

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