2602 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 18, 2022 / Notices 

Vegas, NV 89106; Phone: (702) 523– 

0894. Minutes will also be available at 

the following website: https://

www.nnss.gov/nssab/pages/MM_

FY22.html. 

Signed in Washington, DC, on January 11, 

2022. 

LaTanya Butler, 

Deputy Committee Management Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2022–00790 Filed 1–14–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Energy Information Administration 

Agency Information Collection 

Extension 

AGENCY: U.S. Energy Information 

Administration (EIA), U.S. Department 

of Energy (DOE). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: EIA submitted an information 

collection request for extension as 

required by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995. The information collection 

requests a three-year extension with 

changes of its Generic Clearance for 

Questionnaire Testing, Evaluation, and 

Research, OMB Control Number 1905– 

0186. EIA–882T, Generic Clearance for 

Questionnaire Testing, Evaluation, and 

Research, provides EIA with the 

authority to utilize qualitative and 

quantitative methodologies to pretest 

questionnaires and validate the quality 

of data collected on EIA’s surveys. EIA 

uses EIA–882T to meet its obligation to 

publish, and otherwise make available 

independent, high-quality statistical 

data to federal government agencies, 

state and local governments, the energy 

industry, researchers, and the general 

public. 

DATES: Comments on this information 

collection must be received no later 

than February 17, 2022. 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 particular 

information collection by selecting 

‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open 

for Public Comments’’ or by using the 

search function. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If 

you need additional information, 

contact Gerson Morales, U.S. Energy 

Information Administration, telephone 

(202) 586–7077, or by email at 

Gerson.Morales@eia.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

information collection request contains: 

(1) OMB No.: 1905–0186; 

(2) Information Collection Request 

Title: Generic Clearance for 

Questionnaire Testing, Evaluation, and 

Research; 

(3) Type of Request: Three-year 

extension with changes; 

(4) Purpose: The U.S. Energy 

Information Administration (EIA) is 

requesting a three-year approval from 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) to utilize qualitative and 

quantitative methodologies to pretest 

questionnaires and validate the quality 

of the data that is collected on EIA and 

DOE survey forms. Through the use of 

these methodologies, EIA will conduct 

research studies to improve the quality 

of energy data being collected, reduce or 

minimize survey respondent burden, 

and increase agency efficiency. This 

authority would also allow EIA to 

improve data collection in order to meet 

the needs of EIA’s customers while also 

staying current in the evolving nature of 

the energy industry. 

The specific methods proposed for the 

coverage by this clearance are described 

below. Also outlined is the legal 

authority for these voluntary 

information gathering activities. 

The following methods are proposed: 

Pilot Surveys. Pilot surveys conducted 

under this clearance will generally be 

methodological studies, and will always 

employ statistically representative 

samples. The pilot surveys will replicate 

all components of the methodological 

design, sampling procedures (where 

possible), and questionnaires of the full 

scale survey. Pilot surveys will normally 

be utilized when EIA undertakes a 

complete redesign of a particular data 

collection methodology or when EIA 

undertakes data collection in new 

energy areas, such as HGL production, 

alternative fueled motor vehicles, and 

other emerging areas of the energy 

sector where data collection would 

provide utility to EIA. 

Cognitive Interviews. Cognitive 

interviews are typically one-on-one 

interviews in which the respondent is 

usually asked to ‘‘think aloud’’ or is 

asked ‘‘retrospective questions’’ as he or 

she answers questions, reads survey 

materials, defines terminology, or 

completes other activities as part of a 

typical survey process. A number of 

different techniques may be involved 

including, asking respondents what 

specific words or phrases mean or 

asking respondents probing questions to 

determine how they estimate, calculate, 

or determine specific data elements on 

a survey. The objectives of these 

cognitive interviews are to identify 

problems of ambiguity or 

misunderstanding, examine the process 

that respondents follow for reporting 

information, assess survey respondents’ 

ability to report new information, or 

identify other difficulties respondents 

have answering survey questions in 

order to reduce measurement error from 

estimates based on a survey. 

Respondent Debriefings. Respondent 

debriefings conducted under this 

clearance will generally be 

methodological or cognitive research 

studies. The debriefing form is 

administered after a respondent 

completes a questionnaire either in 

paper format, electronically, or through 

in-person interviews. The debriefings 

contain probing questions to determine 

how respondents interpret the survey 

questions, how much time and effort 

was spent completing the questionnaire, 

and whether they have problems in 

completing the survey/questionnaire. 

Respondent debriefings also are useful 

in determining potential issues with 

data quality and in estimating 

respondent burden. 

Usability Testing. Usability tests are 

similar to cognitive interviews in which 

a respondent is typically asked to ‘‘think 

aloud’’ or asked ‘‘retrospective 

questions’’ as he or she reviews an 

electronic questionnaire, website, visual 

aid, or hard copy survey form. The 

objective of usability testing is to check 

that respondents can easily and 

intuitively navigate electronic survey 

collection programs, websites, and other 

survey instruments to submit their data 

to EIA. 

Focus Groups. Focus groups, in 

person, online, or by phone, involve 

group sessions guided by a moderator 

who follows a topic guide containing 

questions or subjects focused on a 

particular issue rather than adhering to 

a standardized cognitive interview 

protocol. Focus groups are useful for 

exploring issues concerning the design 

of a form and the meaning of terms from 

a specific group of respondents, data 

users, or other stakeholders of EIA data. 

Focus groups may also be used to 

explore respondents’ general opinions 

about data collection technologies or 

survey materials other than 

questionnaires. 

(4a) Changes to Information 

Collection: EIA proposes to add several 

other methodologies or techniques to 

improve survey design, pretest 

questionnaires and validate the quality 

of the data that is collected on EIA and 

DOE survey forms. 

Field Techniques. Field techniques 

described in survey research and survey 

methodology literature will be 

employed as appropriate. These include 

follow-up probing, memory cue tasks, 

paraphrasing, confidence rating, 

response latency measurements, free 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 18, 2022 / Notices 2603 

and dimensional sort classification 

tasks, and vignette classifications. The 

objective of all of these techniques is to 

aid in the development of surveys that 

work with respondents’ thought 

processes, thus reducing response error 

and burden. These techniques have also 

proven useful for studying and revising 

pre-existing questionnaires. 

Behavior Coding. Behavior coding is a 

quantitative technique in which a 

standard set of codes is systematically 

applied to respondent/interviewer 

interactions in interviewer-administered 

surveys or respondent/questionnaire 

interactions in self-administered 

surveys. The advantage of this 

technique is that it can identify and 

quantify problems with the wording or 

ordering of questions, but the 

disadvantage is that it does not 

necessarily illuminate the underlying 

causes. 

Split Panel Test. Split panel tests refer 

to controlled experimental testing of 

alternative hypotheses. Thus, they allow 

one to choose from among competing 

questions, questionnaires, definitions, 

error messages or survey improvement 

methodologies with greater confidence 

than any of the other methods. Split 

panel tests conducted during the 

fielding of the survey are superior in 

that they can support both internal 

validity (controlled comparisons of the 

variable(s) under investigation) and 

external validity (represent the 

population under study). Most of the 

previously mentioned survey 

improvement methods can be 

strengthened when teamed with this 

method. 

Research reports, research 

publications, peer-reviewed journal 

articles, peer-reviewed book chapters, 

and informational white papers: From 

the collected data, EIA will have the 

ability to write research papers, research 

publications, peer-reviewed journal 

articles, peer-reviewed book chapters, 

and informational white papers. 

Summarized results may be released or 

discussed as experimental research in 

the types of publications. However, the 

information collected from these 

methodologies will not be released as 

official statistics and will explicitly note 

the experimental nature of the 

information. 

Professional conferences: EIA may 

present data collected from this research 

at various professional conferences. 

Professional conferences provide great 

opportunities to communicate EIA’s 

research to the broader energy, 

statistical and survey methodology 

communities and get feedback on 

completed research. This will help 

innovate not only EIA’s research and 

survey practices, but also that of these 

broader communities. 

Audio and Video Recordings: For 

qualitative interviews, EIA will ask 

potential respondents if they would be 

willing to be audio or video recorded. If 

potential respondents agree, EIA will 

provide them with an informed consent 

form, which respondents will sign to 

signify compliance. A copy of the 

signed consent will be given to the 

potential respondents and kept on file at 

EIA. Audio or video recording will only 

be used for data analysis, and only those 

researchers at EIA that are involved in 

the research will have access to these 

recordings. If potential respondents are 

not willing to be audio/video recorded, 

interviewer will bypass recording and 

take notes. 

(5) Annual Estimated Number of 

Respondents: 7,500; 

(6) Annual Estimated Number of 

Total Responses: 7,500; 

(7) Annual Estimated Number of 

Burden Hours: 7,500. 

Statutory Authority: 15 U.S.C. 772(b), 

42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq. 

Signed in Washington, DC, on January 11, 

2022. 

Samson A. Adeshiyan, 

Director, Office of Statistical Methods and 

Research, U.S. Energy Information 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2022–00736 Filed 1–14–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket No. IC22–6–000] 

Commission Information Collection 

Activities (FERC–714) Comment 

Request; Extension 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, DOE. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection 

and request for comments. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

requirements of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission 

(Commission or FERC) is soliciting 

public comment on the currently 

approved information collection, FERC– 

714, (Annual Electric Balancing 

Authority Area and Planning Area 

Report). 

DATES: Comments on the collection of 

information are due March 21, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit your 

comments (identified by Docket No. 

IC22–6–000) by one of the following 

methods: 

Electronic filing through http://

www.ferc.gov, is preferred. 

• Electronic Filing: Documents must 

be filed in acceptable native 

applications and print-to-PDF, but not 

in scanned or picture format. 

• For those unable to file 

electronically, comments may be filed 

by USPS mail or by hand (including 

courier) delivery: 

Æ Mail via U.S. Postal Service Only: 

Addressed to: Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the 

Commission, 888 First Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20426. 

Æ Hand (including courier) Delivery: 

Deliver to: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, 

Rockville, MD 20852. 

Instructions: All submissions must be 

formatted and filed in accordance with 

submission guidelines at: http://

www.ferc.gov. For user assistance, 

contact FERC Online Support by email 

at ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or by 

phone at (866) 208–3676 (toll-free). 

Docket: Users interested in receiving 

automatic notification of activity in this 

docket or in viewing/downloading 

comments and issuances in this docket 

may do so at http://www.ferc.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ellen Brown may be reached by email 

at DataClearance@FERC.gov, telephone 

at (202) 502–8663. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: FERC–714, Annual Electric 

Balancing Authority Area and Planning 

Area Report. 

OMB Control No.: 1902–0140. 

Type of Request: Three-year extension 

of the FERC–714 information collection 

requirements with no changes to the 

current reporting requirements. 

Abstract: The Commission uses the 

FERC–714 data to analyze power system 

operations. These analyses estimate the 

effect of changes in power system 

operations resulting from the 

installation of a new generating unit or 

plant, transmission facilities, energy 

transfers between systems, and/or new 

points of interconnections. The FERC– 

714 data assists in providing a broad 

picture of interconnected balancing 

authority area operations including: 

Comprehensive information of 

balancing authority area generation, 

actual and scheduled inter-balancing 

authority area power transfers, and net 

energy for load, summer and winter 

generation peaks and system lambda. 

The Commission also uses the data to 

prepare status reports on the electric 

utility industry including a review of 

inter-balancing authority area bulk 

power trade information. The 

Commission uses the collected data 


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