**1998 MECS User Needs**

**Mail/Electronic Survey Results**



A mail/electronic survey was conducted as part of the process to
collect information on the data needs of MECS customers. The collection time frame was May
1 through July 31, 1998. The survey portion has been completed, and the total results are
now available.

During this three-month period, the electronic user-needs survey
received about 207 hits. Yet, only 15 of those hits resulted in the transmission of a
completed survey.

Exactly 239 surveys were mailed to customers on the mailing list of the
MECS publication. A total of 50 completed surveys (21% response rate) were returned, 32 of
which resulted from a follow-up mail request.

Only two surveys were returned by the 11 trade associations that were
identified as MECS users. Where appropriate, the replies of those two TRADE ASSOCIATIONS
have been duly noted by the use of capitalization.

Of the 17 mail surveys in which Mr. Dwight French, Energy Consumption
Division Director, signed personalized salutations on the cover letter, 11 were returned.

Following are the results of the 15 electronic and 50 mail surveys
(total count of 65). When respondents identified themselves or their employers, it's been
duly noted in the write-in responses.

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**1A) Have customers ever used the MECS web site?**

- 25 of the 50 mail returns reported they have never used the MECS web site (includes 1
    reply from TRADE ASSOCIATION).

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**1B) Did electronic customers find the information that was
needed from the MECS web site?**

- 4 of the 15 electronic returns reported they did not, as follows:
- 1 utility employee did not find info on consumption/costs for specific SIC and for
      specific end uses;
- 1 student did not find info on consumption/costs for specific fuel and fuel-switching
      capability;
- 1 academia employee in Italy did not find info on energy production and its composition
      (oil,coal, gas, nuclear, etc.) in China;
- 1 unidentified respondent did not find info on energy consumption in health,
      transportation, agriculture.

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**2) What types of MECS information are customers seeking?**

- 52 of the 65 returns reported energy consumption and/or costs for specific SIC (includes
    1 reply from TRADE ASSOCIATION);
- 44 reported energy consumption for specific end use (includes 1 reply from TRADE
    ASSOCIATION);
- 43 reported energy consumption and/or costs for specific fuel (includes 1 reply from
    TRADE ASSOCIATION);
- 30 reported energy data by specific U.S. geographic area (includes 1 reply from TRADE
    ASSOCIATION);
- 30 reported types of general technologies present in establishments;
- 29 reported average prices of purchased energy;
- 26 reported data on cogeneration of electricity;
- 14 reported data on fuel switching (includes 1 reply from TRADE ASSOCIATION).
- 11 other categories were reported as follows:

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**3A) Was MECS information easy for customers to understand?**

- 46 of the 65 returns said the information was easy to understand (includes 1 reply from
    TRADE ASSOCIATION).

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**3B) Why wasn't the MECS information easy for customers to
understand?**

- 14 of the 65 returns reported these reasons, as follows:
- 1 EPA employee had trouble interpreting Table 2.3 in 1996 AER (Number of Establishments
      by Total Inputs, 1994), especially the "other energy" column;
- 1 utility employee just calls whenever there's a question and is unsure if the existing
      documentation can be bettered;
- 1 student would like a better explanation of what he's looking at;
- 1 government employee feels the level of understanding is dependent on the type of
      computer operating system;
- 1 consultant could not find the prices at which firms would switch fuels;
- 1 ACEEE employee feels the appendix tables can be confusing as to what's included and
      what's the basis for the table, so that choosing the appropriate table is challenging,
      especially for those unfamiliar;
- 1 Edison Electric employee wants more graphic comparisons by SIC or region and the
      number of data points in a Census region;
- 1 consultant believes the footnotes (in the tables) can be confusing;
- 1 consultant wants clarification of the differences in tables and what's included in
      consumption;
- 1 consultant would like improved header descriptions for each column (in the tables);
- 1 consultant complained that some regional or divisional data are of no use since most
      had to be withheld due to lack of diversity in samples;
- 1 energy-industry employee feels that the data are listed too many ways - Btu versus kWh
      for different fuels;
- 1 library employee says the patrons, who are not specialists, look for fuel costs in the
      State (Louisiana) compared with other States, and they don't know how to find it or what
      it's called;
- 1 government employee sought MECS data reconciliation with SEDS.

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**4A) What are customer concerns if the MECS eliminates
fuel-switching questions?**

- 16 of the 65 returns expressed specific concerns or uncertainties about the proposed
    elimination of the fuel-switching collection from the survey, as follows:

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**4B) What are customer concerns if the MECS eliminates motor
questions?**

- 17 of the 65 returns expressed specific concerns or uncertainties about the proposed
    elimination of the electric-motor collection from the survey, as follows:
- One encouraging response was received, as follows:

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**5A) What are customer concerns if the MECS adds
purchased-electricity questions?**

- 8 of the 65 returns expressed specific concerns or uncertainties about the proposed
    addition of the purchased-electricity collection to the survey, as follows:
- Some encouraging responses were received, as follows:

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**5B) What are customer concerns if the MECS adds greenhouse-gas
questions?**

- 21 of the 65 returns expressed specific concerns or uncertainties about the proposed
    addition of the greenhouse-gas collection (emissions/reductions) to the survey, as
    follows:
- Some encouraging responses were received, as follows:

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**6) What is customers' trade-off preference: SIC detail vs.
geographic detail**

- 30 of the 65 returns would prefer to get energy data on more industries at 4-digit SIC
    level, while sacrificing geographic detail (includes 1 reply from TRADE ASSOCIATION);
- 11 expressed no preference (includes 1 reply from TRADE ASSOCIATION);
- 11 expressed no change to the present balance between SIC and geographic detail;
- 9 would prefer to get data at more precise geographic detail, while
    sacrificing the number of 4-digit SICs;
- 4 gave no response.

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**7) In customers' opinion, how useful are ...**(from 65
returns)

**7A) Establishment Counts:**

- 18 Very Useful
- 25 Somewhat Useful (includes 1 reply from TRADE ASSOCIATION)
- 11 Not Useful
- 4 No Opinion (includes 1 reply from TRADE ASSOCIATION)
- 7 No Response

**7B)** **End-Use Consumption:**

- 44 Very Useful (includes 1 reply from TRADE ASSOCIATION)
- 10 Somewhat Useful
- 3 Not Useful
- 4 No Opinion (includes 1 reply from TRADE ASSOCIATION)
- 4 No Response

**7C) Floor-Space Footage:**

- 11 Very Useful
- 26 Somewhat Useful
- 17 Not Useful (includes 1 reply from TRADE ASSOCIATION)
- 7 No Opinion (includes 1 reply from TRADE ASSOCIATION)
- 4 No Response

**7D) Energy-Management Activities:**

- 17 Very Useful
- 26 Somewhat Useful
- 12 Not Useful (includes 1 reply from TRADE ASSOCIATION)
- 5 No Opinion (includes 1 reply from TRADE ASSOCIATION)
- 5 No Response

**7E) Cogeneration Technologies:**

- 29 Very Useful
- 19 Somewhat Useful (includes 1 reply from TRADE ASSOCIATION)
- 6 Not Useful
- 6 No Opinion (includes 1 reply from TRADE ASSOCIATION)
- 5 No Response

**7F) General Technologies:**

- 23 Very Useful
- 25 Somewhat Useful (includes 1 reply from TRADE ASSOCIATION)
- 9 Not Useful
- 3 No Opinion (includes 1 reply from TRADE ASSOCIATION)
- 5 No Response

**7G) Specific Technologies:**

- 27 Very Useful (includes 1 reply from TRADE ASSOCIATION)
- 15 Somewhat Useful
- 10 Not Useful
- 8 No Opinion (includes 1 reply from TRADE ASSOCIATION)
- 5 No Response

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**8) What type of customers (by type of employer) responded to
the MECS user-needs survey?**

- 17 Government
- 17 Consultant/Research
- 11 Energy Industry/Utility
- 7 Academia
- 5 Library
- 3 Manufacturing
- 2 TRADE ASSOCIATION
- 1 Student
- 1 Self
- 1 No Response

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**9) What additional suggestions or comments were received from
customers?**

- 21 of the 65 returns provided additional comments, as follows:



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URL:  http://www.eia.gov/emeu/mecs/mecs98/userneeds/mecs98un.html

File Last Modified: 4/1/99



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