[6450-01-P] DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY U.S. Energy Information Administration Agency Information Collection Proposed New Survey AGENCY: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). ACTION: Notice and request for comments. SUMMARY: EIA invites public comment on the proposed collection of information in the Residential Utility Disconnections Survey, as required under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Form EIA-112 is an annual survey that collects information on the number of monthly natural gas and electric service final notices, disconnections, and reconnections for bill nonpayment across residential customers. DATES: EIA must receive all comments on this proposed information collection no later than [INSERT DATE 60 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER]. If you anticipate any difficulties in submitting your comments by the deadline, contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice as soon as possible. ADDRESSES: Send comments to Marc Harnish by email to EIA112@eia.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you need additional information, contact Marc Harnish at (202) 586-5309 or by email at EIA112@eia.gov. The form and instructions are available on EIA’s website at www.eia.gov/survey/. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This information collection request contains: (1) OMB No.: New; (2) Information Collection Request Title: Residential Utility Disconnections Survey; (3) Type of Request: New; (4) Purpose: Form EIA-112 is an annual form that will collect 12 months of data from electric and natural gas providers about final termination notices sent to residential customers due to bill nonpayment, service disconnections of residential customers due to bill nonpayment, and service reconnections of residential customers who were disconnected due to bill nonpayment. No national data is currently collected on this information. Some states collect some of the data described above, but the data are inconsistent, and publication is not uniform. Form EIA-112 aims to better inform state and federal policymakers on utility disconnections by providing reliable data that can help inform appropriate levels of budgetary support for various assistance programs across the United States. The results of the survey will be published on the EIA website at the aggregated national and state level, as well as at the utility level for respondents. EIA will conduct periodic censuses of all natural gas and electric utilities above a certain size threshold. These censuses will cover respondents that complete Form EIA-176 and Form EIA-861, excluding the small electric utilities receiving Form EIA-861S. To reduce the respondent burden of this proposed data collection, while also considering data quality, for the years in between censuses, EIA will use cut-off samples from Form EIA857 and Form EIA-861M, based on utility size and state coverage. This strategy will allow EIA to reduce respondent burden on smaller utilities, while also producing population estimates at the state level by modeling data for the utilities on the frames that were subjected to sampling but not selected. (5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,130; (6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 1,130; (7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 2,260; (8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: EIA estimates no capital and start-up costs associated with this data collection. The information is maintained during the normal course of business. The cost of the burden hours is estimated to be $206,021.60 (2,260 burden hours times $91.16 per hour). Other than the cost of burden hours, EIA estimates no additional costs for generating, maintaining, and providing this information. Comments are invited on whether or not: (a) The proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions, including whether the information will have a practical utility; (b) EIA’s estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used, is accurate; (c) EIA can improve the quality, utility, and clarity of the information it will collect; and (d) EIA can minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, such as automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Statutory Authority: 15 U.S.C. 772(b) and 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq. Signed in Washington, DC, on June 13, 2024. Samson A. Adeshiyan, Director, Office of Statistical Methods and Research, U.S. Energy Information Administration. [FR Doc. 2024-13457 Filed: 6/18/2024 8:45 am; Publication Date: 6/20/2024]