A Surgical Approach To Applying CIPSEA
[email protected]
(202) 586-5562
Legislative Background
Confidential Information Protection and Statistical
Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA)
• Sets a uniform policy across federal agencies
about how confidential information would be
treated.
• Provides strong confidentiality protection to
statistical surveys and other activities.
• Limits the use of the reported information to
statistical uses only.
Energy Information Administration
• Official source of energy statistics for the U.S.
Department of Energy.
• Mandate to analyze and disseminate information
on energy resources, production, demand, and
related statistical information.
• Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974
requires the sharing of company level information
with other federal agencies that is consistent with
their official use and purpose.
– Official use ≠ Statistical Use
PROCESS FOR REVIEWING SURVEYS TO
COLLECT INFORMATION UNDER CIPSEA
1) Review existing data sharing agreements to
determine if any nonstatistical uses exist, if so STOP.
2) Review survey for any potential future data
sharing needs that may be nonstatistical in nature, if
so STOP.
3) Has the survey been the subject of multiple requests
for information under the Freedom of Information Act?
4) If data are sensitive, can some, if any, of the data
elements be collected under CIPSEA? If so, apply the
surgical approach.
12 out of 70 Surveys Use CIPSEA
Petroleum
(4 yr) Petroleum Product Sales Identification Survey (EIA-863) (1/1/07)
Weekly Motor Gasoline Price Survey (EIA-878) (6/7/04)
Weekly On-Highway Diesel Fuel Price Survey (EIA-888) (6/7/04)
Natural Gas
Monthly Natural Gas Marketers Survey (EIA-910) ( 4/1/04)
Weekly Underground Natural Gas Storage Report (EIA-912) (4/1/04)
Monthly Natural Gas Production Report (EIA-914) (1/1/05)
Nuclear
Quarterly Domestic Uranium Production Report (EIA-851Q) (1/1/04)
Annual Domestic Uranium Production Report (EIA-851A) (1/1/04)
Annual Uranium Marketing Survey (EIA-858) (1/1/04)
Energy Consumption and Financial Surveys
(4 yr) Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (EIA-871) (2004)
(4 yr) Residential Energy Consumption Survey (EIA-457) (2005)
Annual Financial Reporting System (EIA-28) (2004)
Methods of Measuring Impacts of
Changing Confidentiality Provisions
•
Reviewed response rates and other metrics on the
survey operations before, at the time, and after the
change in confidentiality provisions occurred.
•
Underlying assumption: Changing to CIPSEA
would reduce pubic confusion and uncertainty
over federal agencies applying different safeguards
and restrictions to protect confidential information.
Surveys That Showed No Change
• No change – Response rates = 100%
1) Domestic Uranium Production Report Quarterly
2) Domestic Uranium Production Report Annual
3) Uranium Marketing Annual Survey
4) Financial Reporting System
All small size surveys (n < 75).
Notice of change in confidentiality sent by mail.
Residential Energy Consumption Survey
Response Rates Increased
Fuel Type
1997
2001
2005
(n=7,249)
Change
Electricity
81.4 %
76.1 %
87.7 %
+11.6
Natural Gas
74.5 %
69.5 %
85.6 %
+16.1
Fuel Oil
62.7 %
59.5 %
74.0 %
+14.5
Kerosene
16.2 %
21.5 %
50 %
+28.5
LPG
71.4 %
60.4 %
67.5 %
+7.1
Natural Gas Surveys
• Notice sent by mail for all 3 surveys.
• EIA-912 Weekly Underground Natural Gas
Storage Report. Report electronically.
• Response Rates fell from 100% to 96% on
4/1/04, however:
• 52 week average before 4/1/04 – 95%
• 52 week average after 4/1/04 – 97%
• Response rates on EIA-910 (96%/97%) and EIA914 (98% new survey) remained stable.
Diesel (EIA-888) and
Gasoline (EIA-878)
Retail Price Surveys
used oral notification.
Impacts show:
higher collection costs
lower response rates
higher operation costs
Confidentiality Pledge for a
Telephone Survey IS TOO LONG!
“The information you provide will be used for
statistical purposes only. In accordance with the
Confidential Information Protection provisions in
Public Law 107-347, your responses will be kept
confidential and will not be disclosed in
identifiable form. By law, everyone working on
this EIA survey is subject to a jail term, a fine, or
both if he or she discloses ANY information that
could identify any confidential survey response.”
20
2/ 04
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20
3/ 04
5/
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4/ 04
5/
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5/ 04
5/
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6/ 04
5/
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7/ 04
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8/ 04
5/
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9/ 04
5/
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10 04
/5
/2
11 004
/5
/2
12 004
/5
/2
00
4
1/
5/
Response Rate
Response Rates on Weekly Retail
Gasoline Price Survey
1
0.96
0.92
0.88
0.84
June 7, 2004 – 88%
0.8
1/
5/
20
04
2/
5/
20
3/ 04
5/
20
04
4/
5/
20
04
5/
5/
20
04
6/
5/
20
04
7/
5/
20
04
8/
5/
20
04
9/
5/
20
10 04
/5
/2
0
11 04
/5
/2
0
12 04
/5
/2
00
4
Number of Prices Imputed on Weekly
Retail Gasoline Price Survey
300
June 7, 2004 - 273
250
200
150
100
50
0
Average Operation Cost for Collecting
Price Information
Date
Ave. Call
Time Per
Station
Ave.
Email
Time Per
Station
Ave. Fax Ave. time Estimated
Time Per
Per
Cost Per
Station
Station
Station
2004
Annual
Average
1.64
0.79
0.85
1.41
$2.01
6/7/04
2.03
2.44
2.53
2.40
$3.40
Source: EIA-878 Gasoline Retail Price Survey
Average Cost per Station 2004 vs. 2005
3.50
June 7, 2004
3.30
3.10
2.90
2.50
2.30
2.10
1.90
1.70
2004
2005
49
k
W
ee
45
k
W
ee
41
k
W
ee
37
k
W
ee
33
k
W
ee
29
k
W
ee
25
k
W
ee
21
k
W
ee
17
k
W
ee
13
k
W
ee
9
k
W
ee
5
k
W
ee
k
1
1.50
W
ee
Dollars
2.70
Lessons Learned
• Shorten the oral CIPSEA Confidentiality Pledge or
eliminate it for telephone surveys.
• Provide notice of confidentiality pledge in writing.
• Using CIPSEA helps maintain high response rates
and reduces uncertainty among respondents on the
agency’s pledge to protect the confidentiality of
the survey responses.
• Partially applying CIPSEA to some data elements
on a survey requires close examination of that
survey uses and activities and its relationship to
other surveys.