[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 20 (Thursday, January 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4893-4894]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-01853]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy


Proposed Agency Information Collection

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. 
Department of Energy.

ACTION: Submission for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review; 
comment request.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) has submitted to the OMB for 
clearance, a proposal for collection of information pursuant to the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The collection would be used to 
measure the impact and progress of DOE's Workplace Charging Challenge 
(Challenge). The Challenge is an initiative through which DOE provides 
employers with specialized resources, expertise, and support to 
incorporate workplace charging programs into their operations 
successfully.\1\ The initiative is a part of the EV Everywhere Grand 
Challenge, which focuses on enabling U.S. vehicle manufacturers to be 
the first in the world to produce plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) that 
are as affordable and convenient for the average American family as 
today's gasoline-powered vehicles by 2022. As the EV Everywhere Grand 
Challenge is focused on PEV research and development as well as 
deployment, it has been developed with input from sustainability 
professionals, industry representatives, and DOE's Clean Cities program 
staff coordinators.
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    \1\ Excluded from the Challenge are the Federal government and 
employers that are integrally involved in the sale of EVSE products 
and services.

DATES: Comments regarding this proposed information collection must be 
received on or before March 3, 2014. If you anticipate difficulty in 
submitting comments within that period, please advise the OMB Desk 
Officer of your intention to make a submission as soon as possible. The 
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Desk Officer may be telephoned at 202-395-4650.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to:
DOE Desk Officer, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office 
of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10102, 
735 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503, [email protected].
And to
Sarah Olexsak, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EE-
3V), U.S. Department of Energy,

[[Page 4894]]

1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121, or by email at 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be directed to Sarah Olexsak, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 
Energy (EE-3V), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue 
SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121, (202) 286-2149, 
[email protected]mailto:.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This information collection request 
contains: (1) OMB No. New; (2) Information Collection Request Title: 
Workplace Charging Challenge; (3) Type of Request: New collection; (4) 
Purpose: DOE's Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) has developed a 
voluntary initiative, the EV Everywhere Workplace Charging Challenge. 
This initiative, launched in January 2013, aims to increase the number 
of U.S. employers offering workplace charging for PEVs to their 
employees. Participating employers may sign on as Partners to signal 
their commitment to workplace charging and otherwise promote workplace 
charging. As designed, the initiative is intended to benefit both 
employees and employers.
    The goal of the Workplace Charging Challenge is to increase to over 
500 the number of employers offering workplace charging to their U.S. 
employees by 2018, the scheduled end of the program. Individual 
employers that make available at least one electric vehicle supply 
equipment (EVSE), or charger, to their employees at one major employer 
location will count towards this goal, regardless of whether or not the 
employer is a partner in the Workplace Charging Challenge.
    As part of this program, DOE will conduct outreach to deploy 
workplace charging, provide technical assistance to support employers' 
workplace charging programs, and identify specific success stories, 
lessons learned, and best practices employers have deployed, thereby 
increasing the value and facilitating the deployment of additional 
workplace charging programs. The effort is part of the larger EV 
Everywhere Grand Challenge, and as the Grand Challenge by necessity 
incorporates a deployment component, DOE will be able to use its 
experience and expertise through the VTO Clean Cities Program to 
educate the public about PEVs, as well as help identify potential 
workplace charging barriers and the means to remove such barriers.
    The Challenge does not endeavor to engage an exhaustive number of 
employers, but rather will work with self-identified employers 
committed to leading the way in reducing petroleum consumption through 
the deployment of PEVs and associated charging infrastructure.
    In January 2013, relying on employers' public records and 
communications, DOE began identifying employers that might be 
interested in becoming voluntary partners to the Workplace Challenge 
Program. To measure progress towards the Workplace Charging Challenge 
goal of more than 500 employers through 2018, DOE will be monitoring 
some employers directly, and others through data DOE can gather from 
available online resources, including the Alternative Fuels Data 
Center. For those employers DOE is monitoring directly, DOE will 
develop an annual progress update and will publish the generalized 
results gathered. To generate this annual update, DOE will collect 
annually from these Workplace Charging Challenge Partners, or 
employers, data and narratives associated with their PEV charging 
program and infrastructure.
    The principal objective of collecting the information DOE seeks to 
gather through the Challenge is to allow DOE to develop an objective 
assessment and estimate of the number of U.S. employers that have 
established a workplace charging program or otherwise installed EVSE, 
and to document specific information associated with the offering of 
such a program to employees. Information requested would be used to 
establish basic information for Partner employers, which will then be 
used for future comparisons and analysis of instituted programs and 
policies. A designated representative for each participating Partner 
will provide the requested information. The intended respondent is 
expected to be aware of relevant aspects of the company's charging 
infrastructure and program if such exists, such that the gathering of 
information is not expected to be very resource consuming. DOE will 
compile and issue an annual progress update that would provide an 
update on the Workplace Charging Challenge program partners' 
activities, as well as report on metrics DOE is evaluating related to 
energy consumption, costs, numbers of employers in the program, and 
best practices that can be identified for the purpose of helping others 
take steps to deploy charging infrastructure.
    The Challenge effort will rely on data the Partners will provide 
via an online response tool. The data collection would address the 
following topic areas: (1) Charging infrastructure and use; (2) 
employee PEV ownership; and (3) feedback on the Challenge.
    The data will be compiled for the purpose of assessing and setting 
forth in the annual progress updates the Workplace Charging Challenge 
program's impact in terms of increasing both the number of employers 
offering workplace charging and the deployment of EVSEs and PEVs.
    The data and subsequent analyses will allow DOE to compare 
historical records dynamically, and provide the opportunity for DOE to 
determine annual progress toward Workplace Charging Challenge goals. 
Calculation of progress and impacts will be undertaken on an annual 
basis.
    The Workplace Charging Challenge program is targeted at U.S. 
employers. Providing initial baseline information for each 
participating employer, which occurs only once, is expected to take 1.5 
hours. Follow-up questions and clarifications for the purpose of 
ensuring accurate analyses may take up to 3.5 hours; (5) Annual 
Estimated Number of Respondents: 400; (6) Annual Estimated Number of 
Total Responses: 400; (7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 
2,000; (8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: 
The total estimated annual cost for all respondents to respond to the 
voluntary collection is $9,702.

     Authority:  42 U.S.C. Sec 13233; 42 U.S.C. Sec. 13252(a)-(b); 
42 U.S.C. 13255.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on January 24, 2014.
Patrick B. Davis,
Director, Vehicle Technologies Office, Energy Efficiency and Renewable 
Energy.
[FR Doc. 2014-01853 Filed 1-29-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P