- Attendees
- OEAC:
Howard Gruenspecht
Peggy Podolak
- EEUISD: Transportation & Industrial Branch
Lynda Carlson
Dwight French
John Preston
Bob Adler
Mark Schipper
Cindy Magee
Mike Margreta
Summary
Due to the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT), the Manufacturing Energy Consumption
Survey (MECS) has become a biennial collection, instead of triennial, starting with the 1994
collection. In addition, it is expected that the sample size will be expanded to accommodate data
reporting on the basis of census division. Also provided will be counts of establishment types,
which OEAC claims can be easily understood by customers and hence, add creditability to data
tabulations.
On occasion, OEAC has some need for energy data for a particular U.S. state, in which case a
state estimate is computed by using a proportional share of the national estimate. MECS collection
by state would be prohibitively expensive due to the necessary increase in sample size.
Energy-Efficiency Activities
The President's Climate Change Action Plan promotes a number of voluntary energy-efficiency
(EE) programs. The Motor Challenge program is especially of interest to OEAC. As such, OEAC
would prefer more MECS questions related to Motor Challenge issues. For example, has this
program accelerated the replacement of industrial motors with more EE ones?
Generally, the MECS team resists attempts to include questions specifically geared towards
motors. In the first place, there is a definitional problem in describing a motor for survey
purposes. Secondly, manufacturers, especially large ones, do not wish to inventory their
machinery to count the number of motors in use. As a result, such questions would become
burdensome to establishments, thereby hindering their compliance.
It was suggested that the Energy Analysis & Diagnostic Centers (EADC) would be in a better
position to survey small and medium-sized businesses regarding their motor replacement
practices.
However, the MECS team is receptive to including dichotomous-type questions (only a
response of "yes" or "no" permitted for an answer) on the survey for inquiries dealing with
program awareness and program participation. If participation is so sparse that data need to be
withheld to avoid disclosure for individual establishments, then that of itself is an answer.
The MECS team asked OEAC to provide by the end of May a list of EE programs to include
on the next survey in the form of "yes-no" questions if the establishment is doing anything for that
EE program.
The most recent MECS asked establishments if they were involved (yes or no) in equipment
installation or retrofit to improve EE affecting direct machine drive, which included motors among
other items. OEAC would like to have motors split out as a separate item. The MECS team will
consider this request.
Fuel Switching
OEAC does not use all of the fuel-switching categories supplied in the 1991 MECS.
However, it needs more information than merely switchable amounts of energy between natural
gas and residual fuel oil.
The MECS team asked OEAC to provide by the end of May a list of which fuels are of interest
in fuel switching.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the MECS team will inform OEAC when a sample questionnaire is available
for reviewing.
File Last Modified: April 1, 1997
- Contact:
- robert.adler@eia.doe.gov
- Robert Adler
- Project Manager
- Phone: (202) 586-1134
- Fax: (202) 586-0018
URL: http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/mecs/mecs91/consumption/mecs3d.html
