Mar 20 -- The Office of the Under Secretary for Infrastructure, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), invites comments by May 19, 2023 regarding the extension of data collections for Output and Outcome Metrics for Financial Assistance and Rebates approved by OMB on an emergency basis through September 30, 2023.
Given the historic level of investment represented by Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act programs, it is incumbent on DOE to transparently track, report, and communicate the outcomes of DOE's financial assistance and rebate programs. Executive Order 14052 directs federal agencies to prioritize “investing public dollars efficiently and equitably, working to avoid waste, and focusing on measurable outcomes for the American people.”
This guidance specifies the uniform collection, measurement, and reporting methodologies necessary for a set of key metrics that DOE can use to communicate the outcomes and outputs of funds awarded, ensuring consistency, transparency, and accountability to support Administration and program objectives. This Information Collection addresses a set of key cross-cutting metrics that will track across DOE programs to assess and communicate DOE's progress toward meeting key agency priorities, including creating quality jobs, supporting domestic manufacturing, increasing equity and justice, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and providing pathways to private sector uptake.
The metrics will inform transparent and consistent reporting of the key metrics across DOE awards and will include project-level location data covering outcomes and outputs for specific communities, allowing DOE to better understand who is affected by DOE funded programs and how. This approach will enable DOE to report metrics at the agency, office, portfolio, and program levels and will provide data that can help evaluate the efficiency and equity of the programs, educate the design and implementation of future programs, and identify and address potential waste. DOE proposes to collect information through applications and supporting documents information necessary to determine that whether rebate applicants meet the specified statutory criteria to receive payments under the equipment rebate programs.
This Information Collection (IC) addresses a set of key cross-cutting metrics that will track across DOE programs to assess and communicate DOE’s progress toward meeting key agency priorities, including creating quality jobs, supporting domestic manufacturing, increasing equity and justice, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and providing pathways to private sector uptake. The metrics associated with the key priorities are as follows:
Community Benefits
Direct Jobs
Training and Outcomes
Labor engagement
Funding by Community
Community Engagement
Consent-Based Siting
Technical Assistance
Community Ownership
Direct Domestic Manufacturing and Recycling Capacity
Critical Materials and Rare Earth Element Production and Mining Capacity
Infrastructure Supported
Energy Saved
Net GHG Emissions
Criteria Air Pollutants
Reduction in Household Energy Costs
Follow-on-Funding
Location
The method of quantifying data will vary by metric, but includes counts of various units (e.g., hours, number of individuals, responses to yes/no questions, MW, tons/year, dollar values, etc.) that will be aggregated across programs by relevant subcategories (e.g., community), others may be reported in percentages based on those counts. Only a subset of the total metrics will apply to each individual funding recipient; for example, direct domestic manufacturing capacity will only be relevant to the small subset of funding recipients support (i.e., construct, establish, retool, re-equip, or retrofit) manufacturing capacity or advanced energy property recycling capacity. The metrics will inform transparent and consistent reporting of the key metrics across DOE awards and will include project-level location data covering outcomes and outputs for specific communities, allowing DOE to better understand who is affected by DOE funded programs and how (See M-22-12, Part II, D). This approach will enable DOE to report metrics at the agency, office, portfolio, and program levels and will provide data that can help evaluate the efficiency and equity of the programs, educate the design and implementation of future programs, and identify and address potential waste. Collection instruments are not being proposed. As stated, the subset of data to be collected will be award dependent and the collection of the relevant metrics will be addressed in individual award agreements.
DOE program offices will manage data collection from funding recipients and work with recipients to ensure necessary data is collected from sub-recipients for each metric that is relevant to their program, with the support of the Office of the Undersecretary for Infrastructure (S3), the Office of Policy, and the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity and will report those data to a designated point of contact in S3 at a specified frequency. DOE will work with funding recipients to determine the appropriate metrics to be reported. DOE will integrate financial and performance data into an internal dashboard to report the metrics. The internal dashboard has not yet been developed.
Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 59,625
Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 88,125
DOE Clean Energy Infrastructure Programs:
https://www.energy.gov/clean-energy-infrastructure/clean-energy-infrastructure-homepage
Draft technical documentation:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/osbez9hi0kk0idg/60-day%20BIL%20Metrics%20Supporting%20Statement.pdf?dl=0
Initial emergency ICR to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202303-1910-001
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2023-05529