The Energy Information Administration (EIA) of Department of Energy sponsors the Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS) to provide detailed data on energy consumption in the manufacturing sector.

To report online:

1. Sign-in or Register at https://portal.census.gov
2. Add your authentication code
3. Report by clicking on “REPORT NOW.”  You can return to your account over multiple sessions to complete.
4. For assistance completing this survey, please log-in to your Census Bureau account at https://portal.census.gov and send us a secure message or call the customer help line at 1-800-528-3049, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
5. Please visit How Do I Get Started? for additional information.
6. Please visit How-To Videos for information on Logging into the Respondent portal, via your Census Bureau account, and other information on using the online reporting instrument

This survey is mandatory under the Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974, 15 U.S.C. 772(b) and under Title 3, Subtitle B, of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, 42 U.S.C. 7135, as amended by Title 1, Subtitle G, of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, 42 U.S.C. 7135(i)(1). Failure to respond may result in a civil penalty of not more than $2,750 per day for each violation, or a fine of not more than $5,000 per day for each willful violation as provided by 15 U.S.C. 797. The Government may bring a civil action to prohibit reporting violations which may result in a temporary restraining order or a preliminary or permanent injunction without bond. In such civil action, the court may also issue mandatory injunctions commanding any person to comply with these reporting requirements.

Title 13, United States Code, Section 9, requires the Census Bureau to keep your information CONFIDENTIAL and can use your responses only to produce statistics.  The Census Bureau is not permitted to publicly release your responses in a way that could identify your business, organization, or institution.  Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, your data are protected from cybersecurity risks through screening of the systems that transmit your data.

Below are a few common items you can use to verify the legitimacy of this survey:

1. Ensure the Web address provided in the letter is a "census.gov" domain.
2. Reporting information is provided in the letter.
3. On the log-in screen, a warning message should be present stating the respondent is accessing a U.S. Government computer.
4. Additionally, the upper right corner of the page should display the OMB eight-digit number and expiration date. This number indicates that the OMB has approved the survey and has confirmed there is a need to collect the information.

The bottom of the log-in screen should have a link for the “Burden Statement” which also contains the OMB eight-digit number.