The National Energy Insights Panel is a project sponsored by the Energy Insights division of IDC, an international market research company (see www.idc.com). The panel consists of approximately 1,000 individuals from communities across the United States who have agreed to participate for at least one year in brief, confidential, Internet-only surveys about how they use energy and what they think of energy-related issues.

IDC and Energy Insights use the data from the panel to create research reports for their clients, including electric and gas utilities, government agencies, the media, and technology companies. These organizations use Energy Insights' reports and data to better understand energy customers' opinions and preferences — and thereby improve their products and services.

How can I join the National Energy Insights Panel?

At this time, participation is by invitation — only those individuals who received an invitation in the form of a letter, postcard, or email are eligible to participate. In addition, panel members must be at least 18 years old and are subject to approval based on their profiles.

If you've received an invitation to join the panel, start by clicking "Join" on the home page of the panel website to take the qualification survey. After registering with the unique Invitation Code printed on your invitation, you will be asked a series of profile questions. Once you complete the profile survey, we will review your profile to see if it matches the needs of our panel. If you are selected for membership, you will be welcomed to the panel and be given your first survey. Follow the simple instructions to complete the survey.

What if I didn't receive an invitation, but I'd like to join?

At this time, only those who received an invitation are eligible to participate. If you didn't receive one, but would like to participate, please send an email with your contact information to info@eipanel.com, and we will contact you if and when there is an opportunity for additional participants located in your geographic area to join the panel.

What are my responsibilities as a panel member?

Approximately once a month, we will contact you via email and ask you to complete an online survey — you will receive a link to the survey in the email message. You are responsible for answering the survey honestly to reflect your specific situation and opinions. If we review your responses and find numerous inconsistencies or contradictions, we reserve the right to dismiss you from the panel, at which point you forfeit your points and opportunity to participate in the prize drawing.

Survey opportunities

How often will I receive surveys?

Approximately once a month, you will receive an invitation via email (from the address info@eipanel.com) to participate in a survey, with a link to the survey in the email message.

What kinds of surveys will you send me?

Surveys will be focused on specific topics related to the energy industry — particularly related to the electricity and natural gas you consume in your home. Typical questions might ask about your interest in green (renewable) energy, what kind of energy-using appliances you have, and how you feel about various ways to generate electricity.

How long will it take me to fill out the surveys?

The surveys are designed to take between 5 and 10 minutes to complete.

After I receive an email invitation to take a survey, how long do I have to complete it?

We encourage you to complete the survey as soon as possible. Typically, the surveys will be "open" for about a week, but after we receive a sufficient number of responses, we may close a particular survey to panel members.

What if I don't have time to fill out a particular survey?

You will typically have several days after receiving the survey invitation to complete the survey. Remember, each survey only takes a few minutes to complete, and your input is valuable. Each survey page gives you the option to save your survey. If you save your results, you may return to the survey and pick up where you left off by clicking on the original survey link. Of course, if you don't fill out a particular survey completely, you won't earn points for that survey — and you need to accumulate at least 120 points by December 10, 2008, to be eligible for the sweepstakes drawing.

Rewards

How am I rewarded for my participation?

Each time you complete a survey, you earn points — your current point total will be displayed at the end of each survey. These points can be converted to gift certificates, along with qualifying you for the sweepstakes drawing. You will receive 50 points for joining the panel and completing the first survey. Each additional survey is typically worth 10 points. Once you accumulate 100 points, you may redeem them for a $10 gift certificate to www.amazon.com. After you earn 150 points, you may redeem them for a $25 gift certificate to www.amazon.com.

In addition, if you accumulate 120 points by December 10, 2008, you will be entered into a drawing for one year's worth of free electricity for your home (value up to $2,000). The drawing will take place in December 2008.

Please click here for more detailed information on rewards and the sweepstakes drawing.

How do I redeem points that I've earned?

Once you reach the 100-point threshold, we will inform you via email about how to redeem your points. If you don't earn at least 100 points during a 12-month period (based on about six total surveys completed), your name will be removed from the panel, and any points earned will be forfeited.

Privacy

What do you do with the information I provide in survey responses?

The information you provide when you sign up or when you participate in a survey is for research purposes only. Your specific answers to survey questions are never provided to outside individuals or organizations, including Energy Insights' clients. When you complete the qualification survey, we collect demographic information from you such as age, gender, race, and income (in broad categories) — this information is used only to classify and compare responses to survey questions. We maintain a strict privacy and confidentiality policy in accordance with the highest standards of ethical survey research — please click here for more information.

Who has access to the information I provide through survey responses?

Only the IDC researchers associated with the National Energy Insights Panel will have access to your individual information and your survey responses. Your responses will be aggregated with other panelists' responses for the purposes of reports. Your individual information will always remain confidential.

Will my name wind up on other mailing or marketing lists?

No. Your personal identity and contact information will absolutely never be sold or distributed to any organizations.

Change your email address, update profile information, or unsubscribe

How do I update my email address?

Just send an email to info@eipanel.com with "EMAIL UPDATE" in the subject line. Include both your old email address and your new updated email address in the body of the email — we'll send a confirmation message to both addresses once the change is made.

How do I update my profile information (type of home, family size, etc.)?

Just send an email to info@eipanel.com with "PROFILE UPDATE" in the subject line. Make sure you include the email address that you used to register for the panel and your full name in the body of the email. We'll send you a short survey in which you can update your profile information (this survey does not earn points toward rewards).

How do I cancel my panel membership?

Membership is entirely voluntary and you may terminate your membership at any time. Just send an email to info@eipanel.com with "CANCEL" in the subject line. Please allow 10 business days for us to process your request. (Any reward points earned will be forfeited upon cancellation.)

Technical issues

I'm not receiving survey invitations and/or they end up in my spam or bulk mail folders. What should I do?

If you are not receiving emails from info@eipanel.com and have a spam blocker enabled in your email program, such as a filter, "safe list," or "white list," you may have to adjust your settings in order to receive our invitation emails. Panel emails will come from the address: info@eipanel.com.

If emails from info@eipanel.com end up in your spam or bulk mail folders, you may need to mark them as "not spam" (in programs such as Yahoo! Mail or Gmail), "allow" emails from info@eipanel.com to be sent to your main inbox, or add info@eipanel.com to your address book.

I was taking a survey but was interrupted before I finished the survey. Can I continue?

Each survey page gives you the option to save your survey. If you save your results, you may return to the survey and pick up where you left off by clicking on the original survey link.

I'm having a technical issue with a survey. What should I do?

We test our surveys thoroughly to ensure they will work in most browsers. However, to make sure that you're able to participate in as many surveys as possible, we recommend you use the most recent versions of Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player. If you still have technical issues with a particular survey, just email us at info@eipanel.com, and we will try to resolve the issue with you as soon as possible.

Who do I contact if I have additional questions or problems?

Please send an email to info@eipanel.com — we'll get you an answer as soon as possible!

Where your opinions on energy make a difference