Background
The Form EIA-176, "Annual Report of Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply and Disposition," is used to collect data on the supply and disposition of natural gas in the United States. These data are collected by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), to fulfill its responsibilities for gathering and reporting energy data. Reporting on the Form EIA-176 is mandatory.

Electronic Filing System
The Form EIA-176 Electronic Filing System (EFS), provides respondents with an efficient and effective means for filing the form using a personal computer (PC). Respondents have a choice of submitting data via either diskette or e-mail.

Hardware / Software Requirements
The minimum hardware requirements needed to install and use the EFS are:
o An IBM-compatible personal computer (PC), with a CD ROM installed
o The Windows operating system (2000, NT, or XP)
o At least 5.0 megabytes of free disk space on the hard drive
o A high density 3½-inch floppy disk drive (If sending submission by diskette)

Downloading and Installing
Follow the steps below to download the file containing the application, to your PC decompress the file, and install the application. Please PRINT these instructions prior to beginning the installation process!

Download Application:
1) Download EFS Application. You are prompted to either "Run this program from its current location" or "Save this program to disk." Select "Save this program to disk," and click the OK button.

2) A box is displayed, asking where you wish to copy the "EFS176_2008.EXE" file. You may copy it anywhere on your hard drive, but it is recommended that you NOT copy it directly to your root directory, C:\. The directory in which you copy this file is NOT necessarily the directory where the system will be installed. The file is a self-extracting compressed file (zipped).

Decompress the Application:
1) Open Windows Explorer and go to the drive/directory into which you've copied the EFS176_2008.EXE file from the Internet, and double-click on the EFS176_2008.EXE file. A DOS box is displayed, showing that the EFS setup files have been extracted into the directory in which the EFS176_2008.EXE file is located. Close this box when the extraction is complete.

Installation Instructions:
1) In Windows Explorer, go to the drive/directory into which you've just extracted the setup files, and double-click on the SETUP.EXE file.

2) As the EFS install begins, an InstallShield Welcome screen is displayed; click the Next button to continue. Enter your User Name and Company Name in the next screen, and click Next.

3) A Filing System Setup screen is displayed. The default directory to which the system will be installed is:

C:\EIA176 2008
(If you wish to change the directory, click the Browse button.)
Click the Next button to continue the installation.

4) Next, the Select Program Folder box is displayed. The name you enter will be the name you see in your Windows "Programs" menu. The default is efs176_2008. Click the Next button; the Start Copying Files screen is displayed. Click the Next button to complete the installation.

5) A box will appear, informing you that the installation was completed successfully. Click Finish to exit the installation process.

For complete instructions for running the EFS, see the EFS User's Guide in PDF format.

If you require any assistance in installing or running the EFS, call EIA at (202) 586-9659.