Assessment of Demand Response Resources, 14888-14891 [E6-4230]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 57 / Friday, March 24, 2006 / Notices
with six alternative sites. Several of
these alternative sites were developed as
the result of public response to our NOI
and January 12, 2006 scoping meeting in
Methuen, Massachusetts. The locations
of the seven potential sites for the
Massachusetts Compressor Station are
shown in the enclosure.
We are conducting this public
meeting to allow you the opportunity to
express your environmental concerns
about the seven potential sites for the
Massachusetts Compressor Station. We
will use these comments to help us
analyze these seven potential locations
for the Massachusetts Compressor
Station in our Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS). Comments may
be submitted in written form or verbally
at the meeting. Further details on how
to submit written comments are
provided in this notice. In lieu of
sending written comments, we invite
you to attend the following public
comment meeting.
Date and Time: Wednesday, April 5,
2006, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. (EST).
Location: Haverhill City Hall, 4
Summer Street, Haverhill,
Massachusetts, Phone: 978–374–2300.
You can make a difference by
providing us with your specific
environmental comments or concerns
on the location of the Massachusetts
Compressor Station. By becoming a
commentor, your concerns will be
addressed in the EIS and considered by
the Commission. You should focus on
the potential environmental effects of
the construction and operation of the
proposed Massachusetts Compressor
Station and measures to avoid or lessen
environmental impact. The more
specific your comments, the more useful
they will be. We request that you file
your comments as soon as possible, but
no later than April 14, 2006. Please
carefully follow these instructions to
ensure that your comments are received
in time and properly recorded:
• Send an original and two copies of
your letter to:Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First St., NE., Room
1A, Washington, DC 20426.
• Label one copy of your comments
for the attention of Gas Branch 2, DG2E.
• Reference Docket No. PF05–17–000
on the original and both copies.
• Mail your comments so that they
will be received in Washington, DC on
or before April 14, 2006.
Please note that we are continuing to
experience delays in mail deliveries
from the U.S. Postal Service. As a result,
we will include all comments that we
receive within a reasonable time frame
in our environmental analysis of this
project. However, the Commission
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18:26 Mar 23, 2006
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strongly encourages electronic filing of
any comments in response to this Notice
of Intent. For information on
electronically filing comments, please
see the instructions on the
Commission’s Web site at https://
www.ferc.gov under the ‘‘e-Filing’’ link
and the link to the User’s Guide, as well
as information in 18 CFR
385.2001(a)(1)(iii). Before you can
submit comments you will need to
create a free account, which can be
created on-line.
In addition, the Commission now
offers a free service called eSubscription
which allows you to keep track of all
formal issuances and submittals in
specific dockets. This can reduce the
amount of time you spend researching
proceedings by automatically providing
you with notification of these filings,
document summaries and direct links to
the documents. Go to https://
www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.
The public meeting in Haverhill is
designed to provide another opportunity
to offer comments on the proposed
Massachusetts Compressor Station.
Interested groups and individuals are
encouraged to attend the meetings and
to present comments on the
environmental issues they believe
should be addressed in the EIS. A
transcript of the meeting will be
generated so that your comments will be
accurately recorded.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6–4237 Filed 3–23–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. ER06–18–000]
Midwest Independent Transmission
System Operator, Inc.; Notice of
Technical Conference
March 17, 2006.
The Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission is convening a technical
conference regarding the Midwest
Independent Transmission System
Operator Inc.’s proposed cost allocation
policy, as it pertains to the degree of
regional cost sharing for reliability
projects at 345 kV and above, pursuant
to the Commission Order issued on
February 3, 2006.1 The conference will
be held on Friday, April 21, 2006 at 10
a.m. (EST) at the Federal Energy
1 Midwest
Independent Transmission System
Operator Inc., 114 FERC ¶ 61,106 (2006).
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Regulatory Commission, Commission
Meeting Room, 888 First Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20426. A separate
notice will be issued by the Commission
to announce the final agenda of the
conference.
FERC conferences are accessible
under section 508 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973. For accessibility
accommodations please send an e-mail
to accessibility@ferc.gov or call toll free
1–866–208–3372 (voice) or 202–208–
1659 (TTY); or send a Fax to 202–208–
2106 with the required
accommodations.
The conference is open for the public
to attend, and registration is not
required. For more information about
the conference, please contact either
Patrick Clarey at (317) 249–5937 or at
patrick.clarey@ferc.gov or Eli Massey at
(202) 502–8494 or at
eli.massey@ferc.gov.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6–4235 Filed 3–23–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. AD06–2–000]
Assessment of Demand Response
Resources
March 15, 2006.
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (Commission).
ACTION: Notice of issuance of voluntary
survey.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Energy Policy
Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) section
1252(e)(3),1 the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (Commission) is
required to prepare a report, by
appropriate region, that assesses
demand response resources, including
those available from all consumer
classes. To gather information for this
report, a voluntary survey will be issued
to 3,372 respondents to gather
information on advanced metering
(AMI) and demand response (DR) and
time-based rate programs.
DATES: E-Mails and letters will be sent
to the survey respondents by March 16,
2006. Responses should be made by
April 12, 2006. Extensions will be
granted on a case-by-case basis by
contacting the Demand Response Team
(anytime).
1 Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109–58,
section 1252(e)(3), 119 Stat. 594, (2005) (EPAct
section 1252(e)(3)).
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
David Kathan, Office of Energy Markets
and Reliability, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426,
(202) 502–6404, E-mail: Demand
Response Team.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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Notice of Issuance of Voluntary Survey
on Advanced Metering and Demand
Response Programs
1. Take notice that a survey of
demand response (DR) and time-based
rate programs/tariffs, and advanced
metering infrastructure (AMI) is being
issued to gather information to assist in
the preparation of a report for Congress
that assesses various aspects of demand
response in the United States as
specified in the Energy Policy Act of
2005 (EPAct 2005) section 1252(e)(3).2
The survey will be sent to 3,372 electric
power businesses and organizations
who directly serve end-use customers.
E-mails will be sent to each respondent
along with follow-up letters. Reponses
would be appreciated by April 12, 2006
to provide sufficient time to process and
analyze the results by August 8, 2006,
the date set by Congress for submission
of the report.
2. This survey is the first nationwide
effort to gather information on the
dispersion of advanced metering and
demand response programs. Industry
cooperation is important for us to obtain
as accurate and up-to-date information
as possible to respond to Congress, as
well as to provide information to states
and other market participants. We,
therefore, strongly encourage all
potential survey respondents to
complete the survey.
3. Towards this end, the survey has
been designed to be as user-friendly as
possible. To ease the burden of
responding, the survey will be
conducted using the Internet and will
allow respondents to enter information
via a Web-survey instrument. The
survey will use three Web-based forms
that collect general corporate
information, inventory AMI at the
utility, and inventory DR and timebased programs/tariffs.3 The survey has
been divided into three sections to
allow different people within an
organization to enter information on
2 Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109–58,
§ 1252(e)(3), 119 Stat. 594, (2005) (EPAct section
1252(e)(3)).
3 The final versions of the corporate information,
AMI, and demand-response and time-based rate
programs/tariffs surveys can be accessed at: https://
www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indus-act/demresp/gen-inf-sec.pdf, https://www.ferc.gov/
✖industries/electric/indus-act/dem-resp/amisec.pdf, and https://www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/
indus-act/dem-resp/drs-tbr.pdf.
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AMI, DR, and time-based rate programs
and/or tariffs.
I. Background
4. Section 1252(e)(3) of EPAct 2005
requires the Commission to draft and
publish a report, by appropriate region,
that assesses DR resources, including
those available from all consumer
classes. Specifically, EPAct 2005
requires that the Commission identify
and review:
(A) Saturation and penetration rates of
advanced meters and communications
technologies, devices and systems;
(B) Existing demand response
programs and time-based rate programs;
(C) The annual resource contribution
of demand resources;
(D) The potential for demand
response as a quantifiable, reliable
resource for regional planning purposes;
(E) Steps taken to ensure that, in
regional transmission planning and
operations, demand resources are
provided equitable treatment as a
quantifiable, reliable resource relative to
the resource obligations of any loadserving entity, transmission provider, or
transmitting party; and
(F) Regulatory barriers to improved
customer participation in demand
response, peak reduction and critical
period pricing programs.
5. On November 3, 2005, a notice was
issued requesting comments on
proposed survey questions. A survey
was proposed because adequate
information on this subject is not
collected by other sources. Twenty-nine
comments were filed on the draft
survey.
II. Discussion
6. We appreciate all the useful
comments submitted on the survey
questions. Within the limits of the
available survey instrument, we have
made revisions to reduce the burden in
responding and to ensure the
information is more accurate. In certain
cases, we did not make suggested
changes because more detailed
information is needed to respond to
specific items in the EPAct or to provide
useful data. We trust that with the
changes that have been made, the
survey should not be onerous to
complete, and we encourage all
potential respondents to complete the
survey so that we can obtain the most
precise information possible.
7. The following summarizes the
major changes to the survey and
addresses the concerns expressed by
commenters:
(1) New survey software is being used
to make navigation among sections of
the survey faster and easier.
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(2) To make entering information
simpler, the survey asks all respondents
to enter general company information
only once, and provides for the entry of
company name and utility identification
number to allow data linkages among
data from all survey parts.
(3) The demand response and timebased rate program sections of the
survey also have been combined, as
suggested by commenters.
(4) The survey is going to regulated
and non-regulated entities that own or
operate end-use meters that are used for
billing purposes and to entities that
offer DR programs and/or time-based
rates. In response to commenters, the
latter now includes third-party
curtailment service providers and ISOs/
RTOs.
(5) In the interest of reducing possible
confusion and to ensure more direct
comparison, the commercial/industrial
(C/I) customer definition used in the
draft surveys has been revised. The final
survey asks respondents to report their
data into five categories: Residential,
Commercial, Industrial, Transportation,
and Other. These categories are
relatively standard and with the
exception of the ‘‘Other’’ category are
identical to the categories used by the
Energy Information Administration
(EIA) in their form EIA–861, ‘‘Annual
Electric Power Industry Report.’’
(6) The survey has been revised to
eliminate the need for state level
reporting on demand response and timebased rate programs/tariffs, as suggested
by commenters. The final survey will
allow respondents the flexibility to list
demand response and time-based rate
programs/tariffs that cross state
boundaries.
(7) State level reporting will be
requested on AMI information. We
received comments from state
commissions that state level data will be
important for their consideration of
smart metering required in EPAct
section 1252. We trust that larger,
regional companies will be able to easily
report or estimate their AMI data by
state.
(8) In response to requests in
comments, the final demand response
and time-based rates/tariffs section of
the survey adds questions with regards
to expected impact on energy usage, and
the total maximum demand of
participating customers. This
information will provide useful
information for determining the size and
impact of demand response and timebased rate programs/tariffs.
(9) The final version of the AMI
section of the survey continues to
request data on the number of installed
meters by frequency of measurement
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 57 / Friday, March 24, 2006 / Notices
and frequency of data retrieval, and
does not provide a specific definition
for advanced metering. Although several
parties requested a specific definition of
advanced metering, there was a lack of
consensus in the comments on the
definition on advanced metering.
Consequently, Commission staff
determined that a broader data
collection would be useful and
appropriate to support the development
of the final report and to support future
policy deliberations.
(10) A glossary of terms and list of
acronyms have been added and
instructions for completing the survey
have been significantly revised. When
respondents access the survey on the
Web site, they will be able to access and
download the glossary of terms, a list of
acronyms used in the survey, and
instructions for each section of the
survey. Respondents will also be able to
download a copy of the entire survey
instrument to help them organize their
collection of the data and to help them
complete the Web survey online as
quickly as possible.
(11) The final survey incorporates
many of the general suggestions
commenters made, such as providing
response space throughout to give
respondents the opportunity to provide
more information on the purpose and
applicability of the programs.
Commission staff wants to receive
information on all programs, regardless
of size and encourages potential
respondents to take the survey even if
they have only one program.
(12) The Commission is very
interested in achieving as high a
response rate as possible to this survey.
The Commission is aware that some
potential respondents do not have email
and/or Internet access. These
respondents will receive a letter
informing them of the survey and
providing them with hard copies of all
the information they need to participate
in this important national study.
(13) In response to comments related
to security, there are a number of steps
that will safeguard both the data
collection and the data itself. First,
Commission staff has assigned each
respondent a utility identification and a
password. This identifying data is
required for completion of each section
of the survey and will allow automated
compilation and verification of validity
of the survey data. The survey
instrument itself is powered by Snap
Survey Software. This is a tool the
survey contractor has used extensively
without ever encountering a security
breach. Respondents completing the
survey via FERC–727 and FERC–728
will be working on the survey
contractor’s Web site. The survey
contractor’s server hosting company
uses network intrusion detection in a
signature based model. They also use a
state based layer 3 firewall with
notification and alerting of abnormal
events. The administrator at the
contractor’s server hosting company is a
Certified Information Systems Security
Professional. The survey contractor,
who has extensive general expertise and
knowledge about demand response
programs across the country, will also
be conducting validity checks on the
data as the forms are completed and
after all the data is collected to ensure
early and timely detection of unusual
data entries.
(14) The Commission received a
comment from one large company
indicating that based on a preliminary
‘‘dry run’’ of activities necessary to
complete the draft FERC–727, the
company did not believe that the
Commission’s estimate of reporting
burden associated with completion of
this survey accurately reflected the
actual effort that will be required to
complete the survey. The commenter
indicated that the data collection and
input required for it to complete FERC–
727 would require approximately four
hours. Although the Commission
burden estimate for this information
collection was questioned by only one
commenter, Commission staff is revising
its burden estimate for FERC–727 from
one hour to four hours for two primary
reasons. First, as described previously, a
number of commenters asked for FERC–
727 to collect data on various additional
aspects of demand response and timebased rate programs/tariffs to ensure the
meaningfulness of the data and the
survey has been revised to
accommodate these reasonable requests.
Second, Commission staff anticipates
that many of the largest potential
respondents to the survey (such as
Pacific Gas and Electric) will also be the
largest contributors to total national
demand response. Commission staff
thereby revises its burden estimate for
FERC–727 and predicts that it will take
all respondents 1 hour or less to enter
the data they have compiled from their
businesses into the Web-based form but
that many will need as many as 3 noncontinuous hours to collect data for a
number of the questions being asked in
the final FERC–727. The total estimated
reporting burden for FERC–727 and
FERC–728 is estimated to be five hours
maximum. The Commission expects
that the majority of the respondents will
take significantly less time to complete
the survey because of the smaller size
and less extensiveness of their
programs. Other details regarding this
data collection are as follows.
III. Data Collection Information
8. Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) regulations require that OMB
approve certain reporting, record
keeping, and public disclosure
(collections of information) imposed by
an agency.4 Accordingly, pursuant to
OMB regulations, notice is given to the
public that OMB has reviewed and
approved the final survey under section
3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995.5
9. The OMB has approved the
Commission’s burden estimate and the
calculation of the information collection
costs and determined that the survey
meets its information collection
requirements. The OMB authorization
numbers for collecting this information
via FERC–727 and FERC–728 are
displayed on the forms themselves and
shown below.
Number of
respondents
Data collection
Number of
responses
Hours per
response
Total annual
hours
3,372
3,372
1
1
4
1
13,488
3,372
Totals ........................................................................................................................
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FERC–727, Demand Response and Time Based Rate Programs Survey, OMB No.
1902–0214 ...................................................................................................................
FERC–728, Advanced Metering Survey, OMB No. 1902–0213 .....................................
3,372
2
5
16,860
45
CFR 1320.10 (2005).
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10. Total Annual Hours for Collection:
The reporting burden for this survey is
estimated at 16,860 hours.
11. Information Collection Costs: The
surveyed organizations collect all the
information requested in FERC–727 and
FERC–728 as part of their customary
and usual business practices. There
were no comments on the cost of
responding to FERC–727 and FERC–
728. Therefore, the Commission
concludes that its calculation of the
average annualized cost for all
respondents being projected to be
$910,440 (16,860 hours × $54 per hour)
is accurate.
12. Title: FERC–727, Demand
Response and Time-Based Rate
Programs Survey and FERC–728,
Advanced Metering Infrastructure
Survey.
13. Action: Proposed Information
Collection. The respondent shall not be
penalized for failure to respond to this
collection of information unless the
collection of information displays a
valid OMB control number.
14. Respondents: Business or other for
profit, publicly-owned utilities, and
electric cooperatives, RTOs/ISOs.
15. Frequency of Responses: On
occasion.
16. Necessity of Information: On
August 8, 2005, Congress enacted EPAct
2005. Section 1252 (e)(3) of the EPAct
2005 requires the Commission to draft
and publish a report, by appropriate
region, that assesses demand response
resources, including those available
from all consumer classes. Commission
staff has reviewed public information to
determine the availability of saturation
and penetration data on advanced
metering with the regional specificity
required by the EPAct 2005. The review
included an assessment of the EIA–861,
which collects aggregate information on
energy efficiency and load management.
The EIA–861 does not include any
information on advanced metering.
Moreover, there are no publicly
available saturation and penetration
data on advanced metering at the level
required by the EPAct 2005. The
Commission is dedicated to establishing
clear market rules to govern electric
markets. The information collected
through this survey will assist the
Commission in carrying out its goal of
developing robust and efficient energy
markets.
17. Internal Review: Internal review at
the Commission shows that there is
specific, objective support for the
burden estimates associated with the
information requirements. The
Commission will review the data
resulting from the survey to ensure that
the survey results meet the
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18:26 Mar 23, 2006
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congressional requirements of the report
on DR in EPAct 2005. This conforms to
the Commission’s plan for efficient
information collection, communication,
and management within the electric
industry.
18. Interested persons may obtain
information on the reporting
requirements of the survey by
contacting the following: Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426
(Attention: Michael Miller, Office of the
Executive Director, 202–502–8415, fax:
202–273–0873, e-mail:
Michael.miller@ferc.gov). To submit
comments concerning the collection of
information and the associated burden
estimates including suggestions for
reducing this burden, please send your
comments to the contact listed above
and to the Office of Management and
Budget, Room 10202 NEOB, 725 17th
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503
(Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission), fax:
202–395–7285, e-mail:
oira_submission@omb.eop.gov).
19. The ‘‘public protection’’ provision
of the Paperwork Reduction Act 6
requires each agency to display a
currently valid OMB control number
and to inform respondents that a
response is not required unless the
information collection displays a valid
OMB control number on each
information collection. This provision
has two legal effects: (1) It creates a legal
responsibility for the agency; and (2) it
provides an affirmative legal defense for
respondents if the information
collection is imposed on respondents by
the Commission through regulation or
administrative means in order to satisfy
a legal authority or responsibility of the
Commission. If the Commission should
fail to display an OMB control number,
then it is the Commission not the
respondent who is in violation of the
law. ‘‘Display’’ is defined as publishing
the OMB control number in regulations,
guidelines or other issuances in the
Federal Register (for example, in the
preamble or regulatory text for the final
rule containing the information
collection).7 Therefore, the Commission
may not conduct or sponsor, and a
person is not required to respond to a
collection of information unless the
information collection displays a valid
OMB control number.
6 44 U.S.C. 3512 (2000); 5 CFR 1320.5(b) (2005);
5 CFR 1320.6(a) (2005).
7 See 1 CFR 21.35 (2005); 5 CFR 1320.3(f)(3)
(2005).
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14891
IV. Document Availability
20. In addition to publishing the full
text of this document in the Federal
Register, the Commission provides all
interested persons an opportunity to
view and/or print the contents of this
document via the Internet through the
Commission’s Home Page (https://
www.ferc.gov) and in the Commission’s
Public Reference Room during normal
business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Eastern time) at 888 First Street, NE.,
Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426.
21. From the Commission’s home
page on the Internet, this information is
available in the Commission’s document
management system, eLibrary. The full
text of this document is available on
eLibrary in PDF and Microsoft Word
format for viewing, printing, and/or
downloading. To access this document
in eLibrary, type the docket number
excluding the last three digits of this
document in the docket number field.
22. User assistance is available for
eLibrary and the Commission’s Web site
during normal business hours. For
assistance, please contact the
Commission’s Online Support at 1–866–
208–3676 (toll free) or 202–502–6652 (email at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov),
or the Public Reference Room at (202)
502–8371, TTY (202) 502–8659. E-Mail
the Public Reference Room at
public.referenceroom@ferc.gov.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6–4230 Filed 3–23–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[ER–FRL–6673–6]
Environmental Impact Statements and
Regulations; Availability of EPA
Comments
Availability of EPA comments
prepared pursuant to the Environmental
Review Process (ERP), under section
309 of the Clean Air Act and Section
102(2)(c) of the National Environmental
Policy Act as amended. Requests for
copies of EPA comments can be directed
to the Office of Federal Activities at
202–564–7167. An explanation of the
ratings assigned to draft environmental
impact statements (EISs) was published
in FR dated April 1, 2005 (70 FR 16815).
Draft EISs
EIS No. 20050510, ERP No. D–FHW–
D40334–VA, I–81 Corridor
Improvement Study in Virginia,
Transportation Improvements from
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 57 (Friday, March 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14888-14891]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-4230]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. AD06-2-000]
Assessment of Demand Response Resources
March 15, 2006.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission).
ACTION: Notice of issuance of voluntary survey.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) section
1252(e)(3),\1\ the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is
required to prepare a report, by appropriate region, that assesses
demand response resources, including those available from all consumer
classes. To gather information for this report, a voluntary survey will
be issued to 3,372 respondents to gather information on advanced
metering (AMI) and demand response (DR) and time-based rate programs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-58, section
1252(e)(3), 119 Stat. 594, (2005) (EPAct section 1252(e)(3)).
DATES: E-Mails and letters will be sent to the survey respondents by
March 16, 2006. Responses should be made by April 12, 2006. Extensions
will be granted on a case-by-case basis by contacting the Demand
Response Team (anytime).
[[Page 14889]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Kathan, Office of Energy Markets
and Reliability, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-6404, E-mail: Demand
Response Team.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Notice of Issuance of Voluntary Survey on Advanced Metering and Demand
Response Programs
1. Take notice that a survey of demand response (DR) and time-based
rate programs/tariffs, and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) is
being issued to gather information to assist in the preparation of a
report for Congress that assesses various aspects of demand response in
the United States as specified in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct
2005) section 1252(e)(3).\2\ The survey will be sent to 3,372 electric
power businesses and organizations who directly serve end-use
customers. E-mails will be sent to each respondent along with follow-up
letters. Reponses would be appreciated by April 12, 2006 to provide
sufficient time to process and analyze the results by August 8, 2006,
the date set by Congress for submission of the report.
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\2\ Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-58, Sec.
1252(e)(3), 119 Stat. 594, (2005) (EPAct section 1252(e)(3)).
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2. This survey is the first nationwide effort to gather information
on the dispersion of advanced metering and demand response programs.
Industry cooperation is important for us to obtain as accurate and up-
to-date information as possible to respond to Congress, as well as to
provide information to states and other market participants. We,
therefore, strongly encourage all potential survey respondents to
complete the survey.
3. Towards this end, the survey has been designed to be as user-
friendly as possible. To ease the burden of responding, the survey will
be conducted using the Internet and will allow respondents to enter
information via a Web-survey instrument. The survey will use three Web-
based forms that collect general corporate information, inventory AMI
at the utility, and inventory DR and time-based programs/tariffs.\3\
The survey has been divided into three sections to allow different
people within an organization to enter information on AMI, DR, and
time-based rate programs and/or tariffs.
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\3\ The final versions of the corporate information, AMI, and
demand-response and time-based rate programs/tariffs surveys can be
accessed at: https://www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indus-act/dem-
resp/gen-inf-sec.pdf, https://www.ferc.gov/[fsxp0]industries/
electric/indus-act/dem-resp/ami-sec.pdf, and https://www.ferc.gov/
industries/electric/indus-act/dem-resp/drs-tbr.pdf.
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I. Background
4. Section 1252(e)(3) of EPAct 2005 requires the Commission to
draft and publish a report, by appropriate region, that assesses DR
resources, including those available from all consumer classes.
Specifically, EPAct 2005 requires that the Commission identify and
review:
(A) Saturation and penetration rates of advanced meters and
communications technologies, devices and systems;
(B) Existing demand response programs and time-based rate programs;
(C) The annual resource contribution of demand resources;
(D) The potential for demand response as a quantifiable, reliable
resource for regional planning purposes;
(E) Steps taken to ensure that, in regional transmission planning
and operations, demand resources are provided equitable treatment as a
quantifiable, reliable resource relative to the resource obligations of
any load-serving entity, transmission provider, or transmitting party;
and
(F) Regulatory barriers to improved customer participation in
demand response, peak reduction and critical period pricing programs.
5. On November 3, 2005, a notice was issued requesting comments on
proposed survey questions. A survey was proposed because adequate
information on this subject is not collected by other sources. Twenty-
nine comments were filed on the draft survey.
II. Discussion
6. We appreciate all the useful comments submitted on the survey
questions. Within the limits of the available survey instrument, we
have made revisions to reduce the burden in responding and to ensure
the information is more accurate. In certain cases, we did not make
suggested changes because more detailed information is needed to
respond to specific items in the EPAct or to provide useful data. We
trust that with the changes that have been made, the survey should not
be onerous to complete, and we encourage all potential respondents to
complete the survey so that we can obtain the most precise information
possible.
7. The following summarizes the major changes to the survey and
addresses the concerns expressed by commenters:
(1) New survey software is being used to make navigation among
sections of the survey faster and easier.
(2) To make entering information simpler, the survey asks all
respondents to enter general company information only once, and
provides for the entry of company name and utility identification
number to allow data linkages among data from all survey parts.
(3) The demand response and time-based rate program sections of the
survey also have been combined, as suggested by commenters.
(4) The survey is going to regulated and non-regulated entities
that own or operate end-use meters that are used for billing purposes
and to entities that offer DR programs and/or time-based rates. In
response to commenters, the latter now includes third-party curtailment
service providers and ISOs/RTOs.
(5) In the interest of reducing possible confusion and to ensure
more direct comparison, the commercial/industrial (C/I) customer
definition used in the draft surveys has been revised. The final survey
asks respondents to report their data into five categories:
Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Transportation, and Other. These
categories are relatively standard and with the exception of the
``Other'' category are identical to the categories used by the Energy
Information Administration (EIA) in their form EIA-861, ``Annual
Electric Power Industry Report.''
(6) The survey has been revised to eliminate the need for state
level reporting on demand response and time-based rate programs/
tariffs, as suggested by commenters. The final survey will allow
respondents the flexibility to list demand response and time-based rate
programs/tariffs that cross state boundaries.
(7) State level reporting will be requested on AMI information. We
received comments from state commissions that state level data will be
important for their consideration of smart metering required in EPAct
section 1252. We trust that larger, regional companies will be able to
easily report or estimate their AMI data by state.
(8) In response to requests in comments, the final demand response
and time-based rates/tariffs section of the survey adds questions with
regards to expected impact on energy usage, and the total maximum
demand of participating customers. This information will provide useful
information for determining the size and impact of demand response and
time-based rate programs/tariffs.
(9) The final version of the AMI section of the survey continues to
request data on the number of installed meters by frequency of
measurement
[[Page 14890]]
and frequency of data retrieval, and does not provide a specific
definition for advanced metering. Although several parties requested a
specific definition of advanced metering, there was a lack of consensus
in the comments on the definition on advanced metering. Consequently,
Commission staff determined that a broader data collection would be
useful and appropriate to support the development of the final report
and to support future policy deliberations.
(10) A glossary of terms and list of acronyms have been added and
instructions for completing the survey have been significantly revised.
When respondents access the survey on the Web site, they will be able
to access and download the glossary of terms, a list of acronyms used
in the survey, and instructions for each section of the survey.
Respondents will also be able to download a copy of the entire survey
instrument to help them organize their collection of the data and to
help them complete the Web survey online as quickly as possible.
(11) The final survey incorporates many of the general suggestions
commenters made, such as providing response space throughout to give
respondents the opportunity to provide more information on the purpose
and applicability of the programs. Commission staff wants to receive
information on all programs, regardless of size and encourages
potential respondents to take the survey even if they have only one
program.
(12) The Commission is very interested in achieving as high a
response rate as possible to this survey. The Commission is aware that
some potential respondents do not have email and/or Internet access.
These respondents will receive a letter informing them of the survey
and providing them with hard copies of all the information they need to
participate in this important national study.
(13) In response to comments related to security, there are a
number of steps that will safeguard both the data collection and the
data itself. First, Commission staff has assigned each respondent a
utility identification and a password. This identifying data is
required for completion of each section of the survey and will allow
automated compilation and verification of validity of the survey data.
The survey instrument itself is powered by Snap Survey Software. This
is a tool the survey contractor has used extensively without ever
encountering a security breach. Respondents completing the survey via
FERC-727 and FERC-728 will be working on the survey contractor's Web
site. The survey contractor's server hosting company uses network
intrusion detection in a signature based model. They also use a state
based layer 3 firewall with notification and alerting of abnormal
events. The administrator at the contractor's server hosting company is
a Certified Information Systems Security Professional. The survey
contractor, who has extensive general expertise and knowledge about
demand response programs across the country, will also be conducting
validity checks on the data as the forms are completed and after all
the data is collected to ensure early and timely detection of unusual
data entries.
(14) The Commission received a comment from one large company
indicating that based on a preliminary ``dry run'' of activities
necessary to complete the draft FERC-727, the company did not believe
that the Commission's estimate of reporting burden associated with
completion of this survey accurately reflected the actual effort that
will be required to complete the survey. The commenter indicated that
the data collection and input required for it to complete FERC-727
would require approximately four hours. Although the Commission burden
estimate for this information collection was questioned by only one
commenter, Commission staff is revising its burden estimate for FERC-
727 from one hour to four hours for two primary reasons. First, as
described previously, a number of commenters asked for FERC-727 to
collect data on various additional aspects of demand response and time-
based rate programs/tariffs to ensure the meaningfulness of the data
and the survey has been revised to accommodate these reasonable
requests. Second, Commission staff anticipates that many of the largest
potential respondents to the survey (such as Pacific Gas and Electric)
will also be the largest contributors to total national demand
response. Commission staff thereby revises its burden estimate for
FERC-727 and predicts that it will take all respondents 1 hour or less
to enter the data they have compiled from their businesses into the
Web-based form but that many will need as many as 3 non-continuous
hours to collect data for a number of the questions being asked in the
final FERC-727. The total estimated reporting burden for FERC-727 and
FERC-728 is estimated to be five hours maximum. The Commission expects
that the majority of the respondents will take significantly less time
to complete the survey because of the smaller size and less
extensiveness of their programs. Other details regarding this data
collection are as follows.
III. Data Collection Information
8. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations require that
OMB approve certain reporting, record keeping, and public disclosure
(collections of information) imposed by an agency.\4\ Accordingly,
pursuant to OMB regulations, notice is given to the public that OMB has
reviewed and approved the final survey under section 3507(d) of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.\5\
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\4\ 5 CFR 1320.10 (2005).
\5\ 44 U.S.C. 3507(d) (2005).
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9. The OMB has approved the Commission's burden estimate and the
calculation of the information collection costs and determined that the
survey meets its information collection requirements. The OMB
authorization numbers for collecting this information via FERC-727 and
FERC-728 are displayed on the forms themselves and shown below.
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Total
Data collection Number of Number of Hours per annual
respondents responses response hours
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FERC-727, Demand Response and Time Based Rate Programs 3,372 1 4 13,488
Survey, OMB No. 1902-0214..................................
FERC-728, Advanced Metering Survey, OMB No. 1902-0213....... 3,372 1 1 3,372
---------------------------------------------------
Totals.................................................. 3,372 2 5 16,860
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[[Page 14891]]
10. Total Annual Hours for Collection: The reporting burden for
this survey is estimated at 16,860 hours.
11. Information Collection Costs: The surveyed organizations
collect all the information requested in FERC-727 and FERC-728 as part
of their customary and usual business practices. There were no comments
on the cost of responding to FERC-727 and FERC-728. Therefore, the
Commission concludes that its calculation of the average annualized
cost for all respondents being projected to be $910,440 (16,860 hours x
$54 per hour) is accurate.
12. Title: FERC-727, Demand Response and Time-Based Rate Programs
Survey and FERC-728, Advanced Metering Infrastructure Survey.
13. Action: Proposed Information Collection. The respondent shall
not be penalized for failure to respond to this collection of
information unless the collection of information displays a valid OMB
control number.
14. Respondents: Business or other for profit, publicly-owned
utilities, and electric cooperatives, RTOs/ISOs.
15. Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
16. Necessity of Information: On August 8, 2005, Congress enacted
EPAct 2005. Section 1252 (e)(3) of the EPAct 2005 requires the
Commission to draft and publish a report, by appropriate region, that
assesses demand response resources, including those available from all
consumer classes. Commission staff has reviewed public information to
determine the availability of saturation and penetration data on
advanced metering with the regional specificity required by the EPAct
2005. The review included an assessment of the EIA-861, which collects
aggregate information on energy efficiency and load management. The
EIA-861 does not include any information on advanced metering.
Moreover, there are no publicly available saturation and penetration
data on advanced metering at the level required by the EPAct 2005. The
Commission is dedicated to establishing clear market rules to govern
electric markets. The information collected through this survey will
assist the Commission in carrying out its goal of developing robust and
efficient energy markets.
17. Internal Review: Internal review at the Commission shows that
there is specific, objective support for the burden estimates
associated with the information requirements. The Commission will
review the data resulting from the survey to ensure that the survey
results meet the congressional requirements of the report on DR in
EPAct 2005. This conforms to the Commission's plan for efficient
information collection, communication, and management within the
electric industry.
18. Interested persons may obtain information on the reporting
requirements of the survey by contacting the following: Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426
(Attention: Michael Miller, Office of the Executive Director, 202-502-
8415, fax: 202-273-0873, e-mail: Michael.miller@ferc.gov). To submit
comments concerning the collection of information and the associated
burden estimates including suggestions for reducing this burden, please
send your comments to the contact listed above and to the Office of
Management and Budget, Room 10202 NEOB, 725 17th Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20503 (Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission), fax: 202-395-7285, e-mail: oira_
submission@omb.eop.gov).
19. The ``public protection'' provision of the Paperwork Reduction
Act \6\ requires each agency to display a currently valid OMB control
number and to inform respondents that a response is not required unless
the information collection displays a valid OMB control number on each
information collection. This provision has two legal effects: (1) It
creates a legal responsibility for the agency; and (2) it provides an
affirmative legal defense for respondents if the information collection
is imposed on respondents by the Commission through regulation or
administrative means in order to satisfy a legal authority or
responsibility of the Commission. If the Commission should fail to
display an OMB control number, then it is the Commission not the
respondent who is in violation of the law. ``Display'' is defined as
publishing the OMB control number in regulations, guidelines or other
issuances in the Federal Register (for example, in the preamble or
regulatory text for the final rule containing the information
collection).\7\ Therefore, the Commission may not conduct or sponsor,
and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information
unless the information collection displays a valid OMB control number.
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\6\ 44 U.S.C. 3512 (2000); 5 CFR 1320.5(b) (2005); 5 CFR
1320.6(a) (2005).
\7\ See 1 CFR 21.35 (2005); 5 CFR 1320.3(f)(3) (2005).
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IV. Document Availability
20. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the
Internet through the Commission's Home Page (https://www.ferc.gov) and
in the Commission's Public Reference Room during normal business hours
(8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First Street, NE., Room 2A,
Washington, DC 20426.
21. From the Commission's home page on the Internet, this
information is available in the Commission's document management
system, eLibrary. The full text of this document is available on
eLibrary in PDF and Microsoft Word format for viewing, printing, and/or
downloading. To access this document in eLibrary, type the docket
number excluding the last three digits of this document in the docket
number field.
22. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the Commission's
Web site during normal business hours. For assistance, please contact
the Commission's Online Support at 1-866-208-3676 (toll free) or 202-
502-6652 (e-mail at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov), or the Public
Reference Room at (202) 502-8371, TTY (202) 502-8659. E-Mail the Public
Reference Room at public.referenceroom@ferc.gov.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-4230 Filed 3-23-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
