Commission Information Collection Activities (Ferc-733); Comment Request, 118-120 [2013-31340]
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118
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 1 / Thursday, January 2, 2014 / Notices
Mr. Jerome Punderson
Mr. John Goodhart
Mr. John Thackrah
Mr. John Zangardi
Mr. Mark Andress
Mr. Mark Honecker
Mr. Mark Ridley
Mr. Michael Kistler
Mr. Patrick Sullivan
Mr. Phillip Chudoba
Mr. Richard Gilpin
Mr. Robert Hogue
Mr. Roger Natsuhara
Mr. Scott Lutterloh
Mr. Scott O’Neil
Mr. Sean Stackley
Mr. Stephen Trautman
Mr. Steven Iselin
Mr. Thomas Ledvina
Mr. Victor Ackley
Ms. Allison Stiller
Ms. Andrea Brotherton
Ms. Anne Brennan
Ms. Anne Davis
Ms. Carmela Keeney
Ms. Diane Balderson
Ms. Lynn Wright
Ms. Sharon Smoot
Ms. Sheryl Murray
Ms. Steffanie Easter
Ms. Wendy Kay
RADM David Johnson
RADM James Foggo
RADM James Shannon
RADM Kevin Slates
RADM Richard Breckenridge
RADM Thomas Moore
RDML Lawrence Creevy
RDML Paul Sohl
VADM Paul Grosklags
VADM Terry Benedict
In compliance with the
requirements of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C.
3507(a)(1)(D), the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (Commission or
FERC) is submitting the information
collection FERC–733, Demand
Response/Time-Based Rate Programs
and Advanced Metering, to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
review of the information collection
requirements. Any interested person
may file comments directly with OMB
and should address a copy of those
comments to the Commission as
explained below. The Commission
issued a Notice in the Federal Register
(78 FR 63172, 10/23/2013) requesting
public comments. FERC received no
comments on the FERC–733 and is
making this notation in its submittal to
OMB.
DATES: Comments on the collection of
information are due by February 3,
2014.
SUMMARY:
Ms.
Bernadina Reyes, Office of Civilian
Human Resources, telephone 703–693–
0222.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dated: December 5, 2013.
N.A. Hagerty-Ford,
Commander, Office of the Judge Advocate
General, U.S. Navy, Federal Register Liaison
Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013–31387 Filed 12–31–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3810–FF–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
maindgalligan on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. IC13–22–000]
Commission Information Collection
Activities (Ferc–733); Comment
Request
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, DOE.
ACTION: Comment request.
AGENCY:
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Comments filed with OMB,
identified by the collection number
FERC–733, should be sent via email to
the Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs: oira_submission@omb.gov.
Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission Desk Officer. The Desk
Officer may also be reached via
telephone at 202–395–4718.
A copy of the comments should also
be sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, identified by the Docket
No. IC13–22–000, by either of the
following methods:
• eFiling at Commission’s Web site:
https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/
efiling.asp.
• Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier:
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
Secretary of the Commission, 888 First
Street NE., Washington, DC 20426.
Instructions: All submissions must be
formatted and filed in accordance with
submission guidelines at: https://
www.ferc.gov/help/submissionguide.asp. For user assistance contact
FERC Online Support by email at
ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or by phone
at: (866) 208–3676 (toll-free), or (202)
502–8659 for TTY.
Docket: Users interested in receiving
automatic notification of activity in this
docket or in viewing/downloading
comments and issuances in this docket
may do so at https://www.ferc.gov/docsfiling/docs-filing.asp.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ellen Brown may be reached by email
at DataClearance@FERC.gov, by
telephone at (202) 502–8663, and by fax
at (202) 273–0873.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
ADDRESSES:
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Title: FERC–733, Demand Response/
Time-Based Rate Programs and
Advanced Metering.
OMB Control No.: To be determined.
Type of Request: Approval of a new
survey of demand response and timebased rate programs and tariffs, and
advanced metering that replaces the
FERC–731 survey.
Abstract: Section 1252(e)(3) of the
Energy Policy Act of 2005,1 requires the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
to prepare and publish an annual report,
by appropriate region, that assesses
demand response resources, including
those available from all consumer
classes. Specifically, EPAct 2005
Section 1252(e)(3) requires that the
Commission identify and review:
(A) saturation and penetration rate 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.
In 2006 and 2008, the Commission
designed and used Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
approved collections FERC–727,
Demand Response and Time Based Rate
Programs Survey (OMB Control No.
1902–0214), and FERC–728, Advanced
Metering Survey (OMB Control No.
1902–0213), to collect and convey to
Congress the requested demand
response and advanced metering
information. In 2010 and 2012, the
Commission designed and used OMB
approved collection FERC–731, Demand
Response/Time-Based Rate Programs
and Advanced Metering (OMB Control
No. 1902–0251).
For 2014 and 2016 the Commission
proposes to continue to utilize a
voluntary survey (FERC–733) that
incorporates changes to the previously
approved FERC–731 to improve data
quality and reduce respondent burden.
The Commission proposes to (1) align
its collection of Advanced Metering
1 Public Law 109–58, § 1252(e)(3), 119 Stat. 594,
966 (2005) (EPAct 2005).
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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 1 / Thursday, January 2, 2014 / Notices
maindgalligan on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Infrastructure (AMI) installations with
that of the Energy Information
Administration (EIA), (2) consolidate
several questions, (3) eliminate some of
the data collected on the FERC–731, (4)
include three additional categories
regarding customer’s methods of
accessing data, and (5) request
additional details concerning retail
demand response programs that
participate in wholesale programs.2
The Commission proposes to revise
the structure of its question on
advanced meters to comport with recent
changes approved by OMB for the EIA
in Form EIA–861, Schedule 6, Part D,
‘‘Advanced Metering and Customer
Communication.’’ The Commission also
proposes to eliminate certain data
elements requested by the 2012 FERC–
731 including: The respondents’
number of customers by customer sector
in Question 3, and the request for the
respondents’ long-range (4 to 6 years)
plans for demand response programs in
Question 5.
The Commission believes that the
above changes should result in a more
accurate and streamlined data collection
that will reduce respondent burden.
The Commission investigated
alternatives, including using data from
the North American Electric Reliability
Corporation (NERC) and EIA, to fielding
and collecting data using a FERC
designed survey. However, as explained
below, the data is not currently
collected or cannot be obtained by the
Commission in time to complete the
2014 report to Congress.
NERC, as the Electric Reliability
Organization for the United States 3 as
certified by the Commission, has begun
to collect demand response data on
dispatchable and non-dispatchable
resources that it needs to conduct its
reliability work. Reporting demand
response information in the Demand
Response Availability Data System
(DADS) is mandatory for all entities
2 The additional details of the retail demand
response programs that participate in wholesale
demand response programs is necessary to identify
the potential peak reductions that are solely
wholesale in nature and not associated with
specific demand response efforts at the retail
program level.
3 North American Electric Reliability Corp., 116
FERC ¶ 61,062, order on reh’g & compliance, 117
FERC ¶ 61,126 (2006), appeal docketed sub nom.
Alcoa, Inc. v. FERC, No. 06–1426 (D.C. Cir. Dec. 29,
2006).
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who are part of NERC’s functional
model. The Demand Response Data
Task Force at NERC developed DADS to
collect demand response program
information. DADS currently collects
information on dispatchable and
controllable demand response
resources. DADS does not currently
collect and report information on
several key demand response program
types including economic, and timebased rate programs. Because DADS
does not currently collect and report
data which is specifically required by
EPAct 2005, the system cannot be relied
upon for FERC’s reporting purposes.
EPAct 2005 specifically requires FERC
to identify and review time-based rate
programs.
NERC plans to require its registered
entities to report information on these
other demand response program types
in the future, but it is unclear at this
time when NERC may begin to collect
these additional data or whether the
new data will be available or suitable for
FERC staff to use to prepare their reports
to Congress.
The EIA collects aggregated
information on energy efficiency and
load management as well as advanced
metering data in its EIA–861, ‘‘Annual
Electric Power Industry Report.’’ The
data collected in this survey does not
identify specific demand response
programs or time-based rate programs,
but it does support the Commission’s
advanced metering data needs.
Unfortunately, the finalized advanced
metering data for 2013 will not be
available until the fourth quarter of 2014
under EIA’s proposed schedule.
Therefore, the EIA data will not be
available to the Commission in time to
report 2013 findings in calendar year
2014.
Because these alternatives will not
provide data or will not provide data in
a timely manner for the 2014 report, the
Commission proposes to conduct a
survey (attached in the docket) with a
response deadline of May 1, 2014. This
survey has been designed to be
consistent with the NERC’s data
collection such that, in future years, the
Commission may be able to use the
NERC data when it becomes available,
phase-out the FERC demand response
survey and still comply with EPAct
2005 Section 1252(e)(3).
PO 00000
Frm 00028
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
119
FERC staff has designed a survey that
will impose minimal burden on
respondents by providing respondents
with an easy-to-complete, fillable form
that will include such user friendly
features as pre-populated fields and
drop-down menus, make use of the data
that is becoming available from reliable
sources, and provide it with the
information necessary to draft and file
the report that is required by Congress.
The survey can be electronically filed. A
paper version of the survey will be
available for those who are unable to file
electronically.
Access to the Proposed Materials: The
survey form, instructions, and glossary
are attached to this docket, but they are
not being published in the Federal
Register.4 Interested parties can see the
materials electronically as part of this
notice in FERC’s eLibrary (https://
www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp)
by searching Docket No. IC13–22–000.
Interested parties may also request
paper or electronic copies of any of the
materials by contacting FERC’s Public
Reference Room by email at
public.referenceroom@ferc.gov or by
telephone at (202) 502–8371.
Type of Respondents: The
Commission is proposing to collect the
demand response and advanced
metering information via a voluntary
survey from the nation’s entities that
serve wholesale and retail customers.
The information will be used to draft
and file the report that is required by
Congress. 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.
Estimate of Annual Burden: 5 The
Commission estimates the total Public
Reporting Burden for this information
collection as:
4 The attached form is for illustrative purposes
only and does not include all the interactive
features of the actual form.
5 The Commission defines burden as the total
time, effort, or financial resources expended by
persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or
provide information to or for a Federal agency. For
further explanation of what is included in the
information collection burden, reference 5 Code of
Federal Regulations 1320.3.
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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 1 / Thursday, January 2, 2014 / Notices
FERC–733—DEMAND RESPONSE/TIME-BASED RATE PROGRAMS AND ADVANCED METERING
Number of respondents
(A)
Number of responses per
respondent
(B)
Total number
of responses
(A) × (B) = (C)
Average burden hours per
response
(D)
Estimated total
burden 6
(C) × (D)
3,400
1
3,400
3.5
11,900
Entities that serve wholesale and retail customers .............
The total estimated cost burden to
respondents for the 2014 survey is
$669,613 (11,900 hours/year × $56.27/
hour 7 = $669,613. The estimated cost
per respondent for the survey is $196.95
(3.5 hours/survey × $56.27/hour =
$196.95.
Comments: Comments are invited on:
(1) Whether the collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
Commission, including whether the
information will have practical utility;
(2) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate
of the burden and cost of the collection
of information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
(3) ways to enhance the quality, utility
and clarity of the information collection;
and (4) ways to minimize the burden of
the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including the use
of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Dated: December 24, 2013.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013–31340 Filed 12–31–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Project No. 3030–019]
Antrim County; Notice of Application
Accepted for Filing, Ready for
Environmental Analysis, and Soliciting
Motions To Intervene and Protests,
Comments, Recommendations, Terms
and Conditions, and Prescriptions
maindgalligan on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Take notice that the following
hydroelectric application has been filed
6 This collection occurs every two years and OMB
approval is typically for three years. As such, it is
likely that there will be two surveys completed
during the time this form is approved. When we
submit this collection to OMB for approval (after
the comment period) we will likely calculate the
total burden for three years (two surveys) and
average the total burden over those three years.
7 This figure is based on the average salary plus
benefits for a management analyst (NAICS
Occupation Code 13–1111). We obtained wage and
benefit information from the Bureau of Labor
Statistics (https://bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm
and https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm).
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:20 Dec 31, 2013
Jkt 232001
with the Commission and is available
for public inspection.
a. Type of Application: Subsequent
license.
b. Project No.: 3030–019.
c. Date filed: December 21, 2012.
d. Applicant: Antrim County.
e. Name of Project: Elk Rapids
Hydroelectric Project.
f. Location: On the Elk River, in the
village of Elk Rapids, the counties of
Antrim, Grand Traverse, and Kalkaskia,
Michigan. The project does not occupy
any federal lands.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power
Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)–825(r).
h. Applicant Contact: Willam
Stockhausen, Elk Rapids Hydroelectric
Power, LLC, 218 West Dunlap Street,
Northville, MI 48167 or at (248) 349–
2833.
i. FERC Contact: Lee Emery, (202)
502–8379, lee.emery@ferc.gov.
j. Deadline for filing motions to
intervene and protests, comments,
recommendations, terms and
conditions, and prescriptions: 60 days
from the issuance date of this notice;
reply comments are due 105 days from
the issuance date of this notice.
The Commission strongly encourages
electronic filing. Please file comments,
recommendations, terms and
conditions, and prescriptions using the
Commission’s eFiling system at https://
www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp.
Commenters can submit brief comments
up to 6,000 characters, without prior
registration, using the eComment system
at https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/
ecomment.asp. You must include your
name and contact information at the end
of your comments. For assistance,
please contact FERC Online Support at
FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, (866)
208–3676 (toll free), or (202) 502–8659
(TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, please
send a paper copy to: Secretary, Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888
First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426.
The first page of any filing should
include docket number P–3030–019.
The Commission’s Rules of Practice
require all intervenors filing documents
with the Commission to serve a copy of
that document on each person on the
official service list for the project.
Further, if an intervenor files comments
or documents with the Commission
PO 00000
Frm 00029
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
relating to the merits of an issue that
may affect the responsibilities of a
particular resource agency, they must
also serve a copy of the document on
that resource agency.
k. This application has been accepted,
and is ready for environmental analysis
at this time.
l. The Elk Rapids Project consists of:
(1) Two impoundments, the 2,560-acre
Skegemog Lake and the 7,730-acre Elk
Lake; (2) a 121-foot-long, 52-foot-high,
26-foot-wide existing powerhouse that
spans the main channel of the Elk River,
with an operating head of 10.5 feet; (3)
a 24-foot-high, single story
superstructure; (4) a substructure that
includes the intakes and turbine pits,
which are about 13 feet high; (5) a 13foot-high concrete foundation located
below the substructure that incorporates
the draft tubes; (6) four intake bays, each
22 feet wide with sliding head gates at
the powerhouse wall; (7) two Francis
turbines, each with an installed capacity
of 350 kilowatts; (8) intake trash racks
having a 1.75-inch clear bar spacing; (9)
a 14-foot-wide overflow spillway
located about 400 feet south of the
powerhouse, which consists of two
adjacent concrete drop structures, each
with 7-foot-long stop logs to control the
lake level, with each drop structure
leading to a 62.5-foot-long by 4.5-footdiameter culvert that passes under
Dexter Street; (10) two turbine gates
used to spill excess water through the
two intake bays that do not contain
turbines and generating units; (11) a
4,160-kilovolt (kV) transmission line
that extends about 30 feet from the
powerhouse to a 20-foot by 30-foot
substation enclosure; (12) a 50-foot-long
underground 12.5-kV transmission line
to connect the project substation to the
local utility distribution lines; and (13)
other appurtenant facilities. The average
annual generation is estimated to be
2,422 megawatt-hours (MWh).
m. A copy of the application is
available for review at the Commission
in the Public Reference Room or may be
viewed on the Commission’s Web site at
https://www.ferc.gov using the
‘‘eLibrary’’ link. Enter the docket
number excluding the last three digits in
the docket number field to access the
document. For assistance, contact FERC
Online Support. A copy is also available
E:\FR\FM\02JAN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 1 (Thursday, January 2, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 118-120]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-31340]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. IC13-22-000]
Commission Information Collection Activities (Ferc-733); Comment
Request
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.
ACTION: Comment request.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D), the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (Commission or FERC) is submitting the information
collection FERC-733, Demand Response/Time-Based Rate Programs and
Advanced Metering, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
review of the information collection requirements. Any interested
person may file comments directly with OMB and should address a copy of
those comments to the Commission as explained below. The Commission
issued a Notice in the Federal Register (78 FR 63172, 10/23/2013)
requesting public comments. FERC received no comments on the FERC-733
and is making this notation in its submittal to OMB.
DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due by February 3,
2014.
ADDRESSES: Comments filed with OMB, identified by the collection number
FERC-733, should be sent via email to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs: oira_submission@omb.gov. Attention: Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission Desk Officer. The Desk Officer may also be
reached via telephone at 202-395-4718.
A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, identified by the Docket No. IC13-22-000, by
either of the following methods:
eFiling at Commission's Web site: https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp.
Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20426.
Instructions: All submissions must be formatted and filed in
accordance with submission guidelines at: https://www.ferc.gov/help/submission-guide.asp. For user assistance contact FERC Online Support
by email at ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or by phone at: (866) 208-3676
(toll-free), or (202) 502-8659 for TTY.
Docket: Users interested in receiving automatic notification of
activity in this docket or in viewing/downloading comments and
issuances in this docket may do so at https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/docs-filing.asp.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Brown may be reached by email at
DataClearance@FERC.gov, by telephone at (202) 502-8663, and by fax at
(202) 273-0873.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: FERC-733, Demand Response/Time-Based Rate Programs and
Advanced Metering.
OMB Control No.: To be determined.
Type of Request: Approval of a new survey of demand response and
time-based rate programs and tariffs, and advanced metering that
replaces the FERC-731 survey.
Abstract: Section 1252(e)(3) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005,\1\
requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to prepare and
publish an annual report, by appropriate region, that assesses demand
response resources, including those available from all consumer
classes. Specifically, EPAct 2005 Section 1252(e)(3) requires that the
Commission identify and review:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Public Law 109-58, Sec. 1252(e)(3), 119 Stat. 594, 966
(2005) (EPAct 2005).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A) saturation and penetration rate 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.
In 2006 and 2008, the Commission designed and used Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) approved collections FERC-727, Demand
Response and Time Based Rate Programs Survey (OMB Control No. 1902-
0214), and FERC-728, Advanced Metering Survey (OMB Control No. 1902-
0213), to collect and convey to Congress the requested demand response
and advanced metering information. In 2010 and 2012, the Commission
designed and used OMB approved collection FERC-731, Demand Response/
Time-Based Rate Programs and Advanced Metering (OMB Control No. 1902-
0251).
For 2014 and 2016 the Commission proposes to continue to utilize a
voluntary survey (FERC-733) that incorporates changes to the previously
approved FERC-731 to improve data quality and reduce respondent burden.
The Commission proposes to (1) align its collection of Advanced
Metering
[[Page 119]]
Infrastructure (AMI) installations with that of the Energy Information
Administration (EIA), (2) consolidate several questions, (3) eliminate
some of the data collected on the FERC-731, (4) include three
additional categories regarding customer's methods of accessing data,
and (5) request additional details concerning retail demand response
programs that participate in wholesale programs.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ The additional details of the retail demand response
programs that participate in wholesale demand response programs is
necessary to identify the potential peak reductions that are solely
wholesale in nature and not associated with specific demand response
efforts at the retail program level.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Commission proposes to revise the structure of its question on
advanced meters to comport with recent changes approved by OMB for the
EIA in Form EIA-861, Schedule 6, Part D, ``Advanced Metering and
Customer Communication.'' The Commission also proposes to eliminate
certain data elements requested by the 2012 FERC-731 including: The
respondents' number of customers by customer sector in Question 3, and
the request for the respondents' long-range (4 to 6 years) plans for
demand response programs in Question 5.
The Commission believes that the above changes should result in a
more accurate and streamlined data collection that will reduce
respondent burden.
The Commission investigated alternatives, including using data from
the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and EIA, to
fielding and collecting data using a FERC designed survey. However, as
explained below, the data is not currently collected or cannot be
obtained by the Commission in time to complete the 2014 report to
Congress.
NERC, as the Electric Reliability Organization for the United
States \3\ as certified by the Commission, has begun to collect demand
response data on dispatchable and non-dispatchable resources that it
needs to conduct its reliability work. Reporting demand response
information in the Demand Response Availability Data System (DADS) is
mandatory for all entities who are part of NERC's functional model. The
Demand Response Data Task Force at NERC developed DADS to collect
demand response program information. DADS currently collects
information on dispatchable and controllable demand response resources.
DADS does not currently collect and report information on several key
demand response program types including economic, and time-based rate
programs. Because DADS does not currently collect and report data which
is specifically required by EPAct 2005, the system cannot be relied
upon for FERC's reporting purposes. EPAct 2005 specifically requires
FERC to identify and review time-based rate programs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ North American Electric Reliability Corp., 116 FERC ]
61,062, order on reh'g & compliance, 117 FERC ] 61,126 (2006),
appeal docketed sub nom. Alcoa, Inc. v. FERC, No. 06-1426 (D.C. Cir.
Dec. 29, 2006).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NERC plans to require its registered entities to report information
on these other demand response program types in the future, but it is
unclear at this time when NERC may begin to collect these additional
data or whether the new data will be available or suitable for FERC
staff to use to prepare their reports to Congress.
The EIA collects aggregated information on energy efficiency and
load management as well as advanced metering data in its EIA-861,
``Annual Electric Power Industry Report.'' The data collected in this
survey does not identify specific demand response programs or time-
based rate programs, but it does support the Commission's advanced
metering data needs. Unfortunately, the finalized advanced metering
data for 2013 will not be available until the fourth quarter of 2014
under EIA's proposed schedule. Therefore, the EIA data will not be
available to the Commission in time to report 2013 findings in calendar
year 2014.
Because these alternatives will not provide data or will not
provide data in a timely manner for the 2014 report, the Commission
proposes to conduct a survey (attached in the docket) with a response
deadline of May 1, 2014. This survey has been designed to be consistent
with the NERC's data collection such that, in future years, the
Commission may be able to use the NERC data when it becomes available,
phase-out the FERC demand response survey and still comply with EPAct
2005 Section 1252(e)(3).
FERC staff has designed a survey that will impose minimal burden on
respondents by providing respondents with an easy-to-complete, fillable
form that will include such user friendly features as pre-populated
fields and drop-down menus, make use of the data that is becoming
available from reliable sources, and provide it with the information
necessary to draft and file the report that is required by Congress.
The survey can be electronically filed. A paper version of the survey
will be available for those who are unable to file electronically.
Access to the Proposed Materials: The survey form, instructions,
and glossary are attached to this docket, but they are not being
published in the Federal Register.\4\ Interested parties can see the
materials electronically as part of this notice in FERC's eLibrary
(https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp) by searching Docket No.
IC13-22-000.
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\4\ The attached form is for illustrative purposes only and does
not include all the interactive features of the actual form.
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Interested parties may also request paper or electronic copies of
any of the materials by contacting FERC's Public Reference Room by
email at public.referenceroom@ferc.gov or by telephone at (202) 502-
8371.
Type of Respondents: The Commission is proposing to collect the
demand response and advanced metering information via a voluntary
survey from the nation's entities that serve wholesale and retail
customers. The information will be used to draft and file the report
that is required by Congress. 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.
Estimate of Annual Burden: \5\ The Commission estimates the total
Public Reporting Burden for this information collection as:
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\5\ The Commission defines burden as the total time, effort, or
financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain,
retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a Federal
agency. For further explanation of what is included in the
information collection burden, reference 5 Code of Federal
Regulations 1320.3.
[[Page 120]]
FERC-733--Demand Response/Time-Based Rate Programs and Advanced Metering
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Number of Total number of Average burden Estimated total
Number of responses per responses (A) x hours per burden \6\ (C)
respondents (A) respondent (B) (B) = (C) response (D) x (D)
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Entities that serve wholesale and retail customers................. 3,400 1 3,400 3.5 11,900
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\6\ This collection occurs every two years and OMB approval is
typically for three years. As such, it is likely that there will be
two surveys completed during the time this form is approved. When we
submit this collection to OMB for approval (after the comment
period) we will likely calculate the total burden for three years
(two surveys) and average the total burden over those three years.
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The total estimated cost burden to respondents for the 2014 survey
is $669,613 (11,900 hours/year x $56.27/hour \7\ = $669,613. The
estimated cost per respondent for the survey is $196.95 (3.5 hours/
survey x $56.27/hour = $196.95.
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\7\ This figure is based on the average salary plus benefits for
a management analyst (NAICS Occupation Code 13-1111). We obtained
wage and benefit information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
(https://bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm and https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm).
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Comments: Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the Commission, including whether the information will have practical
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden and
cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality,
utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are
to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Dated: December 24, 2013.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-31340 Filed 12-31-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
