Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-537, FERC-725F, FERC-725I); Consolidated Comment Request; Extension, 61068-61072 [2014-24057]
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61068
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 196 / Thursday, October 9, 2014 / Notices
be damaged by mail screening
processes.]
• Hand Delivery/Courier: Mr. Joseph
Hagerman, U.S. Department of Energy,
Building Technologies Program, 950
L’Enfant Plaza SW., Suite 600,
Washington, DC 20024. If possible,
please submit all items on CD, in which
case it is not necessary to include
printed copies.
Docket: The docket is available for
review at www.regulations.gov,
including Federal Register notices,
framework documents, summary notes,
comments, and other supporting
documents/materials. All documents in
the docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Joseph Hagerman, U.S. Department of
Energy, Office of Building Technologies
(EE–5B), 950 L’Enfant Plaza SW.,
Washington, DC 20024. Phone: (202)
586–4549. Email: joseph.hagerman@
ee.doe.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
notice announces the availability for
public comment of the draft document
‘‘Transaction-Based Building Controls
Framework, Volume 1: Reference
Guide’’. A new building diagnostic and
controls revolution is underway within
the buildings sector, primarily in the
commercial buildings sector. In it,
application-based systems are
presenting an opportunity to implement
strategies in which highly ‘‘optimized’’
control capable of constantly increasing
efficiency levels while improving
resource allocation is an inherent
attribute of the strategy rather than an
explicitly programmed feature. These
building controls and algorithms can
also be part of deep retrofits in existing
buildings that result in energy savings
not just today, but also ensure persistent
energy savings over the life of the
buildings. At the same time, the
introduction of sensors and controls, as
well as information technology and
communication protocols between the
buildings and the electric grid, has led
to digitized sensing, metering,
communication and controls.
Using these technological advances
and careful coordination, buildings
could provide valuable comfort and
productivity services to building owners
and occupants, such as automatically
and continuously improving building
operations and maintenance, while at
the same time reducing energy costs.
The above-mentioned document
proposes a framework concept to
achieve the objectives of raising
buildings’ efficiency and energy savings
potential benefiting building owners
and operators. We call it a transaction-
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based building controls’ framework,
wherein mutually-beneficial and costeffective market-based transactions can
be enabled between multiple players
across different domains.
DOE is particularly interested in
public comment on the following list of
questions embedded within the
document.
1. What do you think of the
Transactive Energy future state
described here?
2. Are there other or better ways to
make buildings smarter?
3. How smart do buildings need to be
and why?
4. Are there other examples of
Transactive Energy implementation that
should be included? Please provide
details, reports and studies that you
might be aware of documenting the
results of such implementations.
5. Are these four categories of
exchangeable services comprehensive
enough? If not, should they be expanded
in scope? Or, should additional
categories be defined?
6. What are some other reports/
studies that cover/support/illustrate
these topics of services and service
categories?
7. Are there other important networks
that need to be illustrated?
8. Are there other (project)
demonstration examples to be included?
Are there other important categories of
transactions?
9. What are some additional use cases
for this end-user service category?
Please see the use-case template in
section 8.0 to provide your inputs.
10. Are there additional or better use
cases for this energy market service
category? Please see the use-case
template in section 8.0 to provide your
inputs.
11. Can you describe additional use
cases for this grid service category?
Please see the use-case template in
section 8.0 to provide your inputs.
12. What are some additional use
cases for this societal service category?
Please see the use-case template in
section 8.0 to provide your inputs.
The public comment period ends
November 10, 2014 to provide
interested parties adequate time to
prepare and submit comments and DOE
will consider any comments received by
that date. The report is available at
https://www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;D=EERE-2014-BT-NOA0016.
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Issued in Washington, DC, on September
30, 2014.
Kathleen B. Hogan,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy
Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy.
[FR Doc. 2014–24134 Filed 10–8–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. IC14–16–000]
Commission Information Collection
Activities (FERC–537, FERC–725F,
FERC–725I); Consolidated Comment
Request; Extension
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of information
collections and request for comments.
AGENCY:
In compliance with the
requirements of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, 44 USC
3506(c)(2)(A), the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (Commission or
FERC) is soliciting public comment on
the requirements and burden 1 of the
information collections described
below.
DATES: Comments on the collections of
information are due December 8, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
(identified by Docket No. IC14–16–000)
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.
Please reference the specific
collection number and/or title in your
comments.
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
SUMMARY:
1 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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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, telephone
at (202) 502–8663, and fax at (202) 273–
0873.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Type of Request: Three-year extension
of the information collection
requirements for all collections
described below with no changes to the
current reporting requirements. Please
note that each collection is distinct from
the next.
Comments: Comments are invited on:
(1) Whether the collections of
information are 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
estimates of the burden and cost of the
collections of information, including the
validity of the methodology and
assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance
the quality, utility and clarity of the
information collections; and (4) ways to
minimize the burden of the collections
of information on those who are to
respond, including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
FERC–537, Gas Pipeline Certificates:
Construction, Acquisition and
Abandonment
OMB Control No.: 1902–0060.
Abstract: The information collected
under the requirements of FERC–537 is
used by the Commission to implement
the statutory provisions of the Natural
Gas Policy Act of 1978 (NGPA) 2 and the
Natural Gas Act (NGA). 3 Under Section
7(c) of the NGA, natural gas pipeline
companies must obtain Commission
authorization to undertake the
construction or extension of any
facilities, or to acquire or operate any
such facilities or extensions. A natural
gas company must also obtain
Commission approval under Section
7(b) of the NGA prior to abandoning any
jurisdictional facility or service. Under
the NGA and the NGPA, interstate and
intrastate pipelines must also obtain
authorization for certain transportation
and storage services and arrangements,
particularly a Part 284, Subpart G—
Blanket Certificate.4
The information collected is
necessary to certificate interstate
pipelines engaged in the transportation
and sale of natural gas, and the
construction, acquisition, and operation
of facilities to be used in those
activities, to authorize the abandonment
of facilities and services, and to
authorize certain NGPA transactions. If
a certificate is granted, the natural gas
company can construct, acquire, or
operate facilities, plus engage in
interstate transportation or sale of
natural gas. Conversely, approval of an
abandonment application permits the
pipeline to cease service and/or
discontinue the operation of such
facilities. Authorization under NGPA
Section 311(a) allows the interstate or
intrastate pipeline applicants to render
certain transportation services.
The data required to be submitted
consists of identification of the
company and responsible officials,
factors considered in the location of the
facilities and the detailed impact on the
project area for environmental
considerations. Also to be submitted are
the following:
• Flow diagrams showing proposed
design capacity for engineering design
verification and safety determination;
• Commercial and economic data
presenting the basis for the proposed
action; and
• Cost of the proposed facilities,
plans for financing, and estimated
revenues and expenses related to the
proposed facility for accounting and
financial evaluation.
The Commission implements these
filing requirements in the Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR
Parts 157.5–.11; 157.13–.20; 157.53;
157.201–.209; 157.211; 157.214–.218;
284.8; 284.11; 284.126; 284.221;
284.224.
Type of Respondent: Natural Gas
Pipelines.
Estimate of Annual Burden: The
Commission estimates the annual public
reporting burden for the information
collection as:
FERC–537—GAS PIPELINE CERTIFICATES: CONSTRUCTION, ACQUISITION, AND ABANDONMENT
Number of
respondents
Annual number of
responses per
respondent
Total number of
responses
Average burden hours
& cost per response 5
Total annual burden
hours & total annual
cost
Cost per respondent
($)
(1)
(2)
(1)*(2) = (3)
(4)
(3)*(4) = (5)
(5) ÷ (1)
389
1.2
467
133
$9,377
62,111
$4,379,059
$11,257
A more granular breakdown of the
average burden hour figure (i.e. 133
hours per response) follows:
Number of
respondents
Number of
responses
Avg. hours per
response
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Regulation section 18 CFR . . .
Regulation topic
157.5–.11; & 157.13–.20 .................
157.53 ..............................................
157.201–.209; 157.211; 157.214–
.218.
157.201–.209; 157.211; 157.214–
.218.
284.11 ..............................................
Interstate certificate and abandonment applications ....
Exemptions ....................................................................
Blanket Certificates prior notice filings ..........................
149
149
149
82
0.5
46
500
100
200
Blanket Certificates—annual reports .............................
198
294
50
NGPA Sec. 311 Construction—annual reports .............
198
294
50
2 15
U.S.C. 3301–3432.
U.S.C. 717–717w.
4 18 CFR 284.8.
5 The estimates for cost per response are derived
using the following formula: Average Burden Hours
per Response * $70.50 per Hour = Average Cost per
Response. The cost per hour figure is the FERC
3 15
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average salary. Subject matter experts found that
industry employment costs closely resemble FERC’s
regarding the FERC–537 information collection.
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Number of
respondents
Regulation section 18 CFR . . .
Regulation topic
284.8 ................................................
284.126(a)&(c) .................................
284.224 ............................................
157.5–.11; & 157.13–.20 .................
Capacity Release—record keeping ...............................
Intrastate bypass, semi-annual transportation & storage—reports.
Blanket Certificates—one time filing, inc. new tariff and
rate design proposal.
Hinshaw Blanket Certificates ........................................
Non-facility certificate or abandonment applications ....
TOTALS ....................................
........................................................................................
284.221 ............................................
1 Distinct
Number of
responses
Avg. hours per
response
0
37
75
30
60
N/A
100
5
0
1 389
N/A
48
5
N/A
75
75
distinct
entities.
467
2 133
average,
weighted.
entities.
weighted.
2 Average
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FERC–725F, Mandatory Reliability
Standards for Nuclear Plant Interface
Coordination
OMB Control No.: 1902–0249.
Abstract: The Commission requires
the information collected by the FERC–
725F to implement the statutory
provisions of section 215 of the Federal
Power Act (FPA) (16 U.S.C. 824o). On
August 8, 2005, the Electricity
Modernization Act of 2005, which is
Title XII, Subtitle A, of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005), was
enacted into law.7 EPAct 2005 added a
new section 215 to the FPA, which
required a Commission-certified Electric
Reliability Organization (ERO) to
develop mandatory and enforceable
Reliability Standards, which are subject
to Commission review and approval.
Once approved, the Reliability
Standards may be enforced by the ERO
subject to Commission oversight, or the
Commission can independently enforce
Reliability Standards.8
On February 3, 2006, the Commission
issued Order No. 672, implementing
section 215 of the FPA.9 Pursuant to
Order No. 672, the Commission certified
one organization, North American
Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC),
as the ERO. The Reliability Standards
developed by the ERO and approved by
the Commission apply to users, owners
and operators of the Bulk-Power System
as set forth in each Reliability Standard.
On November 19, 2007, NERC filed its
petition for Commission approval of the
Nuclear Plant Interface Coordination
Reliability Standard, designated NUC–
001–1. In Order No. 716, issued October
16, 2008, the Commission approved the
standard while also directing certain
revisions.10 Revised Reliability
Standard, NUC–001–2, was filed with
the Commission by NERC in August
2009 and subsequently approved by the
Commission January 21, 2010.11
The purpose of Reliability Standard
NUC–001–2 is to require ‘‘coordination
between nuclear plant generator
operators and transmission entities for
the purpose of ensuring nuclear plant
safe operation and shutdown.’’ 12 The
Nuclear Reliability Standard applies to
nuclear plant generator operators
(generally nuclear power plant owners
and operators, including licensees) and
‘‘transmission entities,’’ defined in the
Reliability Standard as including a
nuclear plant’s suppliers of off-site
power and related transmission and
distribution services. To account for the
variations in nuclear plant design and
grid interconnection characteristics, the
Reliability Standard defines
transmission entities as ‘‘all entities that
are responsible for providing services
related to Nuclear Plant Interface
Requirements (NPIRs),’’ and lists eleven
types of functional entities (heretofore
described as ‘‘transmission entities’’)
that could provide services related to
NPIRs.13
FERC–725F information collection
requirements include establishing and
maintaining interface agreements,
including record retention
requirements. These agreements are not
filed with FERC but with the
appropriate entities as established by
the Reliability Standard.
Type of Respondent: Nuclear
operators, nuclear plants, transmission
entities.
Estimate of Annual Burden: The
Commission estimates the average
annual burden for this information
collection as:
6 The number for these filings is accounted for in
other regulatory categories in FERC–537.
7 Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law 109–58,
Title XII, Subtitle A, 119 Stat. 594, 941 (2005), 16
U.S.C. 824o.
8 16 U.S.C. 824o(e)(3).
9 Rules Concerning Certification of the Electric
Reliability Organization; and Procedures for the
Establishment, Approval, and Enforcement of
Electric Reliability Standards, Order No. 672, FERC
Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,204, order on reh’g, Order No.
672–A, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,212 (2006).
10 Mandatory Reliability Standard for Nuclear
Plant Interface Coordination, Order No. 716, 125
FERC ¶ 61,065, at P 189 & n.90 (2008), order on
reh’g, Order No. 716–A, 126 FERC ¶ 61,122 (2009).
11 North American Electric Reliability
Corporation, 130 FERC ¶ 61,051 (2010). When the
revised Reliability Standard was approved the
Commission did not go to OMB for approval. It is
assumed that the changes made did not
substantively affect the information collection and
therefore a formal submission to OMB was not
needed.
12 See Reliability Standard NUC–001–2 at https://
www.nerc.com/files/NUC-001-2.pdf.
13 The list of functional entities consists of
transmission operators, transmission owners,
transmission planners, transmission service
providers, balancing authorities, reliability
coordinators, planning authorities, distribution
providers, load-serving entities, generator owners
and generator operators.
14 The cost for reporting requirements is $73.83/
hour and is based on a composite loaded (wage plus
benefits) average wage for an electrical engineer,
attorney, and administrative staff. The cost for
record keeping is $29.01 and is based on the loaded
wage for a file clerk. The wages are generated from
Burueau of Labor Statistics data retrieved
September, 2014 from https://www.bls.gov/oes/
current/naics2_22.htm. The loaded wage is
calculated using BLS data indicating, as of Sept 1,
2014, that wages make up 69.9% of total salary
(https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm).
15 This figure of 130 transmission entities is based
on the assumption that each agreement will be
between 1 nuclear plant and 2 transmission entities
(65 times 2 = 130). However, there is some double
counting in this figure because some transmission
entities may be party to multiple agreements with
multiple nuclear plants. The double counting does
not affect the burden estimate and the correct
number of unique respondents will be reported to
OMB. The actual number of unique entities subject
to this collection is 143.
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New agreements (Reporting).
New Agreements (Record
Keeping).
Modifications to agreements
(Reporting).
Modifications to Agreements
(Record Keeping).
Total .............................
Number of respondents
Total number
of responses
Average
burden
hours & cost
per
response 14
Total annual
burden hours
& total annual
cost
Cost per
respondent
($)
(1)
FERC–725F
Annual
number of
responses per
respondent
(2)
(1)*(2) = (3)
(4)
(3)*(4) = (5)
(5) ÷ (1)
10 nuclear operators + 20
transmission entities.
10 nuclear operators + 20
transmission entities.
65 nuclear plants + 130
transmission entities 15.
65 nuclear plants + 130
transmission entities.
.............................................
FERC–725I, Mandatory Reliability
Standards for the Northeast Power
Coordinating Council
OMB Control No.: 1902–0258.
Abstract: This information collection
relates to two FERC approved Protection
and Control (PRC) regional Reliability
Standards: PRC–002–NPCC–01—
Disturbance Monitoring, and PRC–006–
NPCC–1—Automatic Underfrequency
Load-Shedding. These Northeast Power
Coordinating Council (NPCC) regional
Reliability Standards require
respondents to provide recording
capability necessary to monitor the
response of the Bulk-Power System to
system disturbances, including
scheduled and unscheduled outages;
requires each reliability coordinator to
establish requirements for its area’s
dynamic disturbance recording needs;
establishes disturbance data reporting
requirements; and requires planning
coordinators to incrementally gather
data, run studies, and analyze study
results to design or update the UFLS
programs that are required in the
regional Reliability Standard in addition
1
30
1
30
2
390
2
390
16 420
........................
to the requirements of the NERC
Reliability Standard PRC–006–1.17
Reliability Standard PRC–002–NPCC–
01 introduced several new mandatory
and enforceable requirements for the
applicable entities. However, when
FERC approved this standard NPCC had
(and continues to have) criteria 18 and
published guidance 19 addressing
similar requirements that the Reliability
Standard made mandatory. Thus, it is
usual and customary for affected entities
within NPCC to create, maintain and
store some of the same or equivalent
information identified in Reliability
Standard PRC–002–NPCC–01.
Therefore, many of the requirements
contained in PRC–002–NPCC–01 do not
impose new burdens on the affected
entities.20
Several requirements contained in
regional Reliability Standard PRC–002–
NPCC–01 were entirely new
responsibilities for the applicable
entities when the Commission approved
the standard and each of these is listed
in the estimated annual burden section
below.
1,080
$79,736
108
$3,133
66.67
$4,922
6.67
$193
64,240
$4,481,091
32,400
$2,392,092
3,240
$93,992
26,000
$1,919,581
2,600
$75,426
........................
$79,736
3,133
9,844
387
........................
Information collection burden for
Reliability Standard PRC–006–NPCC–01
is based on the time needed for
planning coordinators and generator
owners to incrementally gather data, run
studies, and analyze study results to
design or update the UFLS programs
that are required in the regional
Reliability Standard in addition to the
requirements of the NERC Reliability
Standard PRC–006–1.21 There is also
burden on the generator owners to
maintain data.
Type of Respondent: Entities
registered with the North American
Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)
as Generator Owners, Transmission
Owners, Reliability Coordinators and
Planning Coordinators
Estimate of Annual Burden: The
number of respondents is based on
NERC’s registry as of August 27, 2014.
Entities registered for more than one
applicable function type have been
accounted for in the figures below. The
Commission estimates the annual public
reporting burden for the information
collection as:
Number of
respondents
Annual
number of
responses per
respondent
Total number
of responses
Average
burden hours
& cost per
response 22
Total annual
burden hours
& total annual
cost
Cost per
Respondent
($)
(1)
Information collection requirements
(2)
(1)*(2) = (3)
(4)
(3)*(4) = (5)
(5) ÷ (1)
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R13: GO 23 and TO to have evidence it
acquired and installed dynamic disturbance recorders and a mutually agreed
upon implementation schedule with the
RC (record retention) ...........................
1
16 The recordkeeping ‘‘responses’’ are considered
to be part of (i.e. to be contained within the same
quantity as) the Reporting responses leading to a
total number of unique responses of 420 (390 + 30
= 420).
17 The burden estimates for Reliability Standard
PRC–006–1 are included in Order No. 763 (Final
Rule in RM11–20) and covered in FERC–725A
(OMB Control No. 1902–0244). OMB approved
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1
1
those requirements on 7/9/2012 (ICR Reference No.
201204–1902–001).
18 Disturbance Monitoring Equipment Criteria
(Aug. 2007), available at https://www.npcc.org/
Standards/Criteria/A-15.pdf (Disturbance
Monitoring Criteria).
19 Guide for Application of Disturbance
Recording Equipment (Sept. 2006), available at
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10
$290
10
$290
$290
https://www.npcc.org/Standards/Guides/B-26.pdf
(Application Guide).
20 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2) (2011).
21 The burden estimates for Reliability Standard
PRC–006–1 are included in Order No. 763 (Final
Rule in RM11–20) and currently covered in FERC–
725A (OMB Control No. 1902–0244). OMB
approved those requirements on 7/9/2012 (ICR
Reference No. 201204–1902–001).
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Number of
respondents
Annual
number of
responses per
respondent
Total number
of responses
Average
burden hours
& cost per
response 22
Total annual
burden hours
& total annual
cost
Cost per
Respondent
($)
(1)
Information collection requirements
(2)
(1)*(2) = (3)
(4)
(3)*(4) = (5)
(5) ÷ (1)
R14.5: GO and TO to have evidence of
a maintenance and testing program for
stand-alone disturbance monitoring
equipment
including
monthly
verification of active analog quantities
166
12
1,992
5
$305
9,960
$607,560
3,660
R14.7: GO and TO to record efforts to
return failed units to service if it takes
longer than 90 days 24 ..........................
33
1
33
33
1
33
330
$20,130
330
$9,570
610
R14.7: GO and TO record retention ........
10
$610
10
$290
R17: RC provide certain disturbance
monitoring equipment data to the Regional Entity upon request ...................
5
1
5
R17: RC record retention .........................
5
1
5
5
$305
10
$290
25
$1,525
50
$1,450
290
Total ..................................................
........................
25 2,031
........................
10,705
$640,525
........................
........................
290
305
RELIABILITY STANDARD PRC–006–NPCC–01
Number of
respondents
Annual
number of
responses per
respondent
Total number
of responses
Average
burden hours
& cost per
response
Total annual
burden hours
& total annual
cost
Cost per
respondent
($)
(1)
Information collection requirements
(2)
(1)*(2) = (3)
(4)
(3)*(4) = (5)
(5) ÷ (1)
PCs Design and document automatic
UFLS program ......................................
6
1
6
8
$488
48
$2,928
$488
PCs update and maintain UFLS program
database ...............................................
6
1
6
16
$976
96
$5,856
976
GOs provide documentation and data to
the planning coordinator .......................
145
1
145
145
1
145
2,320
$141,520
580
$16,820
976
GOs: record retention ..............................
16
$976
4
$116
Total ..................................................
........................
........................
302
........................
3,044
$167,124
........................
116
Dated: September 30, 2014.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014–24057 Filed 10–8–14; 8:45 am]
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
22 The estimates for cost per response are derived
using the following formula: Average Burden Hours
per Response * XX per Hour = Average Cost per
Response. The hourly cost figure comes from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (https://www.bls.gov/oes/
current/naics2_22.htm and https://www.bls.gov/
news.release/ecec.nr0.htm). Record retention at a
wage plus benefits cost of $29/hour and the
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:56 Oct 08, 2014
Jkt 235001
remaining costs are based on the wage plus benefits
for an electrical engineer at $61/hour.
23 For purposes of these charts, generation owner
is abbreviated to GO, transmission owner is
abbreviated to TO, reliability coordinator is
abbreviated to RC, and planning coordinator is
abbreviated to PC.
24 We estimate that an entity will experience a
unit failure greater than 90 days once every five
PO 00000
Frm 00026
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 9990
years. Therefore, 20 percent of NPCC’s 166
generator owners and transmission owners will
experience a unit failure of this duration each year.
25 The recordkeeping ‘‘responses’’ for R14.7 and
R17 are considered to be part of (i.e. to be contained
within the same quantity as) the Reporting
responses leading to a total number of unique
responses of 420 (390 + 30 = 420).
E:\FR\FM\09OCN1.SGM
09OCN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 196 (Thursday, October 9, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61068-61072]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24057]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. IC14-16-000]
Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-537, FERC-
725F, FERC-725I); Consolidated Comment Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of information collections and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, 44 USC 3506(c)(2)(A), the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (Commission or FERC) is soliciting public comment on the
requirements and burden \1\ of the information collections described
below.
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\1\ 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.
DATES: Comments on the collections of information are due December 8,
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2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC14-16-
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.
Please reference the specific collection number and/or title in
your comments.
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
[[Page 61069]]
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, telephone at (202) 502-8663, and fax at (202)
273-0873.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Type of Request: Three-year extension of the information collection
requirements for all collections described below with no changes to the
current reporting requirements. Please note that each collection is
distinct from the next.
Comments: Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the collections of
information are 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 estimates of the
burden and cost of the collections of information, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance
the quality, utility and clarity of the information collections; and
(4) ways to minimize the burden of the collections of information on
those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection
techniques or other forms of information technology.
FERC-537, Gas Pipeline Certificates: Construction, Acquisition and
Abandonment
OMB Control No.: 1902-0060.
Abstract: The information collected under the requirements of FERC-
537 is used by the Commission to implement the statutory provisions of
the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 (NGPA) \2\ and the Natural Gas Act
(NGA). \3\ Under Section 7(c) of the NGA, natural gas pipeline
companies must obtain Commission authorization to undertake the
construction or extension of any facilities, or to acquire or operate
any such facilities or extensions. A natural gas company must also
obtain Commission approval under Section 7(b) of the NGA prior to
abandoning any jurisdictional facility or service. Under the NGA and
the NGPA, interstate and intrastate pipelines must also obtain
authorization for certain transportation and storage services and
arrangements, particularly a Part 284, Subpart G--Blanket
Certificate.\4\
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\2\ 15 U.S.C. 3301-3432.
\3\ 15 U.S.C. 717-717w.
\4\ 18 CFR 284.8.
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The information collected is necessary to certificate interstate
pipelines engaged in the transportation and sale of natural gas, and
the construction, acquisition, and operation of facilities to be used
in those activities, to authorize the abandonment of facilities and
services, and to authorize certain NGPA transactions. If a certificate
is granted, the natural gas company can construct, acquire, or operate
facilities, plus engage in interstate transportation or sale of natural
gas. Conversely, approval of an abandonment application permits the
pipeline to cease service and/or discontinue the operation of such
facilities. Authorization under NGPA Section 311(a) allows the
interstate or intrastate pipeline applicants to render certain
transportation services.
The data required to be submitted consists of identification of the
company and responsible officials, factors considered in the location
of the facilities and the detailed impact on the project area for
environmental considerations. Also to be submitted are the following:
Flow diagrams showing proposed design capacity for
engineering design verification and safety determination;
Commercial and economic data presenting the basis for the
proposed action; and
Cost of the proposed facilities, plans for financing, and
estimated revenues and expenses related to the proposed facility for
accounting and financial evaluation.
The Commission implements these filing requirements in the Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR Parts 157.5-.11; 157.13-.20;
157.53; 157.201-.209; 157.211; 157.214-.218; 284.8; 284.11; 284.126;
284.221; 284.224.
Type of Respondent: Natural Gas Pipelines.
Estimate of Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the annual
public reporting burden for the information collection as:
FERC-537--Gas Pipeline Certificates: Construction, Acquisition, and Abandonment
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual number of Average burden Total annual
Number of responses per Total number of hours & cost per burden hours & Cost per
respondents respondent responses response \5\ total annual cost respondent ($)
(1) (2) (1)*(2) = (3) (4) (3)*(4) = (5) (5) / (1)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
389 1.2 467 133 62,111 $11,257
$9,377 $4,379,059
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A more granular breakdown of the average burden hour figure (i.e.
133 hours per response) follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the
following formula: Average Burden Hours per Response * $70.50 per
Hour = Average Cost per Response. The cost per hour figure is the
FERC average salary. Subject matter experts found that industry
employment costs closely resemble FERC's regarding the FERC-537
information collection.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Number of Avg. hours per
Regulation section 18 CFR . . . Regulation topic respondents responses response
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
157.5-.11; & 157.13-.20............ Interstate certificate and 149 82 500
abandonment applications.
157.53............................. Exemptions................. 149 0.5 100
157.201-.209; 157.211; 157.214-.218 Blanket Certificates prior 149 46 200
notice filings.
157.201-.209; 157.211; 157.214-.218 Blanket Certificates-- 198 294 50
annual reports.
284.11............................. NGPA Sec. 311 Construction-- 198 294 50
annual reports.
[[Page 61070]]
284.8.............................. Capacity Release--record 0 N/A 75
keeping.
284.126(a)&(c)..................... Intrastate bypass, semi- 37 48 30
annual transportation &
storage--reports.
284.221............................ Blanket Certificates--one \6\ 0 N/A 100
time filing, inc. new
tariff and rate design
proposal.
284.224............................ Hinshaw Blanket 5 5 75
Certificates.
157.5-.11; & 157.13-.20............ Non-facility certificate or 0 N/A 75
abandonment applications.
-----------------------------------------------
TOTALS......................... ........................... \1\ 389 467 \2\ 133
distinct average,
entities. weighted.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Distinct entities.
\2\ Average weighted.
FERC-725F, Mandatory Reliability Standards for Nuclear Plant Interface
Coordination
OMB Control No.: 1902-0249.
Abstract: The Commission requires the information collected by the
FERC-725F to implement the statutory provisions of section 215 of the
Federal Power Act (FPA) (16 U.S.C. 824o). On August 8, 2005, the
Electricity Modernization Act of 2005, which is Title XII, Subtitle A,
of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005), was enacted into law.\7\
EPAct 2005 added a new section 215 to the FPA, which required a
Commission-certified Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) to develop
mandatory and enforceable Reliability Standards, which are subject to
Commission review and approval. Once approved, the Reliability
Standards may be enforced by the ERO subject to Commission oversight,
or the Commission can independently enforce Reliability Standards.\8\
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\6\ The number for these filings is accounted for in other
regulatory categories in FERC-537.
\7\ Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law 109-58, Title XII,
Subtitle A, 119 Stat. 594, 941 (2005), 16 U.S.C. 824o.
\8\ 16 U.S.C. 824o(e)(3).
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On February 3, 2006, the Commission issued Order No. 672,
implementing section 215 of the FPA.\9\ Pursuant to Order No. 672, the
Commission certified one organization, North American Electric
Reliability Corporation (NERC), as the ERO. The Reliability Standards
developed by the ERO and approved by the Commission apply to users,
owners and operators of the Bulk-Power System as set forth in each
Reliability Standard.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ Rules Concerning Certification of the Electric Reliability
Organization; and Procedures for the Establishment, Approval, and
Enforcement of Electric Reliability Standards, Order No. 672, FERC
Stats. & Regs. ] 31,204, order on reh'g, Order No. 672-A, FERC
Stats. & Regs. ] 31,212 (2006).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On November 19, 2007, NERC filed its petition for Commission
approval of the Nuclear Plant Interface Coordination Reliability
Standard, designated NUC-001-1. In Order No. 716, issued October 16,
2008, the Commission approved the standard while also directing certain
revisions.\10\ Revised Reliability Standard, NUC-001-2, was filed with
the Commission by NERC in August 2009 and subsequently approved by the
Commission January 21, 2010.\11\
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\10\ Mandatory Reliability Standard for Nuclear Plant Interface
Coordination, Order No. 716, 125 FERC ] 61,065, at P 189 & n.90
(2008), order on reh'g, Order No. 716-A, 126 FERC ] 61,122 (2009).
\11\ North American Electric Reliability Corporation, 130 FERC ]
61,051 (2010). When the revised Reliability Standard was approved
the Commission did not go to OMB for approval. It is assumed that
the changes made did not substantively affect the information
collection and therefore a formal submission to OMB was not needed.
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The purpose of Reliability Standard NUC-001-2 is to require
``coordination between nuclear plant generator operators and
transmission entities for the purpose of ensuring nuclear plant safe
operation and shutdown.'' \12\ The Nuclear Reliability Standard applies
to nuclear plant generator operators (generally nuclear power plant
owners and operators, including licensees) and ``transmission
entities,'' defined in the Reliability Standard as including a nuclear
plant's suppliers of off-site power and related transmission and
distribution services. To account for the variations in nuclear plant
design and grid interconnection characteristics, the Reliability
Standard defines transmission entities as ``all entities that are
responsible for providing services related to Nuclear Plant Interface
Requirements (NPIRs),'' and lists eleven types of functional entities
(heretofore described as ``transmission entities'') that could provide
services related to NPIRs.\13\
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\12\ See Reliability Standard NUC-001-2 at https://www.nerc.com/files/NUC-001-2.pdf.
\13\ The list of functional entities consists of transmission
operators, transmission owners, transmission planners, transmission
service providers, balancing authorities, reliability coordinators,
planning authorities, distribution providers, load-serving entities,
generator owners and generator operators.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
FERC-725F information collection requirements include establishing
and maintaining interface agreements, including record retention
requirements. These agreements are not filed with FERC but with the
appropriate entities as established by the Reliability Standard.
Type of Respondent: Nuclear operators, nuclear plants, transmission
entities.
Estimate of Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the average
annual burden for this information collection as:
[[Page 61071]]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average burden Total annual
Annual number Total number hours & cost burden hours & Cost per
FERC-725F Number of respondents of responses of responses per response total annual respondent ($)
per respondent \14\ cost
(1)......................... (2) (1)*(2) = (3) (4) (3)*(4) = (5) (5) / (1)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New agreements (Reporting)................ 10 nuclear operators + 20 1 30 1,080 32,400 $79,736
transmission entities. $79,736 $2,392,092
New Agreements (Record Keeping)........... 10 nuclear operators + 20 1 30 108 3,240 3,133
transmission entities. $3,133 $93,992
Modifications to agreements (Reporting)... 65 nuclear plants + 130 2 390 66.67 26,000 9,844
transmission entities \15\. $4,922 $1,919,581
Modifications to Agreements (Record 65 nuclear plants + 130 2 390 6.67 2,600 387
Keeping). transmission entities. $193 $75,426
Total................................. ............................ \16\ 420 .............. 64,240 .............. ..............
$4,481,091
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FERC-725I, Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Northeast Power
Coordinating Council
OMB Control No.: 1902-0258.
Abstract: This information collection relates to two FERC approved
Protection and Control (PRC) regional Reliability Standards: PRC-002-
NPCC-01--Disturbance Monitoring, and PRC-006-NPCC-1--Automatic
Underfrequency Load-Shedding. These Northeast Power Coordinating
Council (NPCC) regional Reliability Standards require respondents to
provide recording capability necessary to monitor the response of the
Bulk-Power System to system disturbances, including scheduled and
unscheduled outages; requires each reliability coordinator to establish
requirements for its area's dynamic disturbance recording needs;
establishes disturbance data reporting requirements; and requires
planning coordinators to incrementally gather data, run studies, and
analyze study results to design or update the UFLS programs that are
required in the regional Reliability Standard in addition to the
requirements of the NERC Reliability Standard PRC-006-1.\17\
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\14\ The cost for reporting requirements is $73.83/hour and is
based on a composite loaded (wage plus benefits) average wage for an
electrical engineer, attorney, and administrative staff. The cost
for record keeping is $29.01 and is based on the loaded wage for a
file clerk. The wages are generated from Burueau of Labor Statistics
data retrieved September, 2014 from https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm. The loaded wage is calculated using BLS data
indicating, as of Sept 1, 2014, that wages make up 69.9% of total
salary (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm).
\15\ This figure of 130 transmission entities is based on the
assumption that each agreement will be between 1 nuclear plant and 2
transmission entities (65 times 2 = 130). However, there is some
double counting in this figure because some transmission entities
may be party to multiple agreements with multiple nuclear plants.
The double counting does not affect the burden estimate and the
correct number of unique respondents will be reported to OMB. The
actual number of unique entities subject to this collection is 143.
\16\ The recordkeeping ``responses'' are considered to be part
of (i.e. to be contained within the same quantity as) the Reporting
responses leading to a total number of unique responses of 420 (390
+ 30 = 420).
\17\ The burden estimates for Reliability Standard PRC-006-1 are
included in Order No. 763 (Final Rule in RM11-20) and covered in
FERC-725A (OMB Control No. 1902-0244). OMB approved those
requirements on 7/9/2012 (ICR Reference No. 201204-1902-001).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reliability Standard PRC-002-NPCC-01 introduced several new
mandatory and enforceable requirements for the applicable entities.
However, when FERC approved this standard NPCC had (and continues to
have) criteria \18\ and published guidance \19\ addressing similar
requirements that the Reliability Standard made mandatory. Thus, it is
usual and customary for affected entities within NPCC to create,
maintain and store some of the same or equivalent information
identified in Reliability Standard PRC-002-NPCC-01. Therefore, many of
the requirements contained in PRC-002-NPCC-01 do not impose new burdens
on the affected entities.\20\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\18\ Disturbance Monitoring Equipment Criteria (Aug. 2007),
available at https://www.npcc.org/Standards/Criteria/A-15.pdf
(Disturbance Monitoring Criteria).
\19\ Guide for Application of Disturbance Recording Equipment
(Sept. 2006), available at https://www.npcc.org/Standards/Guides/B-26.pdf (Application Guide).
\20\ 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2) (2011).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Several requirements contained in regional Reliability Standard
PRC-002-NPCC-01 were entirely new responsibilities for the applicable
entities when the Commission approved the standard and each of these is
listed in the estimated annual burden section below.
Information collection burden for Reliability Standard PRC-006-
NPCC-01 is based on the time needed for planning coordinators and
generator owners to incrementally gather data, run studies, and analyze
study results to design or update the UFLS programs that are required
in the regional Reliability Standard in addition to the requirements of
the NERC Reliability Standard PRC-006-1.\21\ There is also burden on
the generator owners to maintain data.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\21\ The burden estimates for Reliability Standard PRC-006-1 are
included in Order No. 763 (Final Rule in RM11-20) and currently
covered in FERC-725A (OMB Control No. 1902-0244). OMB approved those
requirements on 7/9/2012 (ICR Reference No. 201204-1902-001).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type of Respondent: Entities registered with the North American
Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) as Generator Owners,
Transmission Owners, Reliability Coordinators and Planning Coordinators
Estimate of Annual Burden: The number of respondents is based on
NERC's registry as of August 27, 2014. Entities registered for more
than one applicable function type have been accounted for in the
figures below. The Commission estimates the annual public reporting
burden for the information collection as:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average burden Total annual
Number of Annual number Total number hours & cost burden hours & Cost per
Information collection requirements respondents of responses of responses per response total annual Respondent ($)
per respondent \22\ cost
(1) (2) (1)*(2) = (3) (4) (3)*(4) = (5) (5) / (1)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
R13: GO \23\ and TO to have evidence it acquired and 1 1 1 10 10 $290
installed dynamic disturbance recorders and a mutually $290 $290
agreed upon implementation schedule with the RC (record
retention).............................................
[[Page 61072]]
R14.5: GO and TO to have evidence of a maintenance and 166 12 1,992 5 9,960 3,660
testing program for stand-alone disturbance monitoring $305 $607,560
equipment including monthly verification of active
analog quantities......................................
R14.7: GO and TO to record efforts to return failed 33 1 33 10 330 610
units to service if it takes longer than 90 days \24\.. $610 $20,130
R14.7: GO and TO record retention....................... 33 1 33 10 330 290
$290 $9,570
R17: RC provide certain disturbance monitoring equipment 5 1 5 5 25 305
data to the Regional Entity upon request............... $305 $1,525
R17: RC record retention................................ 5 1 5 10 50 290
$290 $1,450
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total............................................... .............. \25\ 2,031 .............. 10,705 .............. ..............
$640,525
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\22\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the
following formula: Average Burden Hours per Response * XX per Hour =
Average Cost per Response. The hourly cost figure comes from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm and https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm).
Record retention at a wage plus benefits cost of $29/hour and the
remaining costs are based on the wage plus benefits for an
electrical engineer at $61/hour.
\23\ For purposes of these charts, generation owner is
abbreviated to GO, transmission owner is abbreviated to TO,
reliability coordinator is abbreviated to RC, and planning
coordinator is abbreviated to PC.
\24\ We estimate that an entity will experience a unit failure
greater than 90 days once every five years. Therefore, 20 percent of
NPCC's 166 generator owners and transmission owners will experience
a unit failure of this duration each year.
\25\ The recordkeeping ``responses'' for R14.7 and R17 are
considered to be part of (i.e. to be contained within the same
quantity as) the Reporting responses leading to a total number of
unique responses of 420 (390 + 30 = 420).
Reliability Standard PRC-006-NPCC-01
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total annual
Number of Annual number Total number Average burden burden hours & Cost per
Information collection requirements respondents of responses of responses hours & cost total annual respondent ($)
per respondent per response cost
(1) (2) (1)*(2) = (3) (4) (3)*(4) = (5) (5) / (1)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PCs Design and document automatic UFLS program.......... 6 1 6 8 48 $488
$488 $2,928
PCs update and maintain UFLS program database........... 6 1 6 16 96 976
$976 $5,856
GOs provide documentation and data to the planning 145 1 145 16 2,320 976
coordinator............................................ $976 $141,520
GOs: record retention................................... 145 1 145 4 580 116
$116 $16,820
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total............................................... .............. .............. 302 .............. 3,044 ..............
$167,124
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dated: September 30, 2014.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-24057 Filed 10-8-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
