Electric Grid Resilience Self-Assessment Tool for Distribution System, 37606-37607 [2015-16186]

Download as PDF tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 37606 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 126 / Wednesday, July 1, 2015 / Notices soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The Department of Education is especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology. Please note that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records. Title of Collection: Student Messaging in GEAR UP Demonstration. OMB Control Number: 1850–NEW. Type of Review: A new information collection. Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households. Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 5,360. Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 1,386. Abstract: The Student Messaging in GEAR UP Demonstration, sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of Education (ED), is being conducted to test the effectiveness of a promising strategy to improve college-related outcomes in the federal college access program Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP). The demonstration will use a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design to test the effectiveness of sending customized messaging to students, first during the summer after high school graduation, and then in the fall and spring of their expected first year of college. Students within high schools that volunteer for the demonstration will be randomly assigned to either receive the messages or not. This ICR requests clearance for the collection of GEAR UP student rosters and administration of a baseline survey. In addition to the baseline survey data that will be collected from students, college-related outcome data will be extracted from national datasets (National Student Clearinghouse Data (NSC) and the Federal Student Aid (FSA) database). Impact and descriptive analyses will be conducted to answer the study research questions. The evaluation plans call for two reports. The first, published in summer 2018, will be based on data collected through 2017 that will look at college advising received in high school and early VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:30 Jun 30, 2015 Jkt 235001 college-related outcomes (i.e., college enrollment and FAFSA completion). The second report will be available in early 2020, and will investigate college persistence. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20585; Telephone: (202) 586–4618; email: EGRtool@hq.doe.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Dated: June 25, 2015. Stephanie Valentine, Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of the Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Management. I. Background [FR Doc. 2015–16107 Filed 6–30–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Electric Grid Resilience SelfAssessment Tool for Distribution System Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. Department of Energy. ACTION: Request for Information. AGENCY: The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) is seeking comments and information from interested parties to inform the development of a pilot project concerning an interactive selfassessment tool to understand the relative resilience level of national electric grid distribution systems to extreme weather events. An interactive tool could be used by distribution utilities to identify opportunities for enhancing resilience with new technologies and/or procedures to support investment planning and related tariff filings. The focus of this Request for Information (RFI) is on the design and implementation of the interactive self-assessment resilience tool. SUMMARY: Comments must be received on or before August 17, 2015. ADDRESSES: Comments can be submitted by any of the following methods and must be identified by ‘‘EGRtool’’. By email: EGRtool@hq.doe.gov . Include ‘‘EGRtool’’ in the subject line of the message. By mail: Dan Ton, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. Department of Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 6E–092, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585. Note: Delivery of the U.S. Postal Service mail to DOE may be delayed by several weeks due to security screening. DOE, therefore, encourages those wishing to comment to submit comments electronically by email. For additional information, please contact Dan Ton, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. DATES: PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 With the release of Presidential Policy Directive 21 (PPD–21), the nation has started to focus in earnest on the resilience of our critical infrastructure. In the face of the increasing extreme weather events and other stresses or disturbances, the resilience of critical infrastructure, especially the energy infrastructure, has become paramount. Building upon the insights that have been gained through the development of the Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model, the Electricity Subsector Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model, and the Smart Grid Maturity Model, DOE–OE would like to build a complementary capability regarding the resilience of electric distribution infrastructure. For the purposes of this RFI, the definition of resilience is ‘‘the ability of an entity—e.g., asset, organization, community, region—to anticipate, resist, absorb, respond to, adapt to, and recover from a disturbance.’’ 1 This definition provides the framework for four domains that can be used to understand the current level of resilience of distribution system infrastructure. Through these domains, distribution utilities will be able to make informed decisions on strengthening resiliency, based on identifiable areas where future investments in new technologies and operating procedures could be made. The four domains are: Preparedness: Activities undertaken by an entity in anticipation of the threats/hazards, and the possible consequences, to which it is subject. Mitigation Measures: Characterize the facility’s capabilities to resist a threat/ hazard or to absorb the consequences from the threat/hazard. Response Capabilities: Immediate and ongoing activities, tasks, programs, and systems that have been undertaken or developed to respond and adapt to the adverse effects of an event. Recovery Mechanisms: Activities and programs designed to be effective and efficient in returning operating conditions to a level that is acceptable to the entity. 1 Carlson, L., et al., 2012, Resilience Theory and Applications, Argonne National Laboratory, Decision and Information Sciences Division, ANL/ DIS–12–1, Argonne, Ill, USA, available at https:// www.dis.anl.gov/pubs/72218.pdf (accessed April 9, 2015). E:\FR\FM\01JYN1.SGM 01JYN1 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 126 / Wednesday, July 1, 2015 / Notices Underneath all four domains lie questions that contains specific information for each of the domains. Examples of questions that can be asked with specific reference to resilience are: —What procedures are included in your emergency action plan? [Preparedness] —To date, what smart grid technologies have you incorporated into your distribution system? [Mitigation Measures] —Does the control and dispatch center use a distribution management system? [Response Capabilities] —What service restoration method(s) does the utility use? [Recovery Mechanisms] For each of these questions there will be a set of distinct answers. This method of construction allows consistent, objective information collection for all entities interested in using the model. In cooperation with the utility industry, a working group will be created to assist in determining the direction of the program. II. Request for Information In order to develop this pilot project, DOE would like input from resilience experts in the electric distribution industry to gauge the interest and usefulness of the proposed decision support tool. This RFI provides the public and industry stakeholders with the opportunity to provide their view on the development of a resilience tool. The intent of this RFI is to solicit information pertinent to the need and viability of the resilience assessment tool. The information obtained is meant to be used by DOE for tool design and strategy development purposes. In your comments, please reference the question(s) to which you are responding, as well as provide other pertinent information. tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES A. Resilience Assessment Tool Need (1) Would a resilience assessment tool be of interest for electric distribution utilities? (2) What would you like to see in such a model should it exist (i.e., functionality, presentation, accessibility?) B. Resilience Tool Criteria/Domains There are four key domains proposed for resilience: preparedness, mitigation measures, response and recovery. Each of these components has subcomponents as detailed below: a. Preparedness: Awareness and Planning. b. Mitigation Measures: Extreme Weather Mitigation, Utility Mitigation, and Dependencies Mitigation. VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:30 Jun 30, 2015 Jkt 235001 c. Response Capabilities: Internal Capabilities and External Capabilities. d. Recovery Mechanisms: Resource Restoration Agreements and Utility Service Restoration. (3) Do these components and subcomponents make sense as contributors to electric distribution system resilience? (4) What is missing, or should be taken away? C. Data Protection (5) What are your concerns about data protection if asked to submit anonymous aggregate data for a national average for electric distribution resilience? (6) Data protection is recognized as an important consideration for utility participation in such an assessment model. What are your opinions and recommendations on data protection? D. Working Group Participation (7) Would your utility be willing to participate in a working group intent on constructing the relative importance of the different components and subcomponents to the overall resilience of the system? Who would be the appropriate person within your utility to participate in such a working group? (8) Are there others who you would suggest to provide early feedback on tool development? (9) Is your utility interested in being part of a demonstration or pilot during early testing? E. Other Feedback Additional comments that may not be captured in replies these questions, but are considered relevant by respondents are highly encouraged. Authority: Presidential Policy Directive-21. Issued at Washington, DC, on June 25, 2015. Patricia A. Hoffman, Assistant Secretary, Department of Energy, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. [FR Doc. 2015–16186 Filed 6–30–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY [OE Docket No. EA–411] Application to Export Electric Energy; Targray Americas Inc. Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, DOE. ACTION: Notice of application. AGENCY: Targray Americas Inc. (Targray) has applied for authority to transmit electric energy from the United SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 37607 States to Canada pursuant to section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act. DATES: Comments, protests, or motions to intervene must be submitted on or before July 31, 2015. ADDRESSES: Comments, protests, motions to intervene, or requests for more information should be addressed to: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, Mail Code: OE–20, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585–0350. Because of delays in handling conventional mail, it is recommended that documents be transmitted by overnight mail, by electronic mail to Electricity.Exports@ hq.doe.gov, or by facsimile to 202–586– 8008. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Exports of electricity from the United States to a foreign country are regulated by the Department of Energy (DOE) pursuant to sections 301(b) and 402(f) of the Department of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7151(b), 7172(f)) and require authorization under section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824a(e)). On May 29, 2015, DOE received an application from Targray for authority to transmit electric energy from the United States to Canada as a power marketer for five years using existing international transmission facilities. In its application, Targray states that it does not own or control any electric generation or transmission facilities, and it does not have a franchised service area. Targray states that it has applied for market-based rate authority from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to engage in the sale and purchase of electric energy to and from Independent System Operators and Regional Transmission Organizations. As such, the electric energy that Targray proposes to export to Canada would be surplus energy purchased from third parties such as power marketers, independent power producers, electric utilities, and Federal power marketing agencies pursuant to voluntary agreements. The existing international transmission facilities to be utilized by Targray have previously been authorized by Presidential permits issued pursuant to Executive Order 10485, as amended, and are appropriate for open access transmission by third parties. Procedural Matters: Any person desiring to be heard in this proceeding should file a comment or protest to the application at the address provided above. Protests should be filed in accordance with Rule 211 of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) E:\FR\FM\01JYN1.SGM 01JYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 126 (Wednesday, July 1, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37606-37607]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-16186]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Electric Grid Resilience Self-Assessment Tool for Distribution 
System

AGENCY: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. 
Department of Energy.

ACTION: Request for Information.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity Delivery 
and Energy Reliability (OE) is seeking comments and information from 
interested parties to inform the development of a pilot project 
concerning an interactive self-assessment tool to understand the 
relative resilience level of national electric grid distribution 
systems to extreme weather events. An interactive tool could be used by 
distribution utilities to identify opportunities for enhancing 
resilience with new technologies and/or procedures to support 
investment planning and related tariff filings. The focus of this 
Request for Information (RFI) is on the design and implementation of 
the interactive self-assessment resilience tool.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 17, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Comments can be submitted by any of the following methods 
and must be identified by ``EGRtool''. By email: EGRtool@hq.doe.gov . 
Include ``EGRtool'' in the subject line of the message. By mail: Dan 
Ton, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. 
Department of Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 6E-092, 1000 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585. Note: Delivery of the 
U.S. Postal Service mail to DOE may be delayed by several weeks due to 
security screening. DOE, therefore, encourages those wishing to comment 
to submit comments electronically by email.
    For additional information, please contact Dan Ton, Office of 
Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. Department of Energy, 
1000 Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20585; Telephone: (202) 586-
4618; email: EGRtool@hq.doe.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    With the release of Presidential Policy Directive 21 (PPD-21), the 
nation has started to focus in earnest on the resilience of our 
critical infrastructure. In the face of the increasing extreme weather 
events and other stresses or disturbances, the resilience of critical 
infrastructure, especially the energy infrastructure, has become 
paramount. Building upon the insights that have been gained through the 
development of the Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model, the 
Electricity Subsector Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model, and the 
Smart Grid Maturity Model, DOE-OE would like to build a complementary 
capability regarding the resilience of electric distribution 
infrastructure.
    For the purposes of this RFI, the definition of resilience is ``the 
ability of an entity--e.g., asset, organization, community, region--to 
anticipate, resist, absorb, respond to, adapt to, and recover from a 
disturbance.'' \1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Carlson, L., et al., 2012, Resilience Theory and 
Applications, Argonne National Laboratory, Decision and Information 
Sciences Division, ANL/DIS-12-1, Argonne, Ill, USA, available at 
https://www.dis.anl.gov/pubs/72218.pdf (accessed April 9, 2015).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This definition provides the framework for four domains that can be 
used to understand the current level of resilience of distribution 
system infrastructure. Through these domains, distribution utilities 
will be able to make informed decisions on strengthening resiliency, 
based on identifiable areas where future investments in new 
technologies and operating procedures could be made. The four domains 
are:
    Preparedness: Activities undertaken by an entity in anticipation of 
the threats/hazards, and the possible consequences, to which it is 
subject.
    Mitigation Measures: Characterize the facility's capabilities to 
resist a threat/hazard or to absorb the consequences from the threat/
hazard.
    Response Capabilities: Immediate and ongoing activities, tasks, 
programs, and systems that have been undertaken or developed to respond 
and adapt to the adverse effects of an event.
    Recovery Mechanisms: Activities and programs designed to be 
effective and efficient in returning operating conditions to a level 
that is acceptable to the entity.

[[Page 37607]]

    Underneath all four domains lie questions that contains specific 
information for each of the domains. Examples of questions that can be 
asked with specific reference to resilience are:

--What procedures are included in your emergency action plan? 
[Preparedness]
--To date, what smart grid technologies have you incorporated into your 
distribution system? [Mitigation Measures]
--Does the control and dispatch center use a distribution management 
system? [Response Capabilities]
--What service restoration method(s) does the utility use? [Recovery 
Mechanisms]
    For each of these questions there will be a set of distinct 
answers. This method of construction allows consistent, objective 
information collection for all entities interested in using the model. 
In cooperation with the utility industry, a working group will be 
created to assist in determining the direction of the program.

II. Request for Information

    In order to develop this pilot project, DOE would like input from 
resilience experts in the electric distribution industry to gauge the 
interest and usefulness of the proposed decision support tool. This RFI 
provides the public and industry stakeholders with the opportunity to 
provide their view on the development of a resilience tool. The intent 
of this RFI is to solicit information pertinent to the need and 
viability of the resilience assessment tool. The information obtained 
is meant to be used by DOE for tool design and strategy development 
purposes. In your comments, please reference the question(s) to which 
you are responding, as well as provide other pertinent information.

A. Resilience Assessment Tool Need

    (1) Would a resilience assessment tool be of interest for electric 
distribution utilities?
    (2) What would you like to see in such a model should it exist 
(i.e., functionality, presentation, accessibility?)

B. Resilience Tool Criteria/Domains

    There are four key domains proposed for resilience: preparedness, 
mitigation measures, response and recovery. Each of these components 
has subcomponents as detailed below:
    a. Preparedness: Awareness and Planning.
    b. Mitigation Measures: Extreme Weather Mitigation, Utility 
Mitigation, and Dependencies Mitigation.
    c. Response Capabilities: Internal Capabilities and External 
Capabilities.
    d. Recovery Mechanisms: Resource Restoration Agreements and Utility 
Service Restoration.
    (3) Do these components and subcomponents make sense as 
contributors to electric distribution system resilience?
    (4) What is missing, or should be taken away?

C. Data Protection

    (5) What are your concerns about data protection if asked to submit 
anonymous aggregate data for a national average for electric 
distribution resilience?
    (6) Data protection is recognized as an important consideration for 
utility participation in such an assessment model. What are your 
opinions and recommendations on data protection?

D. Working Group Participation

    (7) Would your utility be willing to participate in a working group 
intent on constructing the relative importance of the different 
components and subcomponents to the overall resilience of the system? 
Who would be the appropriate person within your utility to participate 
in such a working group?
    (8) Are there others who you would suggest to provide early 
feedback on tool development?
    (9) Is your utility interested in being part of a demonstration or 
pilot during early testing?

E. Other Feedback

    Additional comments that may not be captured in replies these 
questions, but are considered relevant by respondents are highly 
encouraged.

    Authority: Presidential Policy Directive-21.

    Issued at Washington, DC, on June 25, 2015.
Patricia A. Hoffman,
Assistant Secretary, Department of Energy, Office of Electricity 
Delivery and Energy Reliability.
[FR Doc. 2015-16186 Filed 6-30-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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