Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public Utilities, 51654-51659 [2018-22074]

Download as PDF 51654 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 198 / Friday, October 12, 2018 / Proposed Rules assessed after January 15, 2019, whose associated violations occurred on or after November 2, 2015.’’ The Bureau requests comment on this proposed change and all aspects of this proposal. II. Legal Authority and Proposed Effective Date The Bureau issues this proposal under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990,9 as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 10 and further amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015,11 which requires the Bureau to adjust for inflation the civil penalties within its jurisdiction according to a statutorily prescribed formula. The Bureau proposes to issue a final rule with an effective date no sooner than January 15, 2019. The Bureau believes the effective date would coincide with, or occur after, the effective date of a 2019 annual adjustment by the Bureau under the Act.12 The Bureau seeks comment on whether this proposed approach is appropriate. khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with PROPOSAL III. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) The RFA generally requires an agency to conduct an initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA) and a final regulatory flexibility analysis (FRFA) of any rule subject to notice-and-comment rulemaking requirements. An IRFA or FRFA is not required if the agency certifies that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.13 The Bureau also is subject to certain additional procedures under the RFA involving the convening of a panel to consult with small business representatives prior to proposing a rule for which an IRFA is required.14 An IRFA is not required for this proposal because if adopted it would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. If adopted as proposed, the rule simply specifies that increased penalty amounts apply only to violations that occurred on or after November 2, 2015, rather than also to violations that occurred prior to November 2, 2015. Because it would limit the civil penalties covered persons may pay, the 9 Public Law 101–410, 104 Stat. 890. Law 104–134, section 31001(s)(1), 110 Stat. 1321, 1321–373. 11 Public Law 114–74, section 701, 129 Stat. 584, 599. 12 The Administrative Procedure Act generally requires an agency to publish a rule at least 30 days before its effective date. See 5 U.S.C. 553(d). 13 See 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. 14 See 5 U.S.C. 609. 10 Public VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:46 Oct 11, 2018 Jkt 247001 proposed rule would not impose any additional costs on them. Nor does the rule impose any new, affirmative duty on any small entity or change any existing requirements on small entities, and thus no small entity who is currently complying with the laws that the Bureau enforces will incur any expense from the amended rule. Accordingly, the Bureau’s Acting Director, by signing below, certifies that this proposal, if adopted, would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The Bureau requests comment on the analysis above and requests any relevant data. IV. Paperwork Reduction Act The Bureau has determined that the proposed rule does not impose any new or revise any existing recordkeeping, reporting, or disclosure requirements on covered entities or members of the public that would be collections of information requiring approval by OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).15 The Bureau welcomes comments on this determination or any other aspects of this proposal for purposes of the PRA. List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 1083 Administrative practice and procedure, Consumer protection, Penalties. Authority and Issuance For the reasons set forth above, the Bureau proposes to amend 12 CFR part 1083, as set forth below: PART 1083—CIVIL PENALTY ADJUSTMENTS 1. The authority citation for part 1083 continues to read as follows: ■ Authority: 12 U.S.C. 2609(d); 12 U.S.C. 5113(d)(2); 12 U.S.C. 5565(c); 15 U.S.C. 1639e(k); 15 U.S.C. 1717a(a); 28 U.S.C. 2461 note. 2. Section 1083.1(b) is revised to read as follows: ■ § 1083.1 Adjustments of civil penalty amounts. * * * * * (b) The adjustments in paragraph (a) of this section shall apply to civil penalties assessed after January 15, 2019, whose associated violations occurred on or after November 2, 2015. 15 44 PO 00000 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Frm 00002 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 Dated: October 5, 2018. Mick Mulvaney, Acting Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. [FR Doc. 2018–22217 Filed 10–11–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 18 CFR Parts 2 and 38 [Docket No. RM05–5–026] Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public Utilities Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. AGENCY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) proposes to remove the incorporation by reference of the Wholesale Electric Quadrant (WEQ) WEQ–006 Time Error Correction Business Practice Standards as adopted by the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) in its WEQ Version 003.0 Businesses Practice Standards. The WEQ–006 Manual Time Error Correction Business Practice Standards previously defined the commercial based procedures to be used for reducing time error to keep the system’s time within acceptable limits of true time. NAESB’s latest version of its Business Practice Standards retires and eliminates its Manual Time Error Correction Business Practice Standards to correspond with the removal of the Time Error Correction requirements of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), which was approved by the Commission in 2017. The Commission also proposes to incorporate by reference Standard WEQ–000 (Version 003.2), which eliminates the definitions of ‘‘Time Error’’ and ‘‘Time Error Correction’’ as well as making unrelated minor corrections. SUMMARY: DATES: Comments are due November 13, 2018. Comments, identified by Docket No. RM05–5–026, may be filed in the following ways: • Electronic Filing through https:// www.ferc.gov. Documents created electronically using word processing software should be filed in native applications or print-to-PDF format and not in a scanned format. • Mail/Hand Delivery: Those unable to file electronically may mail or hand- ADDRESSES: E:\FR\FM\12OCP1.SGM 12OCP1 51655 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 198 / Friday, October 12, 2018 / Proposed Rules deliver comments to: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426. Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the Comment Procedures Section of this document. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael P. Lee (technical issues), Office of Energy Policy and Innovation, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502– 6548 Gary D. Cohen (legal issues), Office of the General Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502–8321 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Table of Contents Paragraph Nos. I. Background ................................................................................................................................................................................ II. Discussion ................................................................................................................................................................................ III. Implementation ....................................................................................................................................................................... IV. Notice of Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards ................................................................................................................ V. Incorporation By Reference ..................................................................................................................................................... VI. Information Collection Statement .......................................................................................................................................... VII. Environmental Analysis ........................................................................................................................................................ VIII. Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification .............................................................................................................................. IX. Comment Procedures ............................................................................................................................................................. X. Document Availability ............................................................................................................................................................ 1. In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) proposes to remove its incorporation by reference of the Wholesale Electric Quadrant (WEQ) WEQ–006 Time Error Correction Business Practice Standards as adopted by the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) in its WEQ Version 003.0 Businesses Practice Standards.1 NAESB adopted the Manual Time Error Correction Business Practice Standard to correspond with a similar reliability standard adopted by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). These Time Error Correction standards defined the commercial methods used for reducing time error to keep the system’s time within acceptable limits of true time. NERC retired its Time Error Correction reliability standard (BAL–004–0) and the Commission approved that retirement in a letter order issued on January 18, 2017 in Docket No. RD17– 1–000. To maintain parallel treatment with NERC’s reliability standards, NAESB, in Version 003.2 of its standards, retired and eliminated the standards contained in its WEQ–006 Manual Time Error Correction Business Practice Standards.2 khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with PROPOSAL I. Background 2. NAESB is a non-profit standards development organization that serves as an industry forum for the development of business practice standards and communication protocols for the wholesale and retail natural gas and 1 NAESB’s WEQ Version 003.1 and WEQ Version 003.2 Business Practice Standards are currently pending Commission review. 2 NAESB notified the Commission that it had adopted Version 003.2 of its standards on December 7, 2018, in Docket No. RM05–5–000. VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:46 Oct 11, 2018 Jkt 247001 electricity industry sectors. Since 1995, NAESB and its predecessor, the Gas Industry Standards Board (GISB), have been accredited members of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), complying with ANSI’s requirements that its standards reflect a consensus of the affected industries.3 3. NAESB supports three quadrants of the gas and electric industries— wholesale gas, wholesale electric, and retail markets quadrants.4 NAESB’s standards include business practices intended to standardize and streamline the transactional processes of the natural gas and electric industries, as well as communication protocols and related standards designed to improve the efficiency of communication within each industry. All participants in the gas and electric industries are eligible to join NAESB and participate in standards development. 4. NAESB develops its standards under a consensus process so that the standards draw support from a wide range of industry members. NAESB’s procedures are designed to ensure that all persons choosing to participate can have input into the development of a standard, regardless of whether they are 3 Prior to the establishment of NAESB in 2001, the Commission’s development of business practice standards for the wholesale electric industry was aided by two ad hoc industry working groups established during the rulemaking proceeding that resulted in issuance of Order No. 889 and the creation of the Open Access Same-Time Information System (OASIS), while GISB’s efforts involved the development of business practice standards for the wholesale natural gas industry. Once formally established, NAESB took over the standards development previously handled by GISB and by the electric working groups. 4 The retail gas quadrant and the retail electric quadrant were combined into the retail markets quadrant. NAESB continues to refer to these working groups as ‘‘quadrants’’ even though there are now only three quadrants. PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 2 5 8 9 11 16 23 24 28 32 members of NAESB, and each standard NAESB adopts is supported by a consensus of the relevant industry segments. Standards that fail to gain consensus support are not adopted. NAESB’s consistent practice has been to submit a report to the Commission after it has made revisions to existing business practice standards or has developed and adopted new business practice standards. NAESB has submitted a report to the Commission to reserve specific standards in conjunction with the retirement of corresponding NERC standards. NAESB’s standards are voluntary standards, which become mandatory for public utilities upon incorporation by reference by the Commission. II. Discussion 5. As discussed below, we propose to revise the Commission’s regulations at 18 CFR 38.1(b)) to remove the standard WEQ–006 governing the business practices for Time Error Correction. NAESB approved this removal on December 8, 2017. We also propose to incorporate corresponding modifications to WEQ–000, Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Definition of Terms Business Practice Standards, which were adopted by NAESB on that same date. 6. The WEQ–000 Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Definition of Terms standards define the terms used throughout the WEQ Business Practice Standards. Consistent with NAESB’s removal of Standard WEQ–006 from the WEQ Version 003.2 Business Practice Standards, NAESB also deleted the terms ‘‘Time Error’’ and ‘‘Time Error Correction’’ from the WEQ–000 standards as well as making other minor E:\FR\FM\12OCP1.SGM 12OCP1 51656 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 198 / Friday, October 12, 2018 / Proposed Rules corrections to defined terms unrelated to time error correction. 7. The WEQ–006 Manual Time Error Correction Business Practice Standards defines the commercial based procedures to be used for reducing time error to within acceptable limits of true time. However, NERC and NAESB are both in agreement that it is now appropriate to retire these standards. NERC decided to retire the Reliability Standard BAL–004–0 (Time Error Correction), since the standard does not materially support reliability of the Bulk Power System and has been superseded by newer standards since Order No. 693,5 rendering Reliability Standard BAL–004–0 redundant. NERC took the first step in accomplishing this by submitting for Commission approval a revision to Reliability Standards BAL– 004–0 to retire the standard but reserves the title of the standard as a placeholder. The Commission approved this NERC action in a letter order issued in Docket No. RD17–1–000 on January 18, 2017. After the Commission’s approval of NERC’s retirement of Reliability Standards BAL–004–0, NAESB submitted a parallel revision to the WEQ Version 003.2 Business Practice Standards in which it retired and reserved all the standards contained in Standard WEQ–006, although NAESB retained the standard number WEQ–006 and the title ‘‘Manual Time Error Correction.’’ 6 NAESB also made corresponding revisions to the definitions in Standard WEQ–000. Since NAESB has retired all of the standards governing Manual Time Error Correction, the Commission proposes to remove the NAESB standard WEQ–006 from its incorporation by reference, and to adopt NAESB’s revisions to its definitions to ensure consistency between the NERC and NAESB standards. khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with PROPOSAL III. Implementation 8. We do not propose to require public utilities to make filings upon adoption of this proposal to implement the removal of WEQ–006 Manual Time Error Correction. We generally require 5 Mandatory Reliability Standards for the BulkPower System, Order No. 693, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,242, PP 382–386, order on reh’g, Order No. 693–A, 120 FERC ¶ 61,053 (2007). Since issuance of Order No. 693 in 2007, NERC has periodically updated and revised its reliability standards. The standards were most recently updated on July 3, 2018. 6 NERC replaced the manual time error correction standard with a guideline for automatic time error correction that would manage continued adherence to a frequency approximating 60 Hertz (Hz) over long-term averages. NAESB did not receive a request to adopt, and has not adopted, any business practice standards to complement NERC’s automatic time error guideline. VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:46 Oct 11, 2018 Jkt 247001 public utilities to make compliance filings revising their tariffs to acknowledge their responsibility to comply with the revised standards or include a provision in their tariffs stating that they will comply with the latest version of the NAESB business practice standards as incorporated by reference by the Commission.7 Because we are only proposing to remove a single standard, we see no necessity for those utilities that make tariff filings to incorporate NAESB standards upon adoption of this proposal. Such filings can be made after the Commission addresses the remainder of the standards included in WEQ Version 003.2 of the standards. IV. Notice of Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards 9. The retirement and reservation of the NAESB WEQ–006 Manual Time Error Correction Business Practice Standards was adopted by NAESB under NAESB’s consensus procedures.8 As the Commission found in Order No. 676, adoption of consensus standards is appropriate because the consensus process helps ensure the reasonableness of the standards by requiring that the standards draw support from a broad spectrum of all segments of the industry. Moreover, since the industry itself has to conduct business under these standards, the Commission’s regulations should reflect those standards that have the widest possible support. In section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995, Congress affirmatively requires federal agencies to use technical standards developed by voluntary consensus standards organizations, like NAESB, as a means to carry out policy objectives or activities unless use of such standards would be inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise impractical.9 10. Office of Management and Budget Circular A–119 (section 11) (February 10, 1998) provides that Federal Agencies should publish a request for comment in a NOPR when the agency is seeking to issue or revise a regulation proposing to adopt a voluntary 7 See Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public Utilities, Order No. 676–H, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,359, at P 71. 8 Under this process, to be approved a standard must receive a super-majority vote of 67 percent of the members of the WEQ’s Executive Committee with support from at least 40 percent from each of the five industry segments—transmission, generation, marketer/brokers, distribution/load serving entities, and end users. For final approval, 67 percent of the WEQ’s general membership must ratify the standards. 9 Public Law 104–113, 12(d), 110 Stat. 775 (1996), 15 U.S.C. 272 note (1997). PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 consensus standard or a governmentunique standard. In this NOPR, the Commission is proposing to incorporate by reference NAESB’s revised WEQ–006 Manual Time Error Correction Business Practice Standards, which retire and ‘‘reserve’’ these standards. V. Incorporation by Reference 11. The Office of the Federal Register requires agencies incorporating material by reference in final rules to discuss, in the preamble of the final rule, the ways that the materials it incorporates by reference are reasonably available to interested parties and how interested parties can obtain the materials.10 The regulations also require agencies to summarize, in the preamble of the final rule, the material it incorporates by reference. 12. Prior to NAESB’s adoption of the WEQ Version 003.2 Business Practice Standards, earlier iterations of the NAESB WEQ–006 Manual Time Error Correction Business Practice Standards defined the commercial procedures to be used for reducing time error to keep the system’s time within acceptable limits of true time. However, in the latest version of this standard (the version of Standard WEQ–006 appearing in the WEQ Version 003.2 Business Practice Standards) NAESB has retired and eliminated these standards. And in this NOPR, we propose to incorporate by reference the version of these standards that retires and reserves Standard WEQ–006. 13. We also propose in this NOPR to incorporate by reference the revised WEQ–000 that deletes the definitions of the terms ‘‘Time Error’’ and ‘‘Time Error Correction’’ as well as making other minor corrections to defined terms unrelated to time error correction. The WEQ–000 Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Definition of Terms Business Practice Standards provide a single location for all abbreviations, acronyms, and defined terms referenced in the WEQ Business Practice Standards. These standards provide common nomenclature for terms within the wholesale electric industry, reducing confusion and opportunities for misinterpretation or misunderstandings among industry participants. 14. Our regulations provide that copies of the NAESB standards incorporated by reference may be obtained from the North American Energy Standards Board, 801 Travis Street, Suite 1675, Houston, TX 77002, Phone: (713) 356–0060. NAESB’s website is located at https:// 10 1 CFR 51.5. See Incorporation by Reference, 79 FR 66267 (Nov. 7, 2014). E:\FR\FM\12OCP1.SGM 12OCP1 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 198 / Friday, October 12, 2018 / Proposed Rules www.naesb.org/. Copies of the standards may be inspected at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426, Phone: (202) 502–8371, https://www.ferc.gov.11 15. NAESB is a private consensus standards developer that develops voluntary wholesale and retail standards related to the energy industry. The procedures used by NAESB make its standards reasonably available to those affected by the Commission regulations, which generally is comprised of entities that have the means to acquire the information they need to effectively participate in Commission proceedings.12 NAESB provides a free electronic read-only version of the standards for a three business day period or, in the case of a regulatory comment period, through the end of the comment period.13 Participants can join NAESB, for an annual membership cost of $7,000, which entitles them to full participation in NAESB and enables them to obtain these standards at no additional cost.14 Non-members may obtain a complete set of Standards Manuals, Booklets, and Contracts on CD for $2,000 and the Individual Standards Manual or Booklets for each standard by email for $250 per manual or booklet.15 In addition, NAESB considers requests for waivers of the charges on a case by case basis based on need. VI. Information Collection Statement 16. The collection of information contained in this proposed rule is subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under section 3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507(d).16 OMB’s regulations require approval of certain information collection requirements imposed by agency rules.17 Upon approval of a collection(s) of information, OMB will assign an OMB control number and an expiration date. Respondents subject to the filing requirements of this rule will not be penalized for failing to respond to the collection of information unless the collection of information displays a valid OMB control number. 17. The Commission solicits comments on the Commission’s need for this information, whether the 51657 information will have practical utility, the accuracy of the provided burden estimates, ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, and any suggested methods for minimizing respondents’ burden, including the use of automated information techniques. We propose that the requirement to make compliance tariff filings (included in FERC–516) for the WEQ–006 Business Practice Standards be deferred until final action is taken by the Commission on the entirety of the WEQ Version 003.2 Business Practice Standards for those who continue to opt to specify a specific version of the standards in their tariffs. Therefore, changes to the burden and cost of the FERC–516 (Electric Rate Schedules and Tariff Filings, OMB Control No. 1902–0096) are not being proposed at this time. 18. The following estimates for burden and cost 18 are based on the projected savings due to the retirement and reservation of the WEQ–006 Manual Time Error Correction Business Practice Standards, as adopted by NAESB and proposed to be incorporated by reference in this NOPR. PROPOSED BURDEN REDUCTION IN NOPR IN DOCKET NO. RM05–5–026 19 Number of respondents Annual number of responses per respondent Total number of responses Average burden (hrs.) & cost ($) per response Total annual burden hrs. & total annual cost ($) (1) (2) (1) * (2) = (3) (4) (3) * (4) = (5) FERC–717 20 21 (retirement of WEQ–006 Time Error Correction Standard). Title: FERC–717, Open Access Same Time Information System and Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public Utilities. Action: Proposed revision (reduction) to an existing collection. OMB Control No.: 1902–0173. 11 18 CFR 284.12. a private, consensus standards developer, NAESB needs the funds obtained from its membership fees and sales of its standards to finance the organization. The parties affected by these Commission regulations generally are highly sophisticated and have the means to acquire the information they need to effectively participate in Commission proceedings. 13 Procedures for non-members to evaluate work products before purchasing are available at https:// www.naesb.org/misc/NAESB_Nonmember_ Evaluation.pdf. See Incorporation by Reference, 79 FR at 66271, n.51 & 53 (Nov. 7, 2014) (citing to NAESB’s procedure of providing ‘‘no-cost, no-print electronic access,’’ NAESB Comment at 1, https:// www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=OFR2013-0001-0023). khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with PROPOSAL 12 As VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:42 Oct 11, 2018 Jkt 247001 170 1 170 1 hr.; $79 (reduction) 170 hours; $13,430 (reduction). Respondents: Business or other for profit. Frequency of Responses: One-time implementation (business procedures, capital/start-up). 19. Necessity of the Information: This proposed rule, if implemented would update the Commission’s current business practice and communication standards to retire and remove Standard WEQ–006 on Manual Time Error Correction to be consistent with NERC’s retirement of the corresponding reliability standard for Time Error Correction. In addition, we are also proposing to incorporate by reference the revised Standard WEQ–000 (Version 003.2) that deletes the definitions of 14 North American Energy Standards Board Membership Application, https://www.naesb.org/ pdf4/naesbapp.pdf. 15 NAESB Materials Order Form, https:// www.naesb.org//pdf/ordrform.pdf. 16 44 U.S.C. 3507(d). 17 5 CFR 1320.11. 18 The Commission staff estimates that industry is similarly situated in terms of hourly cost (for wages plus benefits). Based on the Commission’s FY (Fiscal Year) 2018 average cost (for wages plus benefits), $79.00/hour is used. 19 As noted above, changes to the FERC–516 are not proposed at this time. 20 FERC–717 (OMB Control No. 1902–0173) identifies the information collection associated with Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public Utilities. We estimate that the proposed retirement in this docket of WEQ–006 will reduce burden for each respondent by 1 hour. 21 This burden for FERC–717 was originally included in Order 676–H. At that time, we had an estimate of 132 respondents. Due to normal industry fluctuation (e.g., companies merging or splitting, going into or leaving the industry), the number of respondents is now 170. In Order 676–H (issued 9/18/2014), the estimated average hourly wage (plus benefits) was $72.67. For the calculations here, we are using today’s estimated hourly cost of $79.00/hour, as noted above. PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\12OCP1.SGM 12OCP1 khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with PROPOSAL 51658 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 198 / Friday, October 12, 2018 / Proposed Rules unnecessary and has not been prepared in this NOPR. ‘‘Time Error’’ and ‘‘Time Error Correction’’, as well as making unrelated minor corrections to the standard. 20. Internal Review: The Commission has reviewed the revised business practice standards and has made a preliminary determination that the proposed revisions that we propose here to incorporate by reference are both necessary and useful. In addition, the Commission has assured itself, by means of its internal review, that there is specific, objective support for the burden estimate associated with the information requirements. 21. Interested persons may obtain information on the reporting requirements by contacting the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of the Executive Director, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426 [Attn: Ellen Brown, email: DataClearance@ ferc.gov, phone: (202) 502–8663, fax: (202) 273–0873]. 22. Comments concerning the information collection proposed for revision in this NOPR and the associated burden estimate should be sent to the Commission in this docket, and by email to the Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs [Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission]. For security reasons, comments should be sent by email to OMB at the following email address: oira_submission@ omb.eop.gov. Please refer to OMB Control No. 1902–0173 in your submittal to OMB. 24. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) 25 generally requires a description and analysis of proposed rules that will have significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The RFA does not mandate any particular outcome in a rulemaking. It only requires consideration of alternatives that are less burdensome to small entities and an agency explanation of why alternatives were rejected. 25. The Small Business Administration (SBA) size standards for electric utilities is based on the number of employees, including affiliates. Under SBA’s standards, some transmission owners will fall under the following category and associated size threshold: Electric bulk power transmission and control, at 500 employees.26 26. The Commission estimates that 5 of the 170 respondents (or 3%) are small. The Commission estimates that the impact on each entity (large and small) is a proposed reduction or savings of $79.00 (or one hour). 27. Based on the above, the Commission certifies that implementation of the proposed Business Practice Standards will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. Accordingly, no initial regulatory flexibility analysis is required. VII. Environmental Analysis IX. Comment Procedures 23. The Commission is required to prepare an Environmental Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement for any action that may have a significant adverse effect on the human environment.22 The Commission has categorically excluded certain actions from these requirements as not having a significant effect on the human environment.23 The actions proposed here fall within categorical exclusions in the Commission’s regulations for rules that are clarifying, corrective, or procedural, for information gathering, analysis, and dissemination, and for sales, exchange, and transportation of electric power that requires no construction of facilities.24 Therefore, an environmental assessment is 28. The Commission invites interested persons to submit comments on the matters and issues proposed in this notice to be adopted, including any related matters or alternative proposals that commenters may wish to discuss. Comments are due November 13, 2018. Comments must refer to Docket No. RM05–5–026 and must include the commenter’s name, the organization they represent, if applicable, and their address in their comments. 29. The Commission encourages comments to be filed electronically via the eFiling link on the Commission’s website at https://www.ferc.gov. The Commission accepts most standard word processing formats. Documents created electronically using word processing software should be filed in native applications or print-to-PDF 22 Regulations Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, Order No. 486, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 30,783 (1987). 23 18 CFR 380.4. 24 See 18 CFR 380.4(a)(2)(ii), 380.4(a)(5), 380.4(a)(27). VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:46 Oct 11, 2018 Jkt 247001 VIII. Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification 25 5 U.S.C. 601–612. CFR 121.201, Sector 22 (Utilities), NAICS code 221121 (Electric Bulk Power Transmission and Control). 26 13 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 format and not in a scanned format. Commenters filing electronically do not need to make a paper filing. 30. Commenters that are not able to file comments electronically must send an original of their comments to: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426. 31. All comments will be placed in the Commission’s public files and may be viewed, printed, or downloaded remotely as described in the Document Availability section below. Commenters on this proposal are not required to serve copies of their comments on other commenters. X. Document Availability 32. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the internet through the Commission’s Home Page (https:// www.ferc.gov) and in the Commission’s Public Reference Room during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First Street NE, Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426. 33. From the Commission’s Home Page on the internet, this information is available on eLibrary. The full text of this document is available on eLibrary in PDF and Microsoft Word format for viewing, printing, and/or downloading. To access this document in eLibrary, type the docket number excluding the last three digits of this document in the docket number field. 34. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the Commission’s website during normal business hours from the Commission’s Online Support at (202) 502–6652 (toll free at 1–866–208–3676) or email at ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or the Public Reference Room at (202) 502–8371, TTY (202) 502–8659. Email the Public Reference Room at public.referenceroom@ferc.gov. List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 38 Incorporation by reference, Conflicts of interest, Electric power plants, Electric utilities, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. By direction of the Commission. Issued: October 4, 2018. Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary. In consideration of the foregoing, the Commission proposes to amend part 38, chapter I, title 18, Code of Federal Regulations, as follows: E:\FR\FM\12OCP1.SGM 12OCP1 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 198 / Friday, October 12, 2018 / Proposed Rules PART 38—STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC UTILITY BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS 1. The authority citation for part 38 continues to read as follows: ■ 2. Amend § 38.1, by revising paragraph (b)(1) and removing and reserving paragraph (b)(7) to read as follows: (b) * * * ■ khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with PROPOSAL 16:46 Oct 11, 2018 Jkt 247001 PO 00000 (1) WEQ–000, Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Definition of Terms (Version 003.2, Dec. 8, 2017); * * * * * (7) [Reserved] * * * * * [FR Doc. 2018–22074 Filed 10–11–18; 8:45 am] Authority: 16 U.S.C. 791–825r, 2601– 2645; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 7101–7352. VerDate Sep<11>2014 51659 BILLING CODE 6717–01–P Frm 00007 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 9990 E:\FR\FM\12OCP1.SGM 12OCP1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 198 (Friday, October 12, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51654-51659]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-22074]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

18 CFR Parts 2 and 38

[Docket No. RM05-5-026]


Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for 
Public Utilities

AGENCY:  Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy.

ACTION:  Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY:  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) 
proposes to remove the incorporation by reference of the Wholesale 
Electric Quadrant (WEQ) WEQ-006 Time Error Correction Business Practice 
Standards as adopted by the North American Energy Standards Board 
(NAESB) in its WEQ Version 003.0 Businesses Practice Standards. The 
WEQ-006 Manual Time Error Correction Business Practice Standards 
previously defined the commercial based procedures to be used for 
reducing time error to keep the system's time within acceptable limits 
of true time. NAESB's latest version of its Business Practice Standards 
retires and eliminates its Manual Time Error Correction Business 
Practice Standards to correspond with the removal of the Time Error 
Correction requirements of the North American Electric Reliability 
Corporation (NERC), which was approved by the Commission in 2017. The 
Commission also proposes to incorporate by reference Standard WEQ-000 
(Version 003.2), which eliminates the definitions of ``Time Error'' and 
``Time Error Correction'' as well as making unrelated minor 
corrections.

DATES:  Comments are due November 13, 2018.

ADDRESSES:  Comments, identified by Docket No. RM05-5-026, may be filed 
in the following ways:
     Electronic Filing through https://www.ferc.gov. Documents 
created electronically using word processing software should be filed 
in native applications or print-to-PDF format and not in a scanned 
format.
     Mail/Hand Delivery: Those unable to file electronically 
may mail or hand-

[[Page 51655]]

deliver comments to: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of 
the Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.
    Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments and 
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the Comment 
Procedures Section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
Michael P. Lee (technical issues), Office of Energy Policy and 
Innovation, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, 
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-6548
Gary D. Cohen (legal issues), Office of the General Counsel, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 
20426, (202) 502-8321

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents

 
                                                         Paragraph Nos.
 
I. Background........................................                  2
II. Discussion.......................................                  5
III. Implementation..................................                  8
IV. Notice of Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards...                  9
V. Incorporation By Reference........................                 11
VI. Information Collection Statement.................                 16
VII. Environmental Analysis..........................                 23
VIII. Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification.......                 24
IX. Comment Procedures...............................                 28
X. Document Availability.............................                 32
 

    1. In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR), the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission (Commission) proposes to remove its incorporation 
by reference of the Wholesale Electric Quadrant (WEQ) WEQ-006 Time 
Error Correction Business Practice Standards as adopted by the North 
American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) in its WEQ Version 003.0 
Businesses Practice Standards.\1\ NAESB adopted the Manual Time Error 
Correction Business Practice Standard to correspond with a similar 
reliability standard adopted by the North American Electric Reliability 
Corporation (NERC). These Time Error Correction standards defined the 
commercial methods used for reducing time error to keep the system's 
time within acceptable limits of true time. NERC retired its Time Error 
Correction reliability standard (BAL-004-0) and the Commission approved 
that retirement in a letter order issued on January 18, 2017 in Docket 
No. RD17-1-000. To maintain parallel treatment with NERC's reliability 
standards, NAESB, in Version 003.2 of its standards, retired and 
eliminated the standards contained in its WEQ-006 Manual Time Error 
Correction Business Practice Standards.\2\
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    \1\ NAESB's WEQ Version 003.1 and WEQ Version 003.2 Business 
Practice Standards are currently pending Commission review.
    \2\ NAESB notified the Commission that it had adopted Version 
003.2 of its standards on December 7, 2018, in Docket No. RM05-5-
000.
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I. Background

    2. NAESB is a non-profit standards development organization that 
serves as an industry forum for the development of business practice 
standards and communication protocols for the wholesale and retail 
natural gas and electricity industry sectors. Since 1995, NAESB and its 
predecessor, the Gas Industry Standards Board (GISB), have been 
accredited members of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), 
complying with ANSI's requirements that its standards reflect a 
consensus of the affected industries.\3\
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    \3\ Prior to the establishment of NAESB in 2001, the 
Commission's development of business practice standards for the 
wholesale electric industry was aided by two ad hoc industry working 
groups established during the rulemaking proceeding that resulted in 
issuance of Order No. 889 and the creation of the Open Access Same-
Time Information System (OASIS), while GISB's efforts involved the 
development of business practice standards for the wholesale natural 
gas industry. Once formally established, NAESB took over the 
standards development previously handled by GISB and by the electric 
working groups.
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    3. NAESB supports three quadrants of the gas and electric 
industries--wholesale gas, wholesale electric, and retail markets 
quadrants.\4\ NAESB's standards include business practices intended to 
standardize and streamline the transactional processes of the natural 
gas and electric industries, as well as communication protocols and 
related standards designed to improve the efficiency of communication 
within each industry. All participants in the gas and electric 
industries are eligible to join NAESB and participate in standards 
development.
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    \4\ The retail gas quadrant and the retail electric quadrant 
were combined into the retail markets quadrant. NAESB continues to 
refer to these working groups as ``quadrants'' even though there are 
now only three quadrants.
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    4. NAESB develops its standards under a consensus process so that 
the standards draw support from a wide range of industry members. 
NAESB's procedures are designed to ensure that all persons choosing to 
participate can have input into the development of a standard, 
regardless of whether they are members of NAESB, and each standard 
NAESB adopts is supported by a consensus of the relevant industry 
segments. Standards that fail to gain consensus support are not 
adopted. NAESB's consistent practice has been to submit a report to the 
Commission after it has made revisions to existing business practice 
standards or has developed and adopted new business practice standards. 
NAESB has submitted a report to the Commission to reserve specific 
standards in conjunction with the retirement of corresponding NERC 
standards. NAESB's standards are voluntary standards, which become 
mandatory for public utilities upon incorporation by reference by the 
Commission.

II. Discussion

    5. As discussed below, we propose to revise the Commission's 
regulations at 18 CFR 38.1(b)) to remove the standard WEQ-006 governing 
the business practices for Time Error Correction. NAESB approved this 
removal on December 8, 2017. We also propose to incorporate 
corresponding modifications to WEQ-000, Abbreviations, Acronyms, and 
Definition of Terms Business Practice Standards, which were adopted by 
NAESB on that same date.
    6. The WEQ-000 Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Definition of Terms 
standards define the terms used throughout the WEQ Business Practice 
Standards. Consistent with NAESB's removal of Standard WEQ-006 from the 
WEQ Version 003.2 Business Practice Standards, NAESB also deleted the 
terms ``Time Error'' and ``Time Error Correction'' from the WEQ-000 
standards as well as making other minor

[[Page 51656]]

corrections to defined terms unrelated to time error correction.
    7. The WEQ-006 Manual Time Error Correction Business Practice 
Standards defines the commercial based procedures to be used for 
reducing time error to within acceptable limits of true time. However, 
NERC and NAESB are both in agreement that it is now appropriate to 
retire these standards. NERC decided to retire the Reliability Standard 
BAL-004-0 (Time Error Correction), since the standard does not 
materially support reliability of the Bulk Power System and has been 
superseded by newer standards since Order No. 693,\5\ rendering 
Reliability Standard BAL-004-0 redundant. NERC took the first step in 
accomplishing this by submitting for Commission approval a revision to 
Reliability Standards BAL-004-0 to retire the standard but reserves the 
title of the standard as a placeholder. The Commission approved this 
NERC action in a letter order issued in Docket No. RD17-1-000 on 
January 18, 2017. After the Commission's approval of NERC's retirement 
of Reliability Standards BAL-004-0, NAESB submitted a parallel revision 
to the WEQ Version 003.2 Business Practice Standards in which it 
retired and reserved all the standards contained in Standard WEQ-006, 
although NAESB retained the standard number WEQ-006 and the title 
``Manual Time Error Correction.'' \6\ NAESB also made corresponding 
revisions to the definitions in Standard WEQ-000. Since NAESB has 
retired all of the standards governing Manual Time Error Correction, 
the Commission proposes to remove the NAESB standard WEQ-006 from its 
incorporation by reference, and to adopt NAESB's revisions to its 
definitions to ensure consistency between the NERC and NAESB standards.
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    \5\ Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System, 
Order No. 693, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,242, PP 382-386, order on 
reh'g, Order No. 693-A, 120 FERC ] 61,053 (2007). Since issuance of 
Order No. 693 in 2007, NERC has periodically updated and revised its 
reliability standards. The standards were most recently updated on 
July 3, 2018.
    \6\ NERC replaced the manual time error correction standard with 
a guideline for automatic time error correction that would manage 
continued adherence to a frequency approximating 60 Hertz (Hz) over 
long-term averages. NAESB did not receive a request to adopt, and 
has not adopted, any business practice standards to complement 
NERC's automatic time error guideline.
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III. Implementation

    8. We do not propose to require public utilities to make filings 
upon adoption of this proposal to implement the removal of WEQ-006 
Manual Time Error Correction. We generally require public utilities to 
make compliance filings revising their tariffs to acknowledge their 
responsibility to comply with the revised standards or include a 
provision in their tariffs stating that they will comply with the 
latest version of the NAESB business practice standards as incorporated 
by reference by the Commission.\7\ Because we are only proposing to 
remove a single standard, we see no necessity for those utilities that 
make tariff filings to incorporate NAESB standards upon adoption of 
this proposal. Such filings can be made after the Commission addresses 
the remainder of the standards included in WEQ Version 003.2 of the 
standards.
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    \7\ See Standards for Business Practices and Communication 
Protocols for Public Utilities, Order No. 676-H, FERC Stats. & Regs. 
] 31,359, at P 71.
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IV. Notice of Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards

    9. The retirement and reservation of the NAESB WEQ-006 Manual Time 
Error Correction Business Practice Standards was adopted by NAESB under 
NAESB's consensus procedures.\8\ As the Commission found in Order No. 
676, adoption of consensus standards is appropriate because the 
consensus process helps ensure the reasonableness of the standards by 
requiring that the standards draw support from a broad spectrum of all 
segments of the industry. Moreover, since the industry itself has to 
conduct business under these standards, the Commission's regulations 
should reflect those standards that have the widest possible support. 
In section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act of 1995, Congress affirmatively requires federal agencies to use 
technical standards developed by voluntary consensus standards 
organizations, like NAESB, as a means to carry out policy objectives or 
activities unless use of such standards would be inconsistent with 
applicable law or otherwise impractical.\9\
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    \8\ Under this process, to be approved a standard must receive a 
super-majority vote of 67 percent of the members of the WEQ's 
Executive Committee with support from at least 40 percent from each 
of the five industry segments--transmission, generation, marketer/
brokers, distribution/load serving entities, and end users. For 
final approval, 67 percent of the WEQ's general membership must 
ratify the standards.
    \9\ Public Law 104-113, 12(d), 110 Stat. 775 (1996), 15 U.S.C. 
272 note (1997).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    10. Office of Management and Budget Circular A-119 (section 11) 
(February 10, 1998) provides that Federal Agencies should publish a 
request for comment in a NOPR when the agency is seeking to issue or 
revise a regulation proposing to adopt a voluntary consensus standard 
or a government-unique standard. In this NOPR, the Commission is 
proposing to incorporate by reference NAESB's revised WEQ-006 Manual 
Time Error Correction Business Practice Standards, which retire and 
``reserve'' these standards.

V. Incorporation by Reference

    11. The Office of the Federal Register requires agencies 
incorporating material by reference in final rules to discuss, in the 
preamble of the final rule, the ways that the materials it incorporates 
by reference are reasonably available to interested parties and how 
interested parties can obtain the materials.\10\ The regulations also 
require agencies to summarize, in the preamble of the final rule, the 
material it incorporates by reference.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ 1 CFR 51.5. See Incorporation by Reference, 79 FR 66267 
(Nov. 7, 2014).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    12. Prior to NAESB's adoption of the WEQ Version 003.2 Business 
Practice Standards, earlier iterations of the NAESB WEQ-006 Manual Time 
Error Correction Business Practice Standards defined the commercial 
procedures to be used for reducing time error to keep the system's time 
within acceptable limits of true time. However, in the latest version 
of this standard (the version of Standard WEQ-006 appearing in the WEQ 
Version 003.2 Business Practice Standards) NAESB has retired and 
eliminated these standards. And in this NOPR, we propose to incorporate 
by reference the version of these standards that retires and reserves 
Standard WEQ-006.
    13. We also propose in this NOPR to incorporate by reference the 
revised WEQ-000 that deletes the definitions of the terms ``Time 
Error'' and ``Time Error Correction'' as well as making other minor 
corrections to defined terms unrelated to time error correction. The 
WEQ-000 Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Definition of Terms Business 
Practice Standards provide a single location for all abbreviations, 
acronyms, and defined terms referenced in the WEQ Business Practice 
Standards. These standards provide common nomenclature for terms within 
the wholesale electric industry, reducing confusion and opportunities 
for misinterpretation or misunderstandings among industry participants.
    14. Our regulations provide that copies of the NAESB standards 
incorporated by reference may be obtained from the North American 
Energy Standards Board, 801 Travis Street, Suite 1675, Houston, TX 
77002, Phone: (713) 356-0060. NAESB's website is located at https://

[[Page 51657]]

www.naesb.org/. Copies of the standards may be inspected at the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, Public Reference and Files Maintenance 
Branch, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426, Phone: (202) 502-
8371, https://www.ferc.gov.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ 18 CFR 284.12.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    15. NAESB is a private consensus standards developer that develops 
voluntary wholesale and retail standards related to the energy 
industry. The procedures used by NAESB make its standards reasonably 
available to those affected by the Commission regulations, which 
generally is comprised of entities that have the means to acquire the 
information they need to effectively participate in Commission 
proceedings.\12\ NAESB provides a free electronic read-only version of 
the standards for a three business day period or, in the case of a 
regulatory comment period, through the end of the comment period.\13\ 
Participants can join NAESB, for an annual membership cost of $7,000, 
which entitles them to full participation in NAESB and enables them to 
obtain these standards at no additional cost.\14\ Non-members may 
obtain a complete set of Standards Manuals, Booklets, and Contracts on 
CD for $2,000 and the Individual Standards Manual or Booklets for each 
standard by email for $250 per manual or booklet.\15\ In addition, 
NAESB considers requests for waivers of the charges on a case by case 
basis based on need.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ As a private, consensus standards developer, NAESB needs 
the funds obtained from its membership fees and sales of its 
standards to finance the organization. The parties affected by these 
Commission regulations generally are highly sophisticated and have 
the means to acquire the information they need to effectively 
participate in Commission proceedings.
    \13\ Procedures for non-members to evaluate work products before 
purchasing are available at https://www.naesb.org/misc/NAESB_Nonmember_Evaluation.pdf. See Incorporation by Reference, 79 
FR at 66271, n.51 & 53 (Nov. 7, 2014) (citing to NAESB's procedure 
of providing ``no-cost, no-print electronic access,'' NAESB Comment 
at 1, https://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=OFR-2013-0001-
0023).
    \14\ North American Energy Standards Board Membership 
Application, https://www.naesb.org/pdf4/naesbapp.pdf.
    \15\ NAESB Materials Order Form, https://www.naesb.org//pdf/ordrform.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

VI. Information Collection Statement

    16. The collection of information contained in this proposed rule 
is subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under 
section 3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 
3507(d).\16\ OMB's regulations require approval of certain information 
collection requirements imposed by agency rules.\17\ Upon approval of a 
collection(s) of information, OMB will assign an OMB control number and 
an expiration date. Respondents subject to the filing requirements of 
this rule will not be penalized for failing to respond to the 
collection of information unless the collection of information displays 
a valid OMB control number.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ 44 U.S.C. 3507(d).
    \17\ 5 CFR 1320.11.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    17. The Commission solicits comments on the Commission's need for 
this information, whether the information will have practical utility, 
the accuracy of the provided burden estimates, ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, and 
any suggested methods for minimizing respondents' burden, including the 
use of automated information techniques. We propose that the 
requirement to make compliance tariff filings (included in FERC-516) 
for the WEQ-006 Business Practice Standards be deferred until final 
action is taken by the Commission on the entirety of the WEQ Version 
003.2 Business Practice Standards for those who continue to opt to 
specify a specific version of the standards in their tariffs. 
Therefore, changes to the burden and cost of the FERC-516 (Electric 
Rate Schedules and Tariff Filings, OMB Control No. 1902-0096) are not 
being proposed at this time.
    18. The following estimates for burden and cost \18\ are based on 
the projected savings due to the retirement and reservation of the WEQ-
006 Manual Time Error Correction Business Practice Standards, as 
adopted by NAESB and proposed to be incorporated by reference in this 
NOPR.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \18\ The Commission staff estimates that industry is similarly 
situated in terms of hourly cost (for wages plus benefits). Based on 
the Commission's FY (Fiscal Year) 2018 average cost (for wages plus 
benefits), $79.00/hour is used.

                         Proposed Burden Reduction in NOPR in Docket No. RM05-5-026 \19\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                   Total annual
                                  Number of     Annual number   Total number    Average burden    burden hrs. &
                                 respondents    of responses    of responses     (hrs.) & cost     total annual
                                               per respondent                  ($) per response      cost ($)
                                          (1)             (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4).............  (3) * (4) = (5)
                                                                          (3)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FERC-717 20 21 (retirement of             170               1             170  1 hr.; $79        170 hours;
 WEQ-006 Time Error                                                             (reduction).      $13,430
 Correction Standard).                                                                            (reduction).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Title: FERC-717, Open Access Same Time Information System and 
Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public 
Utilities.
    Action: Proposed revision (reduction) to an existing collection.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0173.
    Respondents: Business or other for profit.
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    \19\ As noted above, changes to the FERC-516 are not proposed at 
this time.
    \20\ FERC-717 (OMB Control No. 1902-0173) identifies the 
information collection associated with Standards for Business 
Practices and Communication Protocols for Public Utilities. We 
estimate that the proposed retirement in this docket of WEQ-006 will 
reduce burden for each respondent by 1 hour.
    \21\ This burden for FERC-717 was originally included in Order 
676-H. At that time, we had an estimate of 132 respondents. Due to 
normal industry fluctuation (e.g., companies merging or splitting, 
going into or leaving the industry), the number of respondents is 
now 170.
    In Order 676-H (issued 9/18/2014), the estimated average hourly 
wage (plus benefits) was $72.67. For the calculations here, we are 
using today's estimated hourly cost of $79.00/hour, as noted above.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Frequency of Responses: One-time implementation (business 
procedures, capital/start-up).
    19. Necessity of the Information: This proposed rule, if 
implemented would update the Commission's current business practice and 
communication standards to retire and remove Standard WEQ-006 on Manual 
Time Error Correction to be consistent with NERC's retirement of the 
corresponding reliability standard for Time Error Correction. In 
addition, we are also proposing to incorporate by reference the revised 
Standard WEQ-000 (Version 003.2) that deletes the definitions of

[[Page 51658]]

``Time Error'' and ``Time Error Correction'', as well as making 
unrelated minor corrections to the standard.
    20. Internal Review: The Commission has reviewed the revised 
business practice standards and has made a preliminary determination 
that the proposed revisions that we propose here to incorporate by 
reference are both necessary and useful. In addition, the Commission 
has assured itself, by means of its internal review, that there is 
specific, objective support for the burden estimate associated with the 
information requirements.
    21. Interested persons may obtain information on the reporting 
requirements by contacting the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
Office of the Executive Director, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 
20426 [Attn: Ellen Brown, email: [email protected], phone: (202) 
502-8663, fax: (202) 273-0873].
    22. Comments concerning the information collection proposed for 
revision in this NOPR and the associated burden estimate should be sent 
to the Commission in this docket, and by email to the Office of 
Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs 
[Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission]. 
For security reasons, comments should be sent by email to OMB at the 
following email address: [email protected]. Please refer to 
OMB Control No. 1902-0173 in your submittal to OMB.

VII. Environmental Analysis

    23. The Commission is required to prepare an Environmental 
Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement for any action that may 
have a significant adverse effect on the human environment.\22\ The 
Commission has categorically excluded certain actions from these 
requirements as not having a significant effect on the human 
environment.\23\ The actions proposed here fall within categorical 
exclusions in the Commission's regulations for rules that are 
clarifying, corrective, or procedural, for information gathering, 
analysis, and dissemination, and for sales, exchange, and 
transportation of electric power that requires no construction of 
facilities.\24\ Therefore, an environmental assessment is unnecessary 
and has not been prepared in this NOPR.
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    \22\ Regulations Implementing the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969, Order No. 486, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 30,783 (1987).
    \23\ 18 CFR 380.4.
    \24\ See 18 CFR 380.4(a)(2)(ii), 380.4(a)(5), 380.4(a)(27).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

VIII. Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    24. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) \25\ generally 
requires a description and analysis of proposed rules that will have 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
The RFA does not mandate any particular outcome in a rulemaking. It 
only requires consideration of alternatives that are less burdensome to 
small entities and an agency explanation of why alternatives were 
rejected.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \25\ 5 U.S.C. 601-612.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    25. The Small Business Administration (SBA) size standards for 
electric utilities is based on the number of employees, including 
affiliates. Under SBA's standards, some transmission owners will fall 
under the following category and associated size threshold: Electric 
bulk power transmission and control, at 500 employees.\26\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \26\ 13 CFR 121.201, Sector 22 (Utilities), NAICS code 221121 
(Electric Bulk Power Transmission and Control).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    26. The Commission estimates that 5 of the 170 respondents (or 3%) 
are small. The Commission estimates that the impact on each entity 
(large and small) is a proposed reduction or savings of $79.00 (or one 
hour).
    27. Based on the above, the Commission certifies that 
implementation of the proposed Business Practice Standards will not 
have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
Accordingly, no initial regulatory flexibility analysis is required.

IX. Comment Procedures

    28. The Commission invites interested persons to submit comments on 
the matters and issues proposed in this notice to be adopted, including 
any related matters or alternative proposals that commenters may wish 
to discuss. Comments are due November 13, 2018. Comments must refer to 
Docket No. RM05-5-026 and must include the commenter's name, the 
organization they represent, if applicable, and their address in their 
comments.
    29. The Commission encourages comments to be filed electronically 
via the eFiling link on the Commission's website at https://www.ferc.gov. The Commission accepts most standard word processing 
formats. Documents created electronically using word processing 
software should be filed in native applications or print-to-PDF format 
and not in a scanned format. Commenters filing electronically do not 
need to make a paper filing.
    30. Commenters that are not able to file comments electronically 
must send an original of their comments to: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE, 
Washington, DC 20426.
    31. All comments will be placed in the Commission's public files 
and may be viewed, printed, or downloaded remotely as described in the 
Document Availability section below. Commenters on this proposal are 
not required to serve copies of their comments on other commenters.

X. Document Availability

    32. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the 
internet through the Commission's Home Page (https://www.ferc.gov) and 
in the Commission's Public Reference Room during normal business hours 
(8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First Street NE, Room 2A, 
Washington, DC 20426.
    33. From the Commission's Home Page on the internet, this 
information is available on eLibrary. The full text of this document is 
available on eLibrary in PDF and Microsoft Word format for viewing, 
printing, and/or downloading. To access this document in eLibrary, type 
the docket number excluding the last three digits of this document in 
the docket number field.
    34. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the Commission's 
website during normal business hours from the Commission's Online 
Support at (202) 502-6652 (toll free at 1-866-208-3676) or email at 
[email protected], or the Public Reference Room at (202) 502-
8371, TTY (202) 502-8659. Email the Public Reference Room at 
[email protected].

List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 38

    Incorporation by reference, Conflicts of interest, Electric power 
plants, Electric utilities, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    By direction of the Commission.

    Issued: October 4, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.

    In consideration of the foregoing, the Commission proposes to amend 
part 38, chapter I, title 18, Code of Federal Regulations, as follows:

[[Page 51659]]

PART 38--STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC UTILITY BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND 
COMMUNICATIONS

0
1. The authority citation for part 38 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 791-825r, 2601-2645; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 42 
U.S.C. 7101-7352.

0
2. Amend Sec.  38.1, by revising paragraph (b)(1) and removing and 
reserving paragraph (b)(7) to read as follows:
    (b) * * *
    (1) WEQ-000, Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Definition of Terms 
(Version 003.2, Dec. 8, 2017);
* * * * *
    (7) [Reserved]
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2018-22074 Filed 10-11-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P

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