Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-725P1); Consolidated Comment Request; Extension, 25249-25251 [2019-11357]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 105 (Friday, May 31, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25249-25251]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-11357]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC19-23-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-725P1); 
Consolidated Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY:  Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:  Notice of information collections and request for comments.

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SUMMARY:  In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(Commission or FERC) is soliciting public comment on the requirements 
and burden of the information collections described below.

[[Page 25250]]


DATES:  Comments on the collections of information are due July 30, 
2019.

ADDRESSES:  You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC19-23-
000) by either of the following methods:
     eFiling at Commission's Website: https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp.
     Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE, 
Washington, DC 20426.
    Please reference the specific collection number and/or title in 
your comments.
    Instructions: All submissions must be formatted and filed in 
accordance with submission guidelines at: https://www.ferc.gov/help/submission-guide.asp. For user assistance contact FERC Online Support 
by email at [email protected], or by phone at: (866) 208-3676 
(toll-free), or (202) 502-8659 for TTY.
    Docket: Users interested in receiving automatic notification of 
activity in this docket or in viewing/downloading comments and 
issuances in this docket may do so at https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/docs-filing.asp.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Ellen Brown may be reached by email 
at [email protected], telephone at (202) 502-8663, and fax at 
(202) 273-0873.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the information collection 
requirements for all collections described below with no changes to the 
current reporting requirements. Please note the three collections are 
distinct.
    Comments: Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the collections of 
information are necessary for the proper performance of the functions 
of the Commission, including whether the information will have 
practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the 
burden and cost of the collections of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility and clarity of the information collections; and 
(4) ways to minimize the burden of the collections of information on 
those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Title: FERC-725P1 (Mandatory Reliability Standards: PRC-005-6 
Reliability Standard).
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0280.
    Abstract: The Commission requires the information collected by the 
FERC-725P1 to Ok. implement the statutory provisions of section 215 of 
the Federal Power Act (FPA).\1\ On August 8, 2005, Congress enacted 
into law the Electricity Modernization Act of 2005, which is Title XII, 
Subtitle A, of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005).\2\ EPAct 
2005 added a new section 215 to the FPA, which required a Commission-
certified Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) to develop mandatory 
and enforceable Reliability Standards, which are subject to Commission 
review and approval. Once approved, the Reliability Standards may be 
enforced by the ERO subject to Commission oversight, or the Commission 
can independently enforce Reliability Standards.\3\
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    \1\ 16 U.S.C. 824o (2012).
    \2\ Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law 109-58, Title XII, 
Subtitle A, 119 Stat. 594, 941 (codified at 16 U.S.C. 824o).
    \3\ 16 U.S.C. 824o(e)(3).
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    On February 3, 2006, the Commission issued Order No. 672, 
implementing section 215 of the FPA.\4\ Pursuant to Order No. 672, the 
Commission certified one organization, North American Electric 
Reliability Corporation (NERC), as the ERO.\5\ The Reliability 
Standards developed by the ERO and approved by the Commission apply to 
users, owners and operators of the Bulk-Power System as set forth in 
each Reliability Standard.
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    \4\ Rules Concerning Certification of the Electric Reliability 
Organization; and Procedures for the Establishment, Approval, and 
Enforcement of Electric Reliability Standards, Order No. 672, FERC 
Stats. & Regs. ] 31,204, order on reh'g, Order No. 672-A, FERC 
Stats. & Regs. ] 31,212 (2006).
    \5\ North American Electric Reliability Corp., 116 FERC ] 
61,062, order on reh'g and compliance, 117 FERC ] 61,126 (2006), 
order on compliance, 118 FERC ] 61,190, order on reh'g, 119 FERC ] 
61,046 (2007), aff'd sub nom. Alcoa Inc. v. FERC, 564 F.3d 1342 
(D.C. Cir. 2009).
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    On November 13, 2015, the North American Electric Reliability 
Corporation (NERC) filed a petition for Commission approval of proposed 
Reliability Standard PRC-005-6 (Protection System, Automatic Reclosing, 
and Sudden Pressure Relaying Maintenance). NERC also requested approval 
of the proposed implementation plan for PRC-005-6, and the retirement 
of previous versions of Reliability Standard PRC-005.
    NERC explained in its petition that Reliability Standard PRC-005-6 
represents an improvement upon the most recently-approved version of 
the standard, PRC-005-4. FERC approved the proposed Reliability 
Standard PRC-005-6 on December 18, 2015.
    Type of Respondent: Transmission Owners (TO), Generator Owners 
(GO), and Distribution Providers.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden for the information collection as:

                                           FERC-725K--Mandatory Reliability Standards for the SERC Region \6\
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                                                     Annual number
                                       Number of     of responses    Total number    Average burden hrs. & cost per    Total annual burden hours & total
                                      respondents   per respondent   of responses             response \7\                      annual cost \8\
                                               (1)             (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4).............................  (3) * (4) = (5)
                                                                               (3)
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PRC-005-6 Reliability Standard....         \9\ 996               1             996  2 hrs.; $133.80.................   1,992 hrs.; $133,265.\10\
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    One-time reporting requirements related to the implementation of 
the PRC-005-6 Reliability Standard are being removed from the FERC-
725P1 information collection. A list of those removed reporting 
requirements and their related burdens follows:
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    \6\ Entities affected by the PRC-005-6 Reliability Standard are 
registered to serve any of the following roles:
     PC=Planning Coordinators;
     GO=Generator Owners.
    Some entities are registered to serve both roles.
    \7\ The estimated hourly cost (salary plus benefits) provided in 
this section is based on the salary figures (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm) and benefits (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm) for May 2017 posted by the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics for the Utilities sector. The hourly estimates for 
salary plus benefits are $66.90/hour based on the Electrical 
Engineering career (Occupation Code: 17-2071).
    \8\ Total Annual Cost is rounded-up from $133,264.80 to 
$133,265.
    \9\ 20 (PC role only) + 927 (GO role only) + 49 (joint role as 
PC and GO) = 996 unique entities.
    \10\ This number is rounded from $133,264.80.

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[[Page 25251]]

     One-time review of existing plant and substation sites: 
937 responses and 1,874 hours.
     One-time review and adjustment of existing programs for 
reclosing relays and associated equipment: 288 responses and 2,448 
hours.
     One-time review and adjustment of existing program for 
sudden pressure relays: 1,287 responses and 10,296 hours.
    The previous table presents the FERC-725P1 burden estimate after 
these three one-time requirements were removed and the burden was 
reduced.

    Dated: May 23, 2019.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-11357 Filed 5-30-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P