Commission Information Collection Activity (FERC-717); Comment Request; Extension, 70967-70969 [2023-22551]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 197 / Friday, October 13, 2023 / Notices
Filed Date: 10/4/23.
Accession Number: 20231004–5135.
Comment Date: 5 p.m. ET 10/25/23.
Docket Numbers: ER24–28–000.
Applicants: Interstate Power and
Light Company.
Description: § 205(d) Rate Filing: IPLLouise Solar LBA Agreement to be
effective 12/3/2023.
Filed Date: 10/5/23.
Accession Number: 20231005–5053.
Comment Date: 5 p.m. ET 10/26/23.
Docket Numbers: ER24–29–000.
Applicants: PacifiCorp.
Description: Tariff Amendment:
Termination of UAMPS Const Agmt
Lehi Carter BTM Resource Modeling to
be effective 12/5/2023.
Filed Date: 10/5/23.
Accession Number: 20231005–5059.
Comment Date: 5 p.m. ET 10/26/23.
Docket Numbers: ER24–30–000.
Applicants: Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Description: § 205(d) Rate Filing:
2023–10–05_SA 3765 Termination of
NIPSCO-Dunns Bridge E&P (J1333 J1334
J1335) to be effective 10/6/2023.
Filed Date: 10/5/23.
Accession Number: 20231005–5073.
Comment Date: 5 p.m. ET 10/26/23.
Docket Numbers: ER24–31–000.
Applicants: Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Description: § 205(d) Rate Filing:
2023–10–05_SA 3324 Termination of
Chandler Solar Project-ATC GIA (J849)
to be effective 7/18/2022.
Filed Date: 10/5/23.
Accession Number: 20231005–5074.
Comment Date: 5 p.m. ET 10/26/23.
Docket Numbers: ER24–32–000.
Applicants: Tri-State Generation and
Transmission Association, Inc.
Description: § 205(d) Rate Filing:
Amendment to Rate Schedule FERC No.
2 to be effective 12/4/2023.
Filed Date: 10/5/23.
Accession Number: 20231005–5077.
Comment Date: 5 p.m. ET 10/26/23.
Docket Numbers: ER24–33–000.
Applicants: Tri-State Generation and
Transmission Association, Inc.
Description: § 205(d) Rate Filing:
Amendment to Rate Schedule FERC No.
67 to be effective 12/4/2023.
Filed Date: 10/5/23.
Accession Number: 20231005–5085.
Comment Date: 5 p.m. ET 10/26/23.
Docket Numbers: ER24–34–000.
Applicants: Proxima Solar, LLC.
Description: Baseline eTariff Filing:
Proxima Solar, LLC Application for
Market-Based Rate Authorization to be
effective 12/5/2023.
Filed Date: 10/5/23.
Accession Number: 20231005–5108.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:55 Oct 12, 2023
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Comment Date: 5 p.m. ET 10/26/23.
Take notice that the Commission
received the following electric securities
filings:
Docket Numbers: ES24–4–000.
Applicants: Commonwealth Edison
Company.
Description: Application Under
Section 204 of The Federal Power Act
for Authorization of The Issuance of
Securities of Commonwealth Edison
Company.
Filed Date: 10/2/23.
Accession Number: 20231002–5385.
Comment Date: 5 p.m. ET 10/23/23.
Docket Numbers: ES24–5–000.
Applicants: PECO Energy Company.
Description: Application Under
Section 204 of the Federal Power Act for
Authorization to Issue Securities of
PECO Energy Company.
Filed Date: 10/2/23.
Accession Number: 20231002–5386.
Comment Date: 5 p.m. ET 10/23/23.
The filings are accessible in the
Commission’s eLibrary system (https://
elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/search/
fercgensearch.asp) by querying the
docket number.
Any person desiring to intervene, to
protest, or to answer a complaint in any
of the above proceedings must file in
accordance with Rules 211, 214, or 206
of the Commission’s Regulations (18
CFR 385.211, 385.214, or 385.206) on or
before 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on the
specified comment date. Protests may be
considered, but intervention is
necessary to become a party to the
proceeding.
eFiling is encouraged. More detailed
information relating to filing
requirements, interventions, protests,
service, and qualifying facilities filings
can be found at: https://www.ferc.gov/
docs-filing/efiling/filing-req.pdf. For
other information, call (866) 208–3676
(toll free). For TTY, call (202) 502–8659.
The Commission’s Office of Public
Participation (OPP) supports meaningful
public engagement and participation in
Commission proceedings. OPP can help
members of the public, including
landowners, environmental justice
communities, Tribal members and
others, access publicly available
information and navigate Commission
processes. For public inquiries and
assistance with making filings such as
interventions, comments, or requests for
rehearing, the public is encouraged to
contact OPP at (202) 502–6595 or OPP@
ferc.gov.
Dated: October 5, 2023.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023–22555 Filed 10–12–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
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70967
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. IC23–14–000]
Commission Information Collection
Activity (FERC–717); Comment
Request; Extension
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Notice of information collection
and request for comments.
AGENCY:
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 revision of the
currently approved information
collection, FERC–717 (Standards for
Business Practices and Communication
Protocols for Public Utilities).
DATES: Comments on the collections of
information are due December 12, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit your
comments (identified by Docket No.
IC23–14–000) on FERC–717 by one of
the following methods:
Electronic filing through https://
www.ferc.gov is preferred.
• Electronic Filing: Documents must
be filed in acceptable native
applications and print-to-PDF, but not
in scanned or picture format.
• For those unable to file
electronically, comments may be filed
by USPS mail or by hand (including
courier) delivery:
Æ Mail via U.S. Postal Service Only:
Addressed to: Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the
Commission, 888 First Street NE,
Washington, DC 20426.
Æ Hand (Including Courier) Delivery:
Deliver to: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue,
Rockville, MD 20852.
Instructions: All submissions must be
formatted and filed in accordance with
submission guidelines at: https://
www.ferc.gov. For user assistance,
contact FERC Online Support by email
at ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or by
phone at (866) 208–3676 (toll-free).
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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ellen Brown may be reached by email
at DataClearance@FERC.gov, or by
telephone at (202) 502–8663.
Title: FERC–717, Standards for
Business Practices and Communication
Protocols for Public Utilities.
SUMMARY:
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OMB Control No.: 1902–0173.
Type of Request: Three-year approval
of the FERC–717 information collection
requirements with deletion of one-time
burdens previously approved by the
Office of Management and Budget.
Abstract: Section 205 of the Federal
Power Act (FPA) (16 U.S.C. 824d)
requires that all rates and charges for the
transmission or sale of electric energy
and all rules and regulations affecting or
pertaining to such rates and charges be
just and reasonable. Section 206 of the
FPA (16 U.S.C. 824e) authorizes FERC
to initiate a proceeding to address any
‘‘rate, charge or classification’’ related to
the transmission or sale of electricity
that the agency determines is ‘‘unjust,
unreasonable, unduly discriminatory or
preferential.’’
Commission regulations at 18 CFR
35.28 and 18 CFR part 37 are in
accordance with FPA Sections 205 and
206. The regulation at 18 CFR 35.28
applies to any public utility that owns,
operates, or controls interstate
transmission facilities and any nonpublic utility seeking voluntary
compliance with jurisdictional
transmission tariff reciprocity
conditions. These entities must offer
transmission service on an open and
non-discriminatory basis pursuant to a
pro forma Open Access Transmission
Tariff (OATT). Part 37 applies to any
public utility that owns, operates, or
controls facilities used for the
transmission of electric energy in
interstate commerce and to transactions
performed under the pro forma OATT
established under 18 CFR 35.28. As
stated at 18 CFR 37.2, the purpose of 18
CFR part 37 is to ensure that potential
customers of open access transmission
service receive access to information
that will enable them to obtain
transmission service on a nondiscriminatory basis from any
Transmission Provider.1 The regulations
in 18 CFR part 37 provide standards of
conduct and require the Transmission
Provider (or its agent) to create and
operate an Open Access Same-Time
Information System (OASIS) that gives
all users of the open access transmission
system access to the same information.
The collection of information in
accordance with FERC–717 is necessary
for the implementation of OASIS. The
regulation at 18 CFR 37.6 lists the
information that Transportation
Providers or Responsible Parties 2 must
1 As defined at 18 CFR 37.3(a), a ‘‘Transmission
Provider’’ is any public utility that owns, operates,
or controls facilities used for the transmission of
electricity in interstate commerce.
2 As defined at 18 CFR 37.3(c), a ‘‘Responsible
Party’’ is the Transmission Provider or an agent to
whom the Transmission Provider has delegated the
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calculate and post on OASIS. Paragraph
(a) of section 37.6 provides that the
information posted on OASIS must be
in such detail and the OASIS must have
such capabilities as to allow
Transmission Customers 3 to:
(1) Make requests for transmission
services offered by Transmission
Providers, Resellers 4 and other
providers of ancillary services, request
the designation of a network resource,
and request the termination of the
designation of a network resource;
(2) View and download in standard
formats, using standard protocols,5
information regarding the transmission
system necessary to enable prudent
business decision making;
(3) Post, view, upload and download
information regarding available
products and desired services;
(4) Clearly identify the degree to
which transmission service requests or
schedules were denied or interrupted;
(5) Obtain access, in electronic format,
to information to support available
transmission capability calculations and
historical transmission service requests
and schedules for various audit
purposes; and
(6) Make file transfers and automated
computer-to-computer file transfers and
queries as defined by the Standards and
Communications Protocols Document.
Calculation Methods, Availability of
Information, and Requests
The regulation at 18 CFR 37.6(b)(2)
provides that information used to
calculate any posting of ATC and TTC 6
must be dated and time-stamped and all
calculations shall be performed
responsibility of meeting any of the requirements of
18 CFR part 37.
3 As defined at 18 CFR 37.3(b), a ‘‘Transmission
Customer’’ is any eligible customer (or its
designated agent) that can or does execute a
transmission service agreement or can or does
receive transmission service.
4 As defined at 18 CFR 37.3(d), a ‘‘Reseller’’ is any
Transmission Customer who offers to sell
transmission capacity it has purchased.
5 The standard protocols are included in the
Standards for Business Practices and
Communication Protocols for Public Utilities
adopted by the Wholesale Electric Quadrant (WEQ)
of the North American Energy Standards Board
(NAESB). The Commission adopted the protocols
by reference in 18 CFR 38.1(b)(2)(iv) in a final rule
at 86 FR 29491 (June 2, 2021). The protocols remain
effective at present.
6 As defined at 18 CFR 37.6(b)(1): (1) ATC is the
transfer capability remaining in the physical
transmission network for further commercial
activity over and above already committed uses, or
such definition as contained in Commissionapproved Reliability Standards. (2) TTC is the
amount of electric power that can be moved or
transferred reliably from one area to another area of
the interconnected transmission systems by way of
all transmission lines (or paths) between those areas
under specified system conditions, or such
definition as contained in Commission-approved
Reliability Standards.
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according to consistently applied
methodologies referenced in the
Transmission Provider’s transmission
tariff and shall be based on
Commission-approved Reliability
Standards, business practice and
electronic communication standards,
and related implementation documents,
as well as current industry practices,
standards and criteria. Such
calculations shall be conducted in a
manner that is transparent, consistent
with anticipated system conditions and
outages for the relevant timeframe, and
not unduly discriminatory or
preferential.
On request, the Responsible Party
must make all data used to calculate
ATC, TTC, Capacity Benefit Margin,7
and Transmission Reliability Margin 8
for any constrained posted paths
publicly available in electronic form
within one week of the posting. The
information is required to be provided
only in the electronic format in which
it was created, along with any necessary
decoding instructions, at a cost limited
to the cost of reproducing the material.
This information is to be retained for six
months after the applicable posting
period.
System planning studies, facilities
studies, and specific network impact
studies performed for customers or the
Transmission Provider’s own network
resources are to be made publicly
available in electronic form on request
and a list of such studies must be posted
on the OASIS. A study is required to be
provided only in the electronic format
in which it was created, along with any
necessary decoding instructions, at a
cost limited to the cost of reproducing
the material. These studies are to be
retained for five years.
Posting Requirements
Paragraph (b)(3) of 18 CFR 37.6
requires Transmission Providers to
calculate and post the ATC, TTC, CBM,
and TRM in megawatts for each Posted
Path.9 Paragraph (c) of 18 CFR 37.6
7 As defined at 18 CFR 37.6(b)(1)(vii), ‘‘Capacity
Benefit Margin’’ means the amount of TTC
preserved by the Transmission Provider for loadserving entities, whose loads are located on that
Transmission Provider’s system, to enable access by
the load-serving entities to generation from
interconnected systems to meet generation
reliability requirements, or such definition as
contained in Commission-approved Reliability
Standards.
8 As defined at 18 CFR 37.6(b)(1)(viii),
‘‘Transmission Reliability Margin’’ is the amount of
TTC necessary to provide reasonable assurance that
the interconnected transmission network will be
secure, or such definition as contained in
Commission-approved Reliability Standards.
9 As defined at 18 CFR 37.6(b)(1)(i), ‘‘Posted
Path’’ means any control area to control area
interconnection; any path for which service is
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 197 / Friday, October 13, 2023 / Notices
OASIS-related information or from
engaging in unduly discriminatory
business practices. Companies were
required to separate their transmission
operations/reliability functions from
their marketing/merchant functions and
prevent system operators from
providing merchant employees and
employees of affiliates with
transmission-related information not
available to all customers at the same
time through public posting on the
OASIS.
Type of Respondents: Transmission
Providers.
Estimate of Annual Burden: 10 The
previous information collection request
(ICR Reference No. 202002–1902–006)
in the year 2020 was approved by OMB
with a one-time burden that was
expected to be completed in Year One.
requires Transmission Providers to post
prices and a summary of the terms and
conditions associated with all
transmission products offered to
Transmission Customers. Paragraph (d)
of 18 CFR 37.6 requires Transmission
Providers to post any ancillary service
required to be provided or offered under
the pro forma OATT.
Standards of Conduct
The Commission established
Standards of Conduct at 18 CFR 37.4
requiring that personnel engaged in
transmission system operations function
independently from personnel engaged
in marketing functions. The Standards
of Conduct were designed to prevent
employees of a public utility (or any of
its affiliates) engaged in marketing
functions from preferential access to
As averaged over a three-year period,
the annual responses were estimated as
165 annually, 10 hours per response,
and total hours of 1,650 hours. These
burdens are not included in this
information collection request because
all respondents have complied with that
one-time burden. The removal of those
burdens constitutes a program change.
The estimated annual number of
responses for the ongoing information
collection activity are adjusted in this
information collection request from 162
to 216, an increase of 54 responses.
Based on a review of the information
collection since our last submission, we
have determined this change in number
of responses is due to changes in the
regulated industry.
The current burden estimates are
shown in the following table.
BURDEN ESTIMATES FOR FERC–717, STANDARDS FOR BUSINESS PRACTICES AND COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS FOR
PUBLIC UTILITIES
Information collection requirement
Number of
respondents
Annual number
of responses
per respondent
Total number
of responses
Average burden
hours & cost
per response 11
Total annual
burden hours &
total annual cost
(1)
(2)
(1) * (2) = (3)
(4)
(3) * (4) = (5)
Open Access Same-Time Information
(OASIS).
216
Comments: Comments are invited on:
(1) whether the collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
Commission, including whether the
information will have practical utility;
(2) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate
of the burden and cost of the collection
of information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
(3) ways to enhance the quality, utility
and clarity of the information collection;
and (4) ways to minimize the burden of
the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including the use
of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Dated: October 5, 2023.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023–22551 Filed 10–12–23; 8:45 am]
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BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
denied, curtailed, or interrupted for more than 24
hours in the past 12 months; and any path for
which a customer requests to have ATC or TTC
posted. For this last category, the posting must
continue for 180 days and thereafter until 180 days
have elapsed from the most recent request for
service over the requested path. For purposes of this
definition, an hour includes any part of an hour
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16:55 Oct 12, 2023
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1
216
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. CP23–547–000]
Honeoye Storage Corporation; Notice
of Application and Establishing
Intervention Deadline
Take notice that on September 22,
2023, Honeoye Storage Corporation
(Honeoye), 4511 Egypt Road,
Canandaigua, NY, 14424, filed an
application under section 7(b) of the
Natural Gas Act (NGA), and part 157 of
the Commission’s regulations requesting
authorization to abandon certain
certificated natural gas storage capacity
at Honeoye’s natural gas storage facility
in Canandaigua, New York. Specifically,
Honeoye seeks authority to abandon
974,400 Dth of previously certificated
storage capacity which would reduce its
total capacity of the Honeoye storage
facility from 11,701,900 Dth to
10,727,500 Dth; and to reduce its
during which service was denied, curtailed, or
interrupted.
10 Burden is defined as the total time, effort, or
financial resources expended by persons to
generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide
information to or for a Federal agency. For further
explanation of what is included in the information
collection burden, refer to 5 CFR 1320.3.
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30 hrs.; $2,880 ........
6,480 hrs.;
$622,080.
Maximum Daily Withdrawal Quantity
by 3,880 Dth from 55,880 Dth to 52,000
Dth. Honeoye states that the reduced
Maximum Allowable Operating
Pressure of its gathering system requires
it to reduce the firm storage capacity
and maximum daily deliverability of the
Honeoye storage field and to reset the
relationship between working gas
capacity and base/cushion gas capacity
in the Honeoye storage field, all as more
fully set forth in the application which
is on file with the Commission and open
for public inspection.
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
(www.ferc.gov) using the ‘‘eLibrary’’
link. Enter the docket number excluding
the last three digits in the docket
number field to access the document. At
this time, the Commission has
suspended access to the Commission’s
11 The Commission staff thinks that the average
respondent for this collection is similarly situated
to the Commission, in terms of salary plus benefits.
Based upon FERC’s FY 2022 annual average of
$199,867 (for salary plus benefits), and the average
hourly cost is $96/hour.
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 197 (Friday, October 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70967-70969]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-22551]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. IC23-14-000]
Commission Information Collection Activity (FERC-717); Comment
Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of information collection and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 revision of the currently
approved information collection, FERC-717 (Standards for Business
Practices and Communication Protocols for Public Utilities).
DATES: Comments on the collections of information are due December 12,
2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit your comments (identified by Docket No. IC23-
14-000) on FERC-717 by one of the following methods:
Electronic filing through https://www.ferc.gov is preferred.
Electronic Filing: Documents must be filed in acceptable
native applications and print-to-PDF, but not in scanned or picture
format.
For those unable to file electronically, comments may be
filed by USPS mail or by hand (including courier) delivery:
[cir] Mail via U.S. Postal Service Only: Addressed to: Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First
Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.
[cir] Hand (Including Courier) Delivery: Deliver to: Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852.
Instructions: All submissions must be formatted and filed in
accordance with submission guidelines at: https://www.ferc.gov. For
user assistance, contact FERC Online Support by email at
[email protected], or by phone at (866) 208-3676 (toll-free).
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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Brown may be reached by email at
[email protected], or by telephone at (202) 502-8663.
Title: FERC-717, Standards for Business Practices and Communication
Protocols for Public Utilities.
[[Page 70968]]
OMB Control No.: 1902-0173.
Type of Request: Three-year approval of the FERC-717 information
collection requirements with deletion of one-time burdens previously
approved by the Office of Management and Budget.
Abstract: Section 205 of the Federal Power Act (FPA) (16 U.S.C.
824d) requires that all rates and charges for the transmission or sale
of electric energy and all rules and regulations affecting or
pertaining to such rates and charges be just and reasonable. Section
206 of the FPA (16 U.S.C. 824e) authorizes FERC to initiate a
proceeding to address any ``rate, charge or classification'' related to
the transmission or sale of electricity that the agency determines is
``unjust, unreasonable, unduly discriminatory or preferential.''
Commission regulations at 18 CFR 35.28 and 18 CFR part 37 are in
accordance with FPA Sections 205 and 206. The regulation at 18 CFR
35.28 applies to any public utility that owns, operates, or controls
interstate transmission facilities and any non-public utility seeking
voluntary compliance with jurisdictional transmission tariff
reciprocity conditions. These entities must offer transmission service
on an open and non-discriminatory basis pursuant to a pro forma Open
Access Transmission Tariff (OATT). Part 37 applies to any public
utility that owns, operates, or controls facilities used for the
transmission of electric energy in interstate commerce and to
transactions performed under the pro forma OATT established under 18
CFR 35.28. As stated at 18 CFR 37.2, the purpose of 18 CFR part 37 is
to ensure that potential customers of open access transmission service
receive access to information that will enable them to obtain
transmission service on a non-discriminatory basis from any
Transmission Provider.\1\ The regulations in 18 CFR part 37 provide
standards of conduct and require the Transmission Provider (or its
agent) to create and operate an Open Access Same-Time Information
System (OASIS) that gives all users of the open access transmission
system access to the same information.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ As defined at 18 CFR 37.3(a), a ``Transmission Provider'' is
any public utility that owns, operates, or controls facilities used
for the transmission of electricity in interstate commerce.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The collection of information in accordance with FERC-717 is
necessary for the implementation of OASIS. The regulation at 18 CFR
37.6 lists the information that Transportation Providers or Responsible
Parties \2\ must calculate and post on OASIS. Paragraph (a) of section
37.6 provides that the information posted on OASIS must be in such
detail and the OASIS must have such capabilities as to allow
Transmission Customers \3\ to:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ As defined at 18 CFR 37.3(c), a ``Responsible Party'' is the
Transmission Provider or an agent to whom the Transmission Provider
has delegated the responsibility of meeting any of the requirements
of 18 CFR part 37.
\3\ As defined at 18 CFR 37.3(b), a ``Transmission Customer'' is
any eligible customer (or its designated agent) that can or does
execute a transmission service agreement or can or does receive
transmission service.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Make requests for transmission services offered by Transmission
Providers, Resellers \4\ and other providers of ancillary services,
request the designation of a network resource, and request the
termination of the designation of a network resource;
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ As defined at 18 CFR 37.3(d), a ``Reseller'' is any
Transmission Customer who offers to sell transmission capacity it
has purchased.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) View and download in standard formats, using standard
protocols,\5\ information regarding the transmission system necessary
to enable prudent business decision making;
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ The standard protocols are included in the Standards for
Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public Utilities
adopted by the Wholesale Electric Quadrant (WEQ) of the North
American Energy Standards Board (NAESB). The Commission adopted the
protocols by reference in 18 CFR 38.1(b)(2)(iv) in a final rule at
86 FR 29491 (June 2, 2021). The protocols remain effective at
present.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3) Post, view, upload and download information regarding available
products and desired services;
(4) Clearly identify the degree to which transmission service
requests or schedules were denied or interrupted;
(5) Obtain access, in electronic format, to information to support
available transmission capability calculations and historical
transmission service requests and schedules for various audit purposes;
and
(6) Make file transfers and automated computer-to-computer file
transfers and queries as defined by the Standards and Communications
Protocols Document.
Calculation Methods, Availability of Information, and Requests
The regulation at 18 CFR 37.6(b)(2) provides that information used
to calculate any posting of ATC and TTC \6\ must be dated and time-
stamped and all calculations shall be performed according to
consistently applied methodologies referenced in the Transmission
Provider's transmission tariff and shall be based on Commission-
approved Reliability Standards, business practice and electronic
communication standards, and related implementation documents, as well
as current industry practices, standards and criteria. Such
calculations shall be conducted in a manner that is transparent,
consistent with anticipated system conditions and outages for the
relevant timeframe, and not unduly discriminatory or preferential.
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\6\ As defined at 18 CFR 37.6(b)(1): (1) ATC is the transfer
capability remaining in the physical transmission network for
further commercial activity over and above already committed uses,
or such definition as contained in Commission-approved Reliability
Standards. (2) TTC is the amount of electric power that can be moved
or transferred reliably from one area to another area of the
interconnected transmission systems by way of all transmission lines
(or paths) between those areas under specified system conditions, or
such definition as contained in Commission-approved Reliability
Standards.
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On request, the Responsible Party must make all data used to
calculate ATC, TTC, Capacity Benefit Margin,\7\ and Transmission
Reliability Margin \8\ for any constrained posted paths publicly
available in electronic form within one week of the posting. The
information is required to be provided only in the electronic format in
which it was created, along with any necessary decoding instructions,
at a cost limited to the cost of reproducing the material. This
information is to be retained for six months after the applicable
posting period.
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\7\ As defined at 18 CFR 37.6(b)(1)(vii), ``Capacity Benefit
Margin'' means the amount of TTC preserved by the Transmission
Provider for load-serving entities, whose loads are located on that
Transmission Provider's system, to enable access by the load-serving
entities to generation from interconnected systems to meet
generation reliability requirements, or such definition as contained
in Commission-approved Reliability Standards.
\8\ As defined at 18 CFR 37.6(b)(1)(viii), ``Transmission
Reliability Margin'' is the amount of TTC necessary to provide
reasonable assurance that the interconnected transmission network
will be secure, or such definition as contained in Commission-
approved Reliability Standards.
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System planning studies, facilities studies, and specific network
impact studies performed for customers or the Transmission Provider's
own network resources are to be made publicly available in electronic
form on request and a list of such studies must be posted on the OASIS.
A study is required to be provided only in the electronic format in
which it was created, along with any necessary decoding instructions,
at a cost limited to the cost of reproducing the material. These
studies are to be retained for five years.
Posting Requirements
Paragraph (b)(3) of 18 CFR 37.6 requires Transmission Providers to
calculate and post the ATC, TTC, CBM, and TRM in megawatts for each
Posted Path.\9\ Paragraph (c) of 18 CFR 37.6
[[Page 70969]]
requires Transmission Providers to post prices and a summary of the
terms and conditions associated with all transmission products offered
to Transmission Customers. Paragraph (d) of 18 CFR 37.6 requires
Transmission Providers to post any ancillary service required to be
provided or offered under the pro forma OATT.
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\9\ As defined at 18 CFR 37.6(b)(1)(i), ``Posted Path'' means
any control area to control area interconnection; any path for which
service is denied, curtailed, or interrupted for more than 24 hours
in the past 12 months; and any path for which a customer requests to
have ATC or TTC posted. For this last category, the posting must
continue for 180 days and thereafter until 180 days have elapsed
from the most recent request for service over the requested path.
For purposes of this definition, an hour includes any part of an
hour during which service was denied, curtailed, or interrupted.
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Standards of Conduct
The Commission established Standards of Conduct at 18 CFR 37.4
requiring that personnel engaged in transmission system operations
function independently from personnel engaged in marketing functions.
The Standards of Conduct were designed to prevent employees of a public
utility (or any of its affiliates) engaged in marketing functions from
preferential access to OASIS-related information or from engaging in
unduly discriminatory business practices. Companies were required to
separate their transmission operations/reliability functions from their
marketing/merchant functions and prevent system operators from
providing merchant employees and employees of affiliates with
transmission-related information not available to all customers at the
same time through public posting on the OASIS.
Type of Respondents: Transmission Providers.
Estimate of Annual Burden: \10\ The previous information collection
request (ICR Reference No. 202002-1902-006) in the year 2020 was
approved by OMB with a one-time burden that was expected to be
completed in Year One. As averaged over a three-year period, the annual
responses were estimated as 165 annually, 10 hours per response, and
total hours of 1,650 hours. These burdens are not included in this
information collection request because all respondents have complied
with that one-time burden. The removal of those burdens constitutes a
program change.
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\10\ Burden is defined as the total time, effort, or financial
resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or
disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. For
further explanation of what is included in the information
collection burden, refer to 5 CFR 1320.3.
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The estimated annual number of responses for the ongoing
information collection activity are adjusted in this information
collection request from 162 to 216, an increase of 54 responses. Based
on a review of the information collection since our last submission, we
have determined this change in number of responses is due to changes in
the regulated industry.
The current burden estimates are shown in the following table.
Burden Estimates for FERC-717, Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public Utilities
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Annual number of
Information collection requirement Number of responses per Total number Average burden hours & cost per Total annual burden hours &
respondents respondent of responses response \11\ total annual cost
(1) (2) (1) * (2) = (4)............................ (3) * (4) = (5)
(3)
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Open Access Same-Time Information 216 1 216 30 hrs.; $2,880................ 6,480 hrs.; $622,080.
(OASIS).
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Comments: Comments are invited on: (1) whether the collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the Commission, including whether the information will have practical
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden and
cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality,
utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are
to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
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\11\ The Commission staff thinks that the average respondent for
this collection is similarly situated to the Commission, in terms of
salary plus benefits. Based upon FERC's FY 2022 annual average of
$199,867 (for salary plus benefits), and the average hourly cost is
$96/hour.
Dated: October 5, 2023.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-22551 Filed 10-12-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
