FERC-583, OMB Control No. 1902-0136
SUPPORTING STATEMENT
FERC 583 (1902-0136): Annual Kilowatt Generating Report (Annual Charges)
(Three Year Extension Requested)
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) requests the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) extend its approval of FERC-583, Annual Kilowatt Generating Report (Annual Charges) (FERC-583) for an additional three years. FERC-583 is an existing information collection (OMB Control No. 1902-0136), consisting of a set of filing requirements and notice procedures as contained in 18 CFR Part 11.
A. JUSTIFICATION
CIRCUMSTANCES THAT MAKE THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION NECESSARY
The filing requirements for FERC-583 are contained in 18 CFR Part 11 and are mandated by Section 10(e) of the Federal Power Act (FPA) (16 U.S.C. 803(e)).
Section 10(e) of the Federal Power Act authorizes the Commission to collect annual charges from hydropower licensees for, among other things, the cost of administering Part I of the FPA and for use of administering the costs of United States dams. Part 11 of the Commission’s regulations provides the manner in which licensees are charged for such costs. Prior to the adoption of the current regulations in 1958 and 1963, administrative charges were not based on the actual costs of the government, but were in the nature of set fees that were billed for the calendar year. In addition, section 3401 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 authorizes the Commission to “assess and collect fees and annual charges in any fiscal year in amounts equal to all of the costs incurred by the Commission in that fiscal year.”
On May 8, 1987, the Commission issued a final rulemaking in Docket No. RM86-2 which revised the regulations governing the timing and method used to determine annual charges. In the final rule in Docket No. RM86-2, the Commission changed the timing of billing of reimbursable administrative charges from a calendar year to a federal fiscal year basis. This change synchronized billing procedures so that charges are based on costs and power generation data from the same period of time.
In Docket No. RM93-7, Order No. 576, (March 15, 1995), the Commission amended its regulations governing the assessment of annual charges by allocating the charges for administrative costs among a single class of licensees and exemptees, based on the respective capacity of each hydropower project as measured in kilowatts, with a maximum charge and with the assessments to commence at the same time as the commencement of project construction. The final rule also eliminated annual charges for minor licensees and did not impose annual charges on exempt applications. The final rule retained the current practice of separate allocation for municipal and non-municipal licensees, as well as the existing formulae for allocating those costs between the two classes of major licensees. The final rule amended 18 CFR Section 11.1 to substitute kilowatts for horsepower in stating a projects’ authorized installed capacity. This change was designed to reflect modern usage in the rating of equipment used in hydropower projects. For the few hydro mechanical projects all of which are smaller projects, the
Commission imputed a kilowatt figure by multiplying these projects’ existing horsepower capacity by three fourths.
In Docket No. RM96-2, Order No. 584, November 25, 1995 the Commission reversed itself by restoring the status quo in the formulae for allocating annual charges among licenses, by correcting an error that occurred in Order No 576. By making the change in defining “authorized installed capacity” in terms of kilowatts instead of horsepower, the Commission inadvertently neglected to include the horsepower to kilowatt adjustment in the regulations that referred to generation. The effect of the inadvertent omission was to seriously distort the balance of capacity and generation in determining the allocation of certain annual charges. The Commission corrected the omission by adding conversion adjustments to the appropriate regulatory sections.
In an Order dated June 18, 2004 (Project No. 2482-038, et al.) the Commission responded to a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.1 The court concluded that the Commission is required to determine the reasonableness of costs incurred by other Federal agencies (OFAs) related to the participation of those agencies in the Commission’s proceedings under the Federal Power Act when those agencies seek to include such costs in the administrative annual charges licensees must pay to reimburse the United States for the cost of administering Part 1. The court also remanded to the Commission issues regarding the eligibility of specific types of OFA costs for reimbursement, and issues regarding the availability of refunds for certain charges.
In response, the Commission established in the order which OFA costs are eligible to be included in administrative annual charges. It also established procedures for Commission review of future OFA costs submittals and those currently under appeal. Finally, it introduced a new form for such cost submittals and announced a technical conference for the purpose of finalizing the form.
HOW, BY WHOM, AND FOR WHAT PURPOSES THE INFORMATION IS TO BE USED AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT COLLECTING THE INFORMATION
The Commission uses information collected on FERC-583 to carry out its statutory mandate. Specifically, the Commission staff uses the information to determine the amount of annual charges to be assessed licensees for reimbursable government administrative costs (including other Federal agencies) and for the use of government dams. If the information were not collected, the Commission would be unable to have an accurate basis for assessing charges and would not be able to carry out its responsibilities under the Federal Power Act. In addition, Congress has directed the Commission to collect fees and annual charges equal to its annual appropriation. The Commission deposits the fees and annual charges that it collects in the Treasury’s general fund.
DESCRIBE ANY CONSIDERATION FOR THE USE OF IMPROVED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO REDUCE BURDEN AND TECHNICAL OR LEGAL OBSTACLES TO REDUCING BURDEN
The Commission allows for the information filed under 18 CFR Part 11 to be filed using an automated file for computation of annual charges for hydro facilities. Manually computed filings are still accepted as well.
DESCRIBE EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY DUPLICATION AND SHOW SPECIFICALLY WHY ANY SIMILAR INFORMATION ALREADY AVAILABLE CANNOT BE USED OR MODIFIED FOR USE FOR THE PURPOSE(S) DESCRIBED IN INSTRUCTION NO. 2.
The Commission periodically reviews notice requirements as OMB review dates arise or as the Commission may see fit in carrying out its responsibilities under the FPA in order to eliminate duplication and minimize the filing burden. There is no duplication of information. A number of licensees are required to report the same information for other license conditions, but where those conditions exist, these licensees are permitted to file a single report covering all related requirements. It should be noted that the Commission has no other sources available on gross generation. Gross generation data, as opposed to net generation data, is necessary to ensure that the kilowatt hour figures are reliable for billing purposes.
METHODS USED TO MINIMIZE BURDEN IN COLLECTION OF INFORMATION INVOLVING SMALL ENTITIES
None of the electric utilities or hydropower facilities affected by FERC-583 regulations are small businesses or small entities as defined by the Regulatory Flexibility Act. If a small entity were affected, they would not have to file as they would be exempt under other provisions of the regulations.
CONSEQUENCE TO FEDERAL PROGRAM IF COLLECTION WERE CONDUCTED LESS FREQUENTLY
The information collection cannot be discontinued nor collected less frequently due to statutory requirements. The information required in 18 CFR Part 11 is required only once per year in order to compute annual charges that will be assessed to applicable regulated entities. These reports are required to support each assessment of annual charges.
EXPLAIN ANY SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES RELATING TO THE INFORMATION COLLECTION
The Commission meets the guidelines set by out by OMB in 5 C.F.R. 1320.5.
DESCRIBE EFFORTS TO CONSULT OUTSIDE THE AGENCY: SUMMARIZE PUBLIC COMMENTS AND AGENCY'S RESPONSE TO THESE COMMENTS
In accordance with OMB requirements in 5 C.F.R. 1320.8(d), a Notice requesting comments on the reporting requirements of FERC-600 was issued in FERC Docket No. IC11-583 on June 7, 2011 (at http://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/OpenNat.asp?fileID=12674026) and published in the Federal Register (76 FR 34689, June 14, 2011). There were no comments filed in response to this Notice.
EXPLAIN ANY PAYMENT OR GIFTS TO RESPONDENTS
No gifts or payments have been made to respondents.
DESCRIBE ANY ASSURANCE OF CONFIDENTIALITY PROVIDED TO RESPONDENTS
The Commission's existing regulations at 18 C.F.R. § 388.112 provide a process for filers to submit documents with a request for privileged treatment. The Commission does not consider FERC-583 information confidential.
PROVIDE ADDITIONAL JUSTIFICATION FOR ANY QUESTIONS OF A SENSITIVE NATURE THAT ARE CONSIDERED PRIVATE.
The issue of sensitive questions is not applicable to the data contained in FERC-583.
ESTIMATED BURDEN ON COLLECTION OF INFORMATION
Based on the Commission’s previous experience with the burden of FERC 583, it is estimated that the average burden will be as follows:
Data Collection |
Number of Respondents Annually (1) |
Number of Responses Per Respondent (2) |
Average Burden Hours Per Response (3) |
Total Annual Burden Hours (1)x(2)x(3) |
|
FERC-583 |
459 |
1 |
2 |
918 |
|
Current OMB Inventory:
Estimated number of respondents: 599
Estimated number of responses per respondent: 1
Estimated number of responses per year: 599
Estimated hours per response: 2
Total annual hours: 1,198
Difference from OMB inventory
Program Change: 0
Adjustment: -280
ESTIMATED OF THE TOTAL COST BURDEN TO RESPONDENTS
Estimated cost burden to respondents is $62,835 (918 hours/2080 hours per year times $142,372 per year average per employee = $62,835). The cost per respondent is
$137 (rounded).
ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is as follows:
FERC-583 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S ANNUALIZED COSTS |
|
Activity |
Estimated Cost |
Forms Clearance Review (FY 2011) |
$1,575 |
Analysis of Data (1 FTE)2 |
$142,372 |
Total |
$143,947 |
REASONS FOR CHANGES IN BURDEN INCLUDING THE NEED FOR ANY INCREASE
The reason for the reduction in burden is because of a decrease in the number of respondents. This decrease is due to the number of entities who have left the energy industry either through consolidation or are no longer in business and are no longer subject to the requirements of 18 CFR Part 11.
TIME SCHEDULE FOR THE PUBLICATION OF DATA
The data are used for regulatory purposes in connection with processing annual charges for jurisdictional companies. The Commission does not publish the data.
DISPLAY OF EXPIRATION DATE
It is not appropriate to display the expiration date of OMB approval of the information collection. The information is not collected on a standard printed form. Applicants prepare and submit a notice that is in a format (notice) that meets the Commission’s requirements.
EXCEPTION TO THE CERTIFICATION STATEMENT
The data collected for this reporting requirement is not used for statistical purposes.
COLLECTION OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS.
The FERC-583 is designed for regulatory purposes and, therefore, does not employ statistical methods for analysis or publication.
1 City of Tacoma, WA, et al. v. FERC, 331 F 3d 106 (D.C. Cir. 2003) (Tacoma v. FERC).
2 Full-Time Equivalent (2080 hours/year).
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | SUPPORTING STATEMENT |
| Author | Mpmed12 |
| Last Modified By | rnped32 |
| File Modified | 2011-08-24 |
| File Created | 2011-08-17 |