In accordance
with 5 CFR 1320, the information collection is approved for three
years.
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
06/30/2019
36 Months From Approved
06/30/2016
2,693
0
1,874
4,100
0
6,340
0
0
0
The information collected from FERC
Form 556 under 18 CFR Section 131.80 and 18 CFR Part 292 is used by
the Commission to determine whether a proposed certification for QF
status meets the criteria for a qualifying small power production
facility or a qualifying cogeneration facility under its
regulations and is eligible to receive the benefits available to it
under PURPA. In order to obtain QF status and obtain PURPA
benefits, an owner or operator of a small power production or
cogeneration facility must follow the process indicated in FERC
Form 556 and select, at its option, either the procedure set forth
in 18 CFR Section 292.207(a), which requires the submission to FERC
of a self-certification or self-recertification, or the procedure
set forth in 18 CFR Section 292.207(b), which requires the
submission to FERC of an application for Commission certification
or recertification. The information requirements for these two
processes are largely the same (i.e., the submittal of a completed
FERC Form 556 provides the information necessary to demonstrate
compliance with FERC’s regulations). If FERC did not collect the
FERC Form 556 information, there would be no basis for the
Commission to determine whether a facility satisfies the
requirements of QF status. Since revocation of the qualifying
status of a small power production or cogeneration facility may
occur if the facility fails to comply with any of the 18 CFR Part
292 criteria, private financial lenders to small power production
and cogeneration power facilities occasionally require small power
producers and cogenerators to follow 18 CFR Section 292.207(b)
procedures (certification by FERC as opposed to self-certification)
in order to reduce the risk of status revocation.
US Code:
16
USC 792-828c Name of Law: Federal Power Act (FPA)
US Code: 16
USC 2601 Name of Law: Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act
(PURPA) of 1978
The number of respondents in
Section 12 is based on the number of actual filings we FERC
received through October 2015 and on an estimation of the filings
that FERC anticipates receiving in November and December of 2015.
While the number of filings fluctuates from year to year, recent
data on the actual number of filings is representative of the
number of filings for the next three years, as the Commission
received a record number of filings in 2015. The increase in number
of respondents is part due to advances in technology, which
decrease the costs of using solar and wind small power production
qualifying facilities, the extension of production tax credits and
investment tax credits by Congress available to solar and wind QFs,
and the filing by a single entity of multiple (and often numerous)
Form 556 filings for multiple facilities. The number of responses
per respondent, column B in Question #12 of the supporting
statement, has also decreased largely due to the fact that
respondents and/or their legal representatives have gained
experience over time from submitting Form 556 filings and are no
longer committing as many filing errors on Form 556s as in previous
years. The average burden hours per response has, in some
instances, also decreased because many of the respondents filing
Form 556s are solar or wind small power production facilities and
those Form 556 filings are less complex than other types of
qualifying facilities to review. Additionally, many of the Form 556
filings received are from respondents who are filing multiple Form
556 filings for each of their multiple, yet separate, QFs, and
reviewing these types of filings is much simpler, as the
information is very similar in each Form 556. Thus, while the
number of responses has increased, the total estimated annual
burden hours has decreased.
$304,171
No
No
No
No
No
Uncollected
Nishi Parekh 202
502-8325
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Form 556 Certification of Qualifying Facility (QF) Status for a Small Power Production or Cogeneration Facility
FERC-556 supporting statement (updated 6-23-2016).docx
Proposed Changes to FERC Form 556 (Page 1).pdf
Certification of Qualifying Facility (QF) Status for a Small Power Production or Cogeneration Facility