RD18-4 60-day (published)

Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 16, 2018 / Notices
reliance on Order No. 2000 for
approving the JDA’s disparate treatment
and responding to Orangeburg’s
overlapping Federal Power Act,
preemption, and Commerce Clause
arguments was untenable for a number
of reasons.16 The court concluded that
because the Commission [has not]
offer[ed] a valid reason for the disparity,
the court could not affirm [the
Commission’s] approval of the JDA
provisions that establish disparate
treatment of native-load and non-nativeload wholesale customers, and
incorporates [the North Carolina
Commission’s] potentially unlawful
regulatory regime.17 Accordingly, the
court vacated in part the JDA Orders
and remanded the matter to the
Commission for further explanation
regarding its approval of the JDA.18
II. Discussion
6. We establish a briefing schedule to
allow the parties and other interested
persons to address the two issues noted
below that the D.C. Circuit raised in its
decision. Further briefing on these
issues will help develop a better record
for the Commission to respond to the
court’s directive to reconsider these
issues.
7. We request briefing on the
following issues, in particular:
(a) Is the JDA’s disparate treatment of
native and non-native load wholesale
customers unduly discriminatory or
preferential? In answering this question,
please address the following:
(i) Explain why the JDA treats native
and non-native load wholesale
customers disparately and whether the
differences between these customers
justify the disparate treatment.
(ii) Specify in detail the contractual
provisions in current or future
wholesale contracts that would qualify
a wholesale customer for native load
treatment under the JDA,19 as well as
any contractual provisions that would
disqualify a wholesale customer for
native load treatment under the JDA.
(iii) Explain why wholesale sales
between Duke Energy Carolinas and
CP&L are excluded from the definition

of non-native load sales and how the
JDA would treat such a sale between the
utilities.
(b) Do the North Carolina
Commission’s regulatory conditions 20
impermissibly interfere with this
Commission’s jurisdiction over
wholesale ratemaking, in violation of
the Federal Power Act 21 or the
Commerce Clause of the United States
Constitution? 22
8. We require Duke Energy Carolinas
and CP&L to submit—and others may
submit—initial briefs on or before 45
days from the date of this order. Reply
briefs must be submitted on or before 30
days following the due date of the initial
briefs. Any person who is not currently
a party to the proceeding and who
wishes to submit a brief must file a
notice of intervention or motion to
intervene, as appropriate.
The Commission Orders
(A) Duke Energy Carolinas and CP&L
are required to submit, and other parties
are hereby permitted to submit initial
briefs on or before forty-five (45) days of
the date of this order, as discussed in
the body of this order.
(B) Parties are hereby permitted to file
reply briefs on or before thirty (30) days
of the date of filing of initial briefs.
(C) All interested persons who wish to
submit briefs but that are not currently
parties to Docket Nos. ER12–1338–003
or ER12–1347–004 may submit notices
of intervention or motions to intervene,
as appropriate, within 21 days of the
date of this order. The briefing schedule
described in Ordering Paragraphs (A)
and (B) will apply to such persons.
(D) The Secretary is hereby directed to
publish this order in the Federal
Register.
By the Commission.
Issued: May 10, 2018.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018–10402 Filed 5–15–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

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16 Id.

at 1085–1087.
17 Id. at 1087.
18 Id.
19 The JDA provides that Native Load Customers
include wholesale customers that have native load
served by Duke Energy Carolinas or CP&L, for
which Duke Energy Carolinas or CP&L has an
obligation pursuant to current or future wholesale
contracts, for the length of such contracts, to engage
in planning and to sell and deliver electric capacity
and energy in a manner comparable to the
[utilities’] service to its Retail Native Load
Customers. Duke Energy Carolinas, FERC Electric
Tariff, Rate Schedule No. 341 at Article I,
Definitions.

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20 Here, we are referring to the regulatory
conditions that were in section 3.2 (c)(ii)–(iv) of the
JDA, which the JDA Order required be removed.
21 16 U.S.C. 824e(a) (2012); see, e.g., Nantahala
Power and Light Company v. Thornburg, 476 U.S.
953 (1986); Mississippi Power & Light Company v.
Mississippi ex rel. Moore, 487 US 354 (1988).
22 U.S. Const. art. 1, 8, cl. 3; see, e.g., New
England Power Company, 455 U.S. 331 (1982).

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22661

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. RD18–4–000]

Commission Information Collection
Activities (FERC–725G); Comment
Request; Revision
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of revised 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 comments on revisions to the
information collection, FERC–725G
(Reliability Standards for the Bulk
Power System: PRC Reliability
Standards) in Docket No. RD18–4–000
and will be submitting FERC–725G to
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review of the information
collection requirements.
DATES: Comments on the collection of
information are due July 16, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
identified by Docket No. RD18–4–000
by either of the following methods:
• eFiling at Commission’s Website:
http://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.
Instructions: All submissions must be
formatted and filed in accordance with
submission guidelines at: http://
www.ferc.gov/help/submissionguide.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 http://www.ferc.gov/docsfiling/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:
Title: FERC–725G, Reliability
Standards for the Bulk Power System:
PRC Reliability Standards.
OMB Control No.: 1902–0252.
Type of Request: Revision of FERC–
725G information collection
requirements.
SUMMARY:

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22662

Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 16, 2018 / Notices

Abstract: The information collected
by the FERC–725G is required to
implement the statutory provisions of
section 215 of the Federal Power Act
(FPA) (16 U.S.C. 824o). Section 215 of
the FPA buttresses the Commission’s
efforts to strengthen the reliability of the
interstate grid.
On March 16, 2018, the North
American Electric Reliability
Corporation (NERC, the Commissionapproved ERO) submitted for
Commission approval proposed
Reliability Standard PRC–025–2,
Generator Relay Loadability. The PRC–
025–2 Reliability Standard addresses
setting load-responsive protective relays
associated with generation facilities at a
level to prevent unnecessary tripping of
generators during a system disturbance
for conditions that do not pose a risk of

damage to the associated equipment.
Proposed Reliability Standard PRC–
025–2 improves upon currentlyeffective Reliability Standard PRC–025–
1 by addressing certain relay setting
application issues and by clarifying
certain terminology and references.
NERC requested that the Commission
approve the proposed Reliability
Standard and find that the proposed
standard is just, reasonable, not unduly
discriminatory or preferential, and in
the public interest. NERC also requested
that the Commission approve: (i) The
associated Implementation Plan; (ii) the
associated Violation Risk Factors (VRFs)
and Violation Severity Levels (VSLs),
which remain unchanged from PRC–
025–1; and (iii) the retirement of
currently-effective Reliability Standard
PRC–025–1.

NERC proposed that PRC–025–2 shall
become effective on the first day of the
first calendar quarter after the effective
date of the applicable governmental
authority’s order approving the
standard. NERC’s Implementation Plan
proposed phased-in compliance dates
after the effective date of Reliability
Standard PRC–025–2.1
On May 2, 2018, the Commission
approved Reliability Standard PRC–
025–2 and the retirement of PRC–025–
1.
Type of Respondents: Generator
Owner (GO), Transmission Owner (TO),
and Distribution Provider (DP).
Estimate of Annual Burden 2: Details
follow on the changes in Docket No.
RD18–4–000 to FERC–725G.

FERC–725G, MANDATORY RELIABILITY STANDARD PRC–025–2, IN DOCKET NO. RD18–4–000
Entity

(One-time) Review & documentation
of relay settings to ensure compliance.
(On-going) Record Retention (of
compliance records for R1 and
M1, for 3 years or until mitigation
complete).

Number of
respondents 3

Annual
number of
responses per
respondent

Annual
number of
responses

Average
burden hours
and cost
per response 4
($)

Total annual
burden hours and
total annual cost
($)

Cost per
respondent
($)

(1)

(2)

(1) * (2) = (3)

(4)

(3) * (4) = (5)

(5) ÷ (1) = (6)

994 GO/TO/DP ...

1

994

20 hrs.; $1,298.20

19,880 hours;
$1,290,410.80.

994 GO/TO/DP ...

1

994

2 hrs.; $62.32 ......

1,988 hours;
$61,946.08.

$1,298.20

$62.32

FERC–725G, MANDATORY RELIABILITY STANDARD PRC–025–1, RETIREMENT IN DOCKET NO. RD18–4–000
Entity

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(One-time) Review & documentation of relay settings to ensure compliance, (reduction).
(On-going) Record Retention (of compliance
records for R1 and M1,
for 3 years or until mitigation complete) (reduction).

Number of
respondents

Annual
number of
responses per
respondent

Annual
number of
responses

Average
burden hours
and cost 5
($)

Total annual burden hours
and total annual cost
($)

Cost per
respondent 6
($)

(1)

(2)

(1) * (2) = (3)

(4)

(3) * (4) = (5)

(5) ÷ (1) = (6)

1,019 GO/
DP/TO.

1

1,019

20 hrs.;
$1,192.40
(reduction).

20,380 hours;
$1,192.40 (reduction).
$1,215,055.60 (reduction).

1,019 GO/
DP/TO.

1

1,019

2 hrs.; $57.90
(reduction).

2,038 hours; $59,000.10
(reduction).

1 See NERC’s Implementation Plan at https://
www.nerc.com/pa/Stand/Project%20201604
%20Modifications%20to%20PRC0251%20DL/
Project_2016_04_Implementation_Plan_Clean_
01092018.pdf.
2 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 Code of Federal
Regulations 1320.3.
3 According to the NERC compliance registry as
of March 9, 2018, NERC has registered 415
distribution providers (DP), 985 generator owners
(GO) and 336 transmission owners (TO). However,
under NERC’s compliance registration program,
entities may be registered for multiple functions, so

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these numbers incorporate some double counting.
The number of unique entities responding will be
approximately 994 entities registered as a
transmission owner, a distribution provider, or a
generator owner that is also a transmission owner
and/or a distribution owner. This estimate assumes
all of the unique entities apply load-responsive
protective relays.
4 The hourly cost (for salary plus benefits) uses
the figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May
2017, for two positions involved in the reporting
and recordkeeping requirements. These figures
include salary (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/
naics2_22.htm) benefits http://www.bls.gov/
news.release/ecec.nr0.htm) and are: Engineer:
$64.91/hour, and File Clerk: $31.16/hour. Hourly
cost for the engineer are used for the one-time costs,
and hourly cost for the file clerk are used for the
ongoing record retention.

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$57.90 (reduction).

5 GO = Generator Owner, DP = Distribution
Provider, TO = Transmission Owner, each of which
applies load-responsive protective relays at the
terminals of the Elements listed in the proposed
standard at section 3.2 (Facilities).
6 The estimated hourly costs (salary plus benefits)
are based on Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
information May 2014, (at http://bls.gov/oes/
current/naics3_221000.htm#17-0000) for an
electrical engineer ($59.62/hour for review and
documentation), and for a file clerk ($28.95/hour for
record retention). Those figures (and the number of
respondents) were used when the standard was
approved and added to the OMB inventory. Hourly
cost for the engineer are used for the one-time costs,
and hourly cost for the file clerk are used for the
ongoing record retention.

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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 16, 2018 / Notices
Net Effect to Burden for FERC–725G:
Due to the retirement of PRC–025–1 and
implementation of PRC–025–2, the
number of respondents is reduced by
25, and the number of annual burden
hours is reduced by 550 hours. (The net
changes are due to a change in the
number of affected entities on the NERC
Registry.) The burden per respondent
for PRC–025–2 remains 22 hours (total
for both one-time and ongoing burden,
similar to the now-retired PRC–025–1).
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: May 9, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018–10443 Filed 5–15–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. CP18–477–000]

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Notice of Application: UGI Central
Penn Gas, Inc. and UGI Utilities, Inc.
Take notice that on May 2, 2018, UGI
Central Penn Gas, Inc. (CPG), and UGI
Utilities, Inc. (UGIU) (collectively,
Applicants), both wholly-owned direct
subsidiaries of UGI Corporation and
both currently located at 2525 N. 12th
Street, Reading, Pennsylvania 19605,
filed in Docket No. CP18–477–000 an
application pursuant to sections 7(b)
and 7(f) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA),
and Part 157 of the Commission’s
regulations. Specifically, the Applicants
request: (i) Authority to abandon certain
limited jurisdiction certificates for
transportation services held by CPG
pertaining to its Maryland local gas
distribution system located in Maryland
and Pennsylvania; and (ii) for transfer of
CPG’s service area determination to
UGIU. The Applicants state that the
requested authorizations are required to
implement aspects of the pending
transfer of the local natural gas

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distribution assets from CPG into UGIU
pursuant to a corporate merger, all as
more fully set forth in the application
which is on file with the Commission
and open to public inspection. The
filing may also be viewed on the web at
http://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.
For assistance, contact FERC at
[email protected] or call
toll-free, (866) 208–3676 or TYY, (202)
502–8659.
Any questions regarding this
application should be directed to Frank
Merkle, Senior Counsel, UGI
Corporation, Box 858, Valley Forge,
Pennsylvania 19482; or by email at
[email protected].
Pursuant to section 157.9 of the
Commission’s rules (18 CFR 157.9),
within 90 days of this Notice, the
Commission staff will either: Complete
its environmental assessment (EA) and
place it into the Commission’s public
record (eLibrary) for this proceeding; or
issue a Notice of Schedule for
Environmental Review. If a Notice of
Schedule for Environmental Review is
issued, it will indicate, among other
milestones, the anticipated date for the
Commission staff’s issuance of the EA
for this proposal. The filing of the EA
in the Commission’s public record for
this proceeding or the issuance of a
Notice of Schedule for Environmental
Review will serve to notify federal and
state agencies of the timing for the
completion of all necessary reviews, and
the subsequent need to complete all
federal authorizations within 90 days of
the date of issuance of the Commission
staff’s EA.
There are two ways to become
involved in the Commission’s review of
this project. First, any person wishing to
obtain legal status by becoming a party
to the proceedings for this project
should, on or before the comment date
stated below, file with the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888
First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426,
a motion to intervene in accordance
with the requirements of the
Commission’s Rules of Practice and
Procedure (18 CFR 385.214 or 385.211)
and the Regulations under the NGA (18
CFR 157.10). A person obtaining party
status will be placed on the service list
maintained by the Secretary of the
Commission and will receive copies of
all documents filed by the applicant and
by all other parties. A party must submit
five copies of filings made with the
Commission and must mail a copy to
the applicant and to every other party in
the proceeding. Only parties to the

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22663

proceeding can ask for court review of
Commission orders in the proceeding.
However, a person does not have to
intervene in order to have comments
considered. The second way to
participate is by filing with the
Secretary of the Commission, as soon as
possible, an original and two copies of
comments in support of or in opposition
to this project. The Commission will
consider these comments in
determining the appropriate action to be
taken, but the filing of a comment alone
will not serve to make the filer a party
to the proceeding. The Commission’s
rules require that persons filing
comments in opposition to the project
provide copies of their protests only to
the party or parties directly involved in
the protest.
Persons who wish to comment only
on the environmental review of this
project should submit an original and
two copies of their comments to the
Secretary of the Commission.
Environmental commentors will be
placed on the Commission’s
environmental mailing list, will receive
copies of the environmental documents,
and will be notified of meetings
associated with the Commission’s
environmental review process.
Environmental commentors will not be
required to serve copies of filed
documents on all other parties.
However, the non-party commentors
will not receive copies of all documents
filed by other parties or issued by the
Commission (except for the mailing of
environmental documents issued by the
Commission) and will not have the right
to seek court review of the
Commission’s final order.
The Commission strongly encourages
electronic filings of comments, protests
and interventions in lieu of paper using
the eFiling link at http://www.ferc.gov.
Persons unable to file electronically
should submit an original and five
copies of the protest or intervention to
the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street NE,
Washington, DC 20426.
Comment Date: 5:00 p.m. Eastern time
on May 31, 2018.
Dated: May 10, 2018.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018–10400 Filed 5–15–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

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