FERC-585 60-day notice published

15824

Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 71 / Thursday, April 12, 2018 / Notices

Tuesday, April 17, 2018, to RSVP and
to receive specific instructions on how
to participate.
Dated: April 6, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018–07552 Filed 4–11–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. IC18–11–000]

Commission Information Collection
Activities (FERC–585); 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 currently
approved information collection, FERC–
585 (Reporting of Electric Energy
Shortages and Contingency Plans Under
PURPA Section 206).
DATES: Comments on the collection of
information are due June 11, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
(identified by Docket No. IC18–11–000)
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
SUMMARY:

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–585 (Reporting of Electric
Energy Shortages and Contingency
Plans Under PURPA 1 Section 206).
OMB Control No.: 1902–0138.
Type of Request: Three-year extension
of the FERC–585 information collection
requirements with no changes to the
current reporting requirements.
Abstract: The Commission uses the
information collected under the
requirements of FERC–585 ‘‘Reporting
of Electric Energy Shortages and
Contingency Plans under Public Utility
Regulatory Policies Act of 1979’’ to
implement the statutory provisions of
Section 206 of PURPA. Section 206 of
PURPA amended the Federal Power Act
(FPA) by adding a new subsection (g) to
section 202, under which the
Commission, by rule, was to require
each public utility to report to the
Commission and any appropriate state
regulatory authority:
• Any anticipated shortages of
electric energy or capacity which would
affect the utility’s capability to serve its
wholesale customers; and
• a contingency plan that would
outline what circumstances might give
rise to such occurrences.
In Order No. 575,2 the Commission
modified the reporting requirements in
18 CFR 294.101(b) to provide that, if a
public utility includes in its rates
schedule, provisions that during electric
energy and capacity shortages:

• It will treat firm power wholesale
customers without undue
discrimination or preference; and
• it will report any modifications to
its contingency plan for accommodating
shortages within 15 days to the
appropriate state regulatory agency and
to the affected wholesale customers,
then the utility need not file with the
Commission an additional statement of
contingency plan for accommodating
such shortages.
This revision merely changed the
reporting mechanism; the public
utility’s contingency plan would be
located in its filed rate rather than in a
separate document.
In Order No. 659,3 the Commission
modified the reporting requirements in
18 CFR 294.101(e) to provide that the
means by which public utilities must
comply with the requirements to report
shortages and anticipated shortages is to
submit this information electronically
using the Office of Electric Reliability’s
pager system at [email protected] in
lieu of submitting an original and two
copies with the Secretary of the
Commission.
The Commission uses the information
to evaluate and formulate an
appropriate option for action in the
event an unanticipated shortage is
reported and/or materializes. Without
this information, the Commission and
State agencies would be unable to:
• Examine and approve or modify
utility actions;
• prepare a response to anticipated
disruptions in electric energy; and/or
• ensure equitable treatment of all
public utility customers under the
shortage situations.
The Commission implements these
filing requirements in the Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR
part 294.101.
Type of Respondents: Public Utilities.
Estimate of Annual Burden: 4 The
Commission estimates the annual public
reporting burden for the information
collection as:

sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES

REPORTING OF ELECTRIC ENERGY SHORTAGES AND CONTINGENCY PLANS UNDER PURPA
Number of respondents

Annual number
of responses per
respondent

Total number of
responses

Average burden & cost per
response 5

Total annual burden hours &
total annual cost

Cost per
respondent

(1)

(2)

(1) * (2) = (3)

(4)

(3) * (4) = (5)

(5) ÷ (1)

73 hrs.; $5,585 ....................

73 hrs.; $5,585 ....................

1 ..................................

1

1

1 PURPA = Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act
of 1979 (Pub. L. 95–617, 92 Statute 3117), enacted
11/9/1978.
2 Final Rule in Docket RM92–12–000, issued on
1/13/1995.

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3 Final Rule in Docket RM05–19–000, issued on
5/27/2005.
4 ‘‘Burden’’ is defined as the total time, effort, or
financial resources expended by persons to
generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide

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$5,585

information to or for a Federal agency. For further
explanation of what is included in the information
collection burden, reference 5 Code of Federal
Regulations 1320.3.

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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 71 / Thursday, April 12, 2018 / Notices
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: April 6, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018–07555 Filed 4–11–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. IC18–12–000]

Commission Information Collection
Activities (FERC–566); 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

SUMMARY:

Reduction Act of 1995, the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission
(Commission or FERC) is soliciting
public comment on the currently
approved information collection, FERC–
566 (Annual Report of a Utility’s 20
Largest Purchasers).
DATES: Comments on the collection of
information are due June 11, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
(identified by Docket No. IC18–12–000)
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:

15825

Title: FERC–566 (Annual Report of a
Utility’s 20 Largest Purchasers).
OMB Control No.: 1902–0114.
Type of Request: Three-year extension
of the FERC–566 information collection
requirements with no changes to the
current reporting requirements.
Abstract: The Federal Power Act
(FPA), as amended by the Public Utility
Regulatory Policies Act of 1978
(PURPA), mandates federal oversight
and approval of certain electric
corporate activities to ensure that
neither public nor private interests are
adversely affected. Accordingly, the
FPA proscribes related information
filing requirements to achieve this goal.
Such filing requirements are found in
the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR),
specifically in 18 CFR 131.31, and serve
as the basis for the FERC–566.
FERC–566 implements FPA
requirements that each public utility
annually publish a list of the 20
purchasers which purchased the largest
annual amounts of electric energy sold
by such public utility during any of the
three previous calendar years. The
public disclosure of this information
provides the information necessary to
determine whether an interlocked
position is with any of the 20 largest
purchasers of electric energy. Similar to
the Form 561,1 the FPA identifies who
must file the FERC–566 report and sets
the filing deadline.
Type of Respondents: Public utility.
Estimate of Annual Burden: 2 The
Commission estimates the annual public
reporting burden for the information
collection as:

FERC–566 (ANNUAL REPORT OF A UTILITY’S 20 LARGEST PURCHASERS)

sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES

FERC–566 .........................

Number of
respondents

Annual
number of
responses per
respondent

Total number
of responses

Average
burden & cost per
response 3

Total annual
burden hours
& total
annual cost

Cost per
respondent
($)

(1)

(2)

(1) * (2) = (3)

(4)

(3) * (4) = (5)

(5) ÷ (1)

4 hrs.; $306 ..............

1,200 hrs.; $91,800 ..

300

1

300

$306

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.

5 The estimates for cost per response are derived
using the following formula: Average Burden Hours
per Response * $76.50 per Hour = Average Cost per
Response. The figure comes from the 2017 FERC
average hourly cost (for wages and benefits) of
$76.50 (and an average annual salary of $158,754).
Commission staff is using the FERC average salary
because we consider any reporting completed in
response to the FERC–585 to be compensated at
rates similar to the work of FERC employees.

1 FERC Form No. 561 (Annual Report of
Interlocking Directorates), OMB Control No. 1902–
0099.
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, reference 5 Code of Federal
Regulations 1320.3.

3 The estimates for cost per response are derived
using the following formula: Average Burden Hours
per Response * $76.50 per Hour = Average Cost per
Response. The figure comes from the 2017 FERC
average hourly cost (for wages and benefits) of
$76.50 (and an average annual salary of $158,754).
Commission staff is using the FERC average hourly
cost because we consider any reporting completed
in response to the FERC–566 to be compensated at
rates similar to the work of FERC employees.

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