In accordance
with 5 CFR 1320, OMB is filing comment and withholding approval at
this time. The agency shall examine public comment in response to
the proposed rulemaking and will include in the supporting
statement of the next ICR--to be submitted to OMB at the final rule
stage--a description of how the agency has responded to any public
comments on the ICR, including comments on maximizing the practical
utility of the collection and minimizing the burden. In addition,
the previous terms of clearance are still in effect: OMB encourages
FERC to reach out to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) (and any
other commenters) to discuss the data needs BEA identified during
the review of this information collection request renewal and to
determine whether possible efficiencies (to the federal government
and industry) may be made by including additional data or
information requirements in this form in the future.
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
12/31/2019
36 Months From Approved
12/31/2019
5
0
5
610
0
610
0
0
0
NOPR in RM19-12. A consolidated
supporting statement is being submitted with for Forms 1, 1-F, and
3-Q (electric and gas), 2, 2A, 6, 6Q, 714A, & 60A The
Commission is proposing to transition from the current use of the
Visual FoxPro software, which is no longer supported by its
developer, to a type of Extensible Markup Language (XML) called
eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). The XBRL standard
would be used to file the Commission’s Form Nos. 1, 1-F, 2, 2-A,
3-Q electric, 3-Q natural gas, 6, 6-Q, 60, and 714. The use of XBRL
should make the information in these forms easier for filers and
data users to analyze and assist in automating regulatory filings
and business information processing. In addition, the Commission
believes that transitioning from the current Visual FoxPro system
to XBRL will decrease the costs, over time, of preparing the
necessary data for submission and complying with future changes to
filing requirements set forth by the Commission. The Commission is
also proposing to revise its regulations to require filers of Form
No. 1-F to file their report in electronic media pursuant to 18 CFR
385.2011. General. In accordance with sections 304 and 309 of the
Federal Power Act, FERC is authorized to collect and record data to
the extent it considers necessary, and to prescribe rules and
regulations concerning accounts, records and memoranda. The
Commission may prescribe a system of accounts for jurisdictional
companies and after notice and an opportunity for hearing may
determine the accounts in which particular outlays and receipts
will be entered, charged or credited. The Form 1-F is designed to
collect financial and operational information from nonmajor public
utilities and licensees. Public utilities and licensees that are
not classified as major and had total sales in each of the last
three consecutive years of 10,000 megawatt-hours or more are
classified as nonmajor. The Commission collects Form No. 1-F
information as prescribed in 18 CFR 141.2. Under the existing
regulations FERC jurisdictional entities subject to its Uniform
System of Accounts must annually file with the Commission a
complete set of financial statements, along with other selected
financial and non financial data through the submission of FERC
Annual Report Form 1-F. The FERC Annual Report Forms provide the
Commission, as well as others, with an informative picture of the
jurisdictional entities financial condition along with other
relevant data that is used by the Commission, as well as others, in
making economic judgments about the entity or its industry. (Note
that ~4 out of the 5 filers choose to submit electronically using
the Form 1 software rather than submitting the paper only Form
1-F.)
Under the Commission’s
regulations, certain entities are required to report information to
the Commission by filing one or more forms. Currently, these
entities use a Commission-distributed software application called
Visual FoxPro. Each entity is required to gather its relevant
financial and other data and enter the data into Visual FoxPro,
which the entity maintains on its own computer system. The entity
then uses the Visual FoxPro software to transmit the information to
the Commission. However, Microsoft Corporation, the developer of
Visual FoxPro, no longer supports this product. Recognizing that
Microsoft Corporation no longer supports Visual FoxPro, on April
25, 2015, the Commission issued an order announcing its intention
to replace the current Visual FoxPro filing format for Form Nos. 1,
1-F, 2, 2-A, 3-Q electric, 3-Q natural gas, 6, 6-Q, 60, and 714
(collectively, the VFP Forms) with an XML-based filing format. The
Commission stated that XML is the current industry standard for
submission of electronic data, such as that captured in its forms,
and that the XML data format has significant advantages over other
approaches because it is non-proprietary, and would establish a
single standard for nearly all Commission forms while also
providing consistency with the Commission’s current electronic
tariff (eTariff) filings and the Electric Quarterly Report (EQR)
systems. The XML format facilitates the sharing of data across
different information systems, particularly via the Internet, by
structuring the data using tags to identify particular data
elements.
No
No
No
No
No
No
Uncollected
Robert Hudson 202
502-6620
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.