IC19-40, 30-day Notice

61050

Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 218 / Tuesday, November 12, 2019 / Notices

persons listed in the service list
prepared by the Commission in this
proceeding, in accordance with 18 CFR
4.34(b) and 385.2010.
o. Procedural Schedule: The
application will be processed according
to the following revised Hydro
Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the
schedule may be made as appropriate.
Milestone

Target date

Filing of recommendations,
preliminary terms and conditions, and preliminary
fishway prescriptions.
Commission issues EA .........
Comments on EA ..................
Modified terms and conditions.

January 2019.

June 2020.
July 2020.
September
2020.

p. Final amendments to the
application must be filed with the
Commission no later than 30 days from
the issuance date of this notice.
q. A license applicant must file no
later than 60 days following the date of
issuance of the notice of acceptance and
ready for environmental analysis
provided for in 5.22: (1) A copy of the
water quality certification; (2) a copy of
the request for certification, including
proof of the date on which the certifying
agency received the request; or (3)
evidence of waiver of water quality
certification.
Dated: November 5, 2019.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019–24564 Filed 11–8–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. IC19–40–000]

Commission Information Collection
Activities (FERC–516a); 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–
516A (Standardization of Small
Generator Interconnection Agreements
and Procedures) and submitting the
information collection to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for

SUMMARY:

VerDate Sep<11>2014

17:47 Nov 08, 2019

Jkt 250001

review. Any interested person may file
comments directly with OMB and
should address a copy of those
comments to the Commission as
explained below. On September 4, 2019,
the Commission published a Notice in
the Federal Register (84 FR 46506) in
Docket No. IC19–40–000 requesting
public comments. The Commission
received no public comments.
DATES: Comments on the collection of
information are due December 12, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Comments filed with OMB,
identified by OMB Control No. 1902–
0203, should be sent via email to the
Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs: [email protected].
Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission Desk Officer.
A copy of the comments should also
be sent to the Commission, in Docket
No. IC19–40–000, 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–516A, Standardization of
Small Generator Interconnection
Agreements and Procedures.
OMB Control No.: 1902–0203.
Type of Request: Three-year extension
of the FERC–516A information
collection requirements with no changes
to the current requirements.
Abstract: Under Sections 205 and 206
of the Federal Power Act (FPA), the
Commission is charged with ensuring
just and reasonable electric transmission
rates and charges as well as ensuring
that jurisdictional providers do not
subject any person to any undue
prejudice or disadvantage.
The lack of consistent and readily
accessible terms and conditions for

PO 00000

Frm 00046

Fmt 4703

Sfmt 4703

connecting resources to the grid led to
a large number of disputes between
jurisdictional transmission providers
and small generators in the late 1990s
and early 2000s. In response, the
Commission directed transmission
providers to include Commissionapproved, standard, pro-forma
interconnection procedures (small
generator interconnection procedures or
SGIP) and a single uniformly applicable
interconnection agreement (small
generator interconnection agreement or
SGIA) in their open-access transmission
tariffs (OATTs). The requirement to
create and file these documents was
instituted in August 2005 by
Commission Order No. 2006 and is
codified in 18 CFR 35.28(f). This
requirement set and maintained a
standard in OATTs for consistent
consideration and processing of
interconnection requests by
transmission providers.
Since the issuance of Order No. 2006,
many aspects of the energy industry
have changed including the growth of
small generator interconnection requests
and the growth in solar photovoltaic
(PV) installations. These changes have
been driven, in part, by state renewable
energy goals and policies. For example,
approximately 3,300 MW of gridconnected PV capacity were installed in
the U.S. in 2012, compared to 79 MW
in 2005, the year Order No. 2006 was
issued.
In February 2012, pursuant to
Sections 205 and 206 of the FPA and
Rule 207 of the Commission’s Rules of
Practice and Procedures,1 and noting
that the Commission encouraged
stakeholders to submit proposed
revisions to the regulations set forth in
Order No. 2006, the Solar Energy
Industries Association (SEIA) filed a
Petition to Initiate Rulemaking
(Petition).2 The Petition requested the
Commission revise the pro forma SGIA
and SGIP set forth in Order No. 2006.
SEIA asserted that the pro forma SGIP
and SGIA as applied to small solar
generation were no longer just and
reasonable, had become unduly
discriminatory, and presented
unreasonable barriers to market entry.
SEIA noted that its Petition would apply
exclusively to solar electric generation
due to its unique characteristics.
In 2012 the Commission issued a
Notice of Petition for Rulemaking in
Docket No. RM12–10–000 and began a
public process to explore SEIA’s
1 18

CFR 385.207.
Petition at 4 (citing Order No. 2006, FERC
Stats. & Regs. 31,180 at P 118). Docket No. RM12–
10–000, https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/
opennat.asp?fileID=12895647.
2 SEIA

E:\FR\FM\12NON1.SGM

12NON1

Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 218 / Tuesday, November 12, 2019 / Notices
Petition through the Commission’s
formal notice and comment process as
well as technical conferences.
In November 2013, the Commission
issued Order No. 792 to amend the pro
forma Small Generator Interconnection
Procedures and pro forma Small
Generator Interconnection Agreement.
Order No. 792:
(1) Incorporated provisions that
provided an Interconnection Customer
with the option of requesting from the
Transmission Provider a pre-application
report providing existing information
about system conditions at a possible
Point of Interconnection;
(2) revised the 2 megawatt (MW)
threshold for participation in the Fast
Track Process included in section 2 of
the pro forma SGIP;

(3) revised the customer options
meeting and the supplemental review
following failure of the Fast Track
screens so that the supplemental review
is performed at the discretion of the
Interconnection Customer and includes
minimum load and other screens to
determine if a Small Generating Facility
may be interconnected safely and
reliably;
(4) revised the pro forma SGIP
Facilities Study Agreement to allow the
Interconnection Customer the
opportunity to provide written
comments to the Transmission Provider
on the upgrades required for
interconnection;
(5) revised the pro forma SGIP and the
pro forma SGIA to specifically include
energy storage devices; and

61051

(6) clarified certain sections of the pro
forma SGIP and the pro forma SGIA.
With these modifications, the
Commission concluded that the package
of reforms adopted in Order No. 792
would reduce the time and cost to
process small generator interconnection
requests for Interconnection Customers
and Transmission Providers, maintain
reliability, increase energy supply, and
remove barriers to the development of
new energy resources.
Type of Respondents: Jurisdictional
transmission service providers.
Estimate of Annual Burden: 3 The
Commission estimates the following
burden and cost.4

FERC–516A
Requirements 5

Number of
respondents
annually

Annual
number of
responses per
respondent

Total number
of responses
(rounded)

Average
burden & cost
($) per
response

Total annual burden
hours & total
annual cost ($)
(rounded)

Cost per
respondent
($)

(1)

(2)

(1) * (2) = (3)

(4)

(3) * (4) = (5)

(5) ÷ (1)

Maintenance of Documents—Transmission Providers.
Filing of Agreements—
Transmission Providers.
Pre-Application Report—
Interconnection Customers 6.
Pre-Application Report—
Transmission Providers.
Supplemental Review—
Interconnection Customers.
Supplemental Review—
Transmission Providers.
Review of Required Upgrades—Interconnection
Customers.
Review of Required Upgrades—Transmission
Providers.
Total ..............................

46

1

46

1 hr.; $84.38 .........

46 hrs.; $3,881 ...............

$84.38

95

1

95

25 hrs.; $2,109.50

2,375 hrs.; $200,403 ......

2,109.50

800

1

800

1 hr.; $84.38 .........

800 hrs.; $67,504 ...........

84.38

142

5.63

800

2.5 hrs.; $210.95 ...

2,000 hrs.; $168,760 ......

1,188.45

500

1

500

0.5 hr.; $42.19 ......

250 hrs.; $21,095 ...........

42.19

142

3.52

500

20 hrs.; $1,687.60

10,000 hrs.; $843,800 ....

5,942.25

250

1

250

1 hr.; $84.38 .........

250 hrs.; $21,095 ...........

84.38

142

1.76

250

2 hrs.; $168.76 ......

500 hrs.; $42,190 ...........

297.11

........................

........................

3,241

...............................

16,221 hrs.; $1,368,728

....................

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: November 5, 2019.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.

3 Burden is 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 Title 5 Code of Federal Regulations
Part 1320.

4 The hourly estimates for wages plus benefits are
derived from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (at
http://bls.gov/oes/current/naics3_221000.htm and
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm). For
wages plus benefits, we are using $84.38 per hour,
which is the average for an attorney (occupation
code 23–0000, $142.86/hour), an electrical engineer
(occupation code 17–2071, $68.17/hour), and

administrative staff (occupation code 43–0000,
$42.11/hour).
5 All requirements for transmission providers are
mandatory. All requirements for interconnection
customers are voluntary.
6 We assume each request for a pre-application
report corresponds with one Interconnection
Customer.

VerDate Sep<11>2014

17:47 Nov 08, 2019

Jkt 250001

PO 00000

Frm 00047

Fmt 4703

Sfmt 9990

[FR Doc. 2019–24565 Filed 11–8–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

E:\FR\FM\12NON1.SGM

12NON1