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—which is 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.
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
03/31/2023
36 Months From Approved
03/31/2023
63
0
63
1,890
0
1,890
0
0
0
RM20-10 NOPR. FERC proposes to revise
its existing transmission incentives policy &corresponding
regulations (Transmission Incentives Regulations) in light of
changes in transmission development and planning in the last few
years. After the enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which
added section 219 to the Federal Power Act (FPA), FERC promulgated
Order No. 679 pursuant to FPA section 219. After Order No. 679,
FERC last reviewed its transmission incentives policy in its 2012
Policy Statement. Even since then, the energy industry has
undergone a transformation. The landscape for planning, developing,
operating, &maintaining transmission infrastructure has changed
considerably. Those changes include an evolution in the resource
mix& an increase in the number of new resources seeking
transmission service, shifts in load patterns, the impact of the
implementation of FERC’s major rulemaking on transmission planning
and cost allocation (Order 1000), & new challenges to
maintaining the reliability of transmission infrastructure. As a
result of these changes & FERC's greater experience evaluating
transmission incentive applications made pursuant to Order 679 and
their relationship to the objectives of FPA section 219, we now
propose to revise our transmission incentives policy to more
closely align it with the statutory language of FPA section 219.
FERC-730, in general. The information collected in the FERC-730 is
necessary for the Commission to evaluate its incentive rates
policies, and to demonstrate the effectiveness of these policies.
The FERC-730 filing requirement allows the Commission to track the
progress of electric transmission projects that have been granted
incentive-based rates, providing an accurate assessment of the
state of the industry with respect to transmission investment, and
ensuring that incentive rates are effective in encouraging the
development of appropriate transmission infrastructure. To promote
the development of needed energy infrastructure, Congress enacted
section 1241 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which added a new
section 219 to the Federal Power Act (FPA). Section 219 of the FPA
required that the Commission issue a rule allowing incentive-based
rate treatments to promote capital investment in the enlargement,
improvement, maintenance, and operation of transmission facilities.
To comply with these FPA requirements, the Commission issued Order
No. 679 in 2006. Order 679 allowed public utilities participating
in interstate commerce to apply for certain incentives, including:
(1) a rate of return on equity sufficient to attract new investment
in transmission facilities, (2) 100% of prudently incurred
Construction Work in Progress (CWIP) in rate base, (3) recovery of
prudently incurred pre-commercial operations costs, (4) accelerated
depreciation, (5) hypothetical capital structure, and (6) recovery
of 100% of prudently incurred costs of transmission facilities that
are cancelled or abandoned due to factors beyond the control of the
public utility. The Commission's incentive rates policies under
Order No. 679 aim to ensure reliability and reduce the cost of
delivered power by decreasing transmission congestion. The
Commission created FERC-730 to better inform its incentive rate
policies, ensuring that they encourage appropriate infrastructure
development and meet the requirements of FPA section 219. FERC-730
is an annual filing requirement for utilities that have been
granted incentive-based rates. Utilities must file the following
information in FERC-730: actual monetary investment for the most
recent calendar year; planned investments for the next five years;
and a project-by-project listing that includes each project planned
for investment over the next five years and specifies expected
completion date, percentage completion as of the filing date, and
any reasons for delay. The filing requirements of FERC-730 are
codified under 18 CFR §35.35(h).
The reforms proposed to the
Commission’s transmission incentives policy will both help to
reflect recent changes in the industry and transmission planning
and more closely align with the statutory language of FPA section
219. As part of ensuring that we continue to meet our statutory
obligations, the Commission periodically reviews its existing
policies and regulations. The Commission established its
transmission incentives policy in Order No. 679 and clarified that
policy six years later in the 2012 Policy Statement. In the nearly
eight years since our last formal review of the Commission’s
transmission incentives policy, the landscape for planning,
developing, operating, and maintaining transmission infrastructure
has changed considerably. These changes include an evolution in the
resource mix, an increase in the number of new resources seeking
transmission service, shifts in load patterns, the Commission’s
implementation of Order No. 1000’s reforms, and new challenges to
maintaining the reliability of transmission infrastructure. While
transmission infrastructure development has remained generally
robust at an aggregate level, the types of transmission projects
that are needed, and the use of rate treatments to incent them,
must evolve to reflect the changes in market fundamentals. In the
NOPR in Docket RM20-10, FERC proposes to reform the information
collected from transmission incentive applicants in FERC-730,
Report of Transmission Investment Activity (Form 730), by obtaining
this information on a project-by-project basis and to expand some
of the information collected and to increase the number of
respondents by 137. The new burden per response would be 36 hrs.
(an increase of 6 hrs. [to 36 hrs. each] for the existing 63
respondents, and an increase of 137 respondents [at 36 hrs.
each]).
$63,072
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Daniel Kheloussi 202
502-6391
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 FERC-730 FERC-730, Report of Transmission Investment Activity [incl. add. 6 hr. each burden proposed in NOPR in RM20-10]
RM20-10 NOPR Supporting Statement (FERC-516 + FERC-730) 8-12-2020.docx
RM20-10NOPR_news release3-19-2020.pdf
FERC-730, Report of Transmission Investment Activity [incl. add. 6 hr. each burden proposed in NOPR in RM20-10]