[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 3 (Thursday, January 5, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 1716-1718]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-263]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

18 CFR Parts 141, 375, and 385

[Docket No. RM93-20-000]


Electronic Filing of FERC Form No. 1 and Delegation to Chief 
Accountant Order No. 574

Issued December 29, 1994.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is amending its 
regulations to provide for the electronic filing of FERC Form No. 1, 
Annual Report of Major electric utilities, licensees and others. 
Commencing with the report for reporting year 1994, due on or before 
April 30, 1995, filing will be required in the form of a computer 
diskette in addition to the currently required number of paper copies. 
No changes are being made to the FERC Form No. 1 itself. The Commission 
has concluded that the automation of Form 1 filing will yield 
significant benefits, including more timely analysis and publication of 
data, increased data analysis capability, reduced cost of data entry 
and retrieval, simplification of form design, and overall reduction of 
reporting burden.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule is effective February 6, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Richard Mattingly (Legal Information), Electric Rates and Corporate 
Regulation, Office of the General Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 825 North Capitol Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426, 
(202) 208-2070
Robert J. Lynch (Technical Information), Office of Chief Accountant, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 810 First Street, N.E., 
Washington, D.C. 20426, (202) 219-3012

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In addition to publishing the full text of 
this document in the Federal Register, the Commission also provides all 
interested persons an opportunity to inspect or copy the contents of 
this document during normal business hours in Room 3104, at 941 North 
Capitol Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426.
    The Commission Issuance Posting System (CIPS), an electronic 
bulletin board service, provides access to the text of formal documents 
issued by the Commission. CIPS is available at no charge to the user 
and may be accessed using a personal computer with a modem by dialing 
(202) 208-1397. To access CIPS, set your communications software to 
19200, 14400, 12000, 9600, 7200, 4800, 2400, 1200 or 300bps, full 
duplex, no parity, 8 data bits, and 1 stop bit. The full text of this 
document will be available on CIPS for 60 days from the date of 
issuance in ASCII and WordPerfect 5.1 format. After 60 days the 
document will be archived, but still accessible. The complete text on 
diskette in WordPerfect format may also be purchased from the 
Commission's copy contractor, La Dorn Systems Corporation, also located 
in Room 3104, 941 North Capitol Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426.

    Before Commissioners: Elizabeth Anne Moler, Chair; Vicky A. 
Bailey, James J. Hoecker, William L. Massey, and Donald F. Santa, 
Jr.
    Electronic Filing of FERC Form No. 1 and Delegation to Chief 
Accountant; Docket No. RM93-20-000.

Order No. 574 Final Rule

Issued December 29, 1994.

I. Introduction

    On July 23, 1993, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(Commission) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR)1 in 
which the Commission proposed to amend 18 CFR Parts 141 and 385 to 
provide for the electronic filing of FERC Form No. 1, ``Annual Report 
of Major electric utilities, licensees and others'' (Form 1). Under the 
proposed rule, in addition to paper copies, future Form 1 filings would 
also be made by means of a computer diskette incorporating software 
programming developed by the Commission. Electronic reporting of Form 1 
was proposed to commence with reporting year 1993, due on or before 
April 30, 1994. No change was proposed in Form 1 itself.

    \1\58 FR 40606 (July 29, 1993); IV FERC Stats. & Regs. 32,498 
(1993).
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    Interested parties were requested to submit written comments. 
Comments were received from numerous electric utilities, industry 
associations, and the Energy Information Administration of the United 
States Department of Energy. On December 30, 1993, the Commission 
issued a Notice of Intent to Act and Response to Comments 
(Notice).2 The Commission deferred issuance of a final rule 
pending development and testing of the necessary software. The 
Commission stated that it anticipated that the development and testing 
process would be complete in time for the electronic filing of Form 1 
for report year 1994, due on or before April 30, 1995. The Commission 
also stated its views on a number of issues raised by the 
commenters.3 The procedures outlined in the Notice have been 
successfully completed, and the Commission is now adopting a final rule 
amending its regulations to provide for the electronic filing of Form 1 
and also for the delegation of authority to the Chief Accountant or his 
designee to rule on requests for waiver of the electronic filing 
requirements.

    \2\59 FR 1687 (Jan. 12, 1994). In an order issued concurrently, 
on December 30, 1993, the Commission also adopted a final rule 
delegating to the Chief Accountant or his designee the authority to 
act on requests for waiver of the Form Nos. 1 and 1-F. Order No. 
564, 59 FR 1917 (Jan. 13, 1994); III FERC Stats. & Regs.  30,990 
(1993).
    \3\The discussion and analysis in the Notice is hereby 
incorporated by reference in this order.
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II. Public Reporting Burden

    The current annual reporting burden for the industry for collection 
of information is estimated to be 235,000 hours for the Form 1. The 
industry burden is based on an estimate of 1,217 average hours on an 
annual basis for the 193 entities which complete a Form 1 filing. These 
estimates include the time for reviewing instructions, searching 
existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and 
completing and reviewing the collection of information.
    The Commission anticipates that any increase in reporting burden 
for collection of information from this rule will be minimal. 
Initially, there may be some increase in reporting burden as 
respondents develop procedures and adapt equipment to implement 
electronic filing. However, for the last several years, most Form 1 
respondents have already prepared their Form 1 paper copies from 
computer-based systems. This rule will thus result largely in a 
standardization of preparing and filing the form electronically.
    Send comments regarding reporting burden or any other aspect of the 
Commission's collection of information, including suggestions for 
reducing this burden, to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 941 
North Capitol Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426 (Attention: Michael 
Miller, Information Services Division, 202-208-1415), and to the Office 
of [[Page 1717]] Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of 
Management and Budget (Attention: Desk Officer for Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission).

III. Background

    The Commission, in the exercise of its authority under the Federal 
Power Act, collects data pertaining to the electric utility industry in 
the United States.4 One of the principal forms used for collection 
of this information is Form 1, which is submitted annually by some 193 
electric utilities and licenses. Form 1 consists of cover pages, four 
pages of general information and instructions, and 113 pages of 
schedules incorporating financial and operational information 
pertaining to the respondent companies. Form 1 also requires that 
certain financial information be certified by an independent certified 
public accountant5 as conforming to the Commission's Uniform 
System of Accounts.6

    \4\16 U.S.C. 825, 825c.
    \5\18 CFR 41.11. The Commission did not propose any change in 
the requirements for filing the independent certified public 
accountant's report.
    \6\18 CFR Part 101.
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    Form 1 has heretofore been submitted in a paper or hardcopy format. 
Currently, Form 1 respondents must file an original and six copies. As 
noted in the NOPR, the Commission and its staff have been approached by 
individual electric utilities and state commission staffs inquiring 
whether the Commission had developed or planned to develop an automated 
data filing system for Form 1. These parties suggested that such a 
procedure could yield significant benefits in terms of process 
simplification and savings of time and expense.
    The Commission has concluded that the automation of Form 1 filing 
will yield significant benefits, including more timely analysis and 
publication of data, increased data analysis capability, reduced cost 
of data entry and retrieval, simplification of form design, and overall 
reduction of reporting burden. Accordingly, in this Final Rule, the 
Commission is requiring the automation of Form 1 filing.

IV. Summary of Proposal

    The NOPR outlined a plan under which the Commission would develop a 
personal computer (PC) based software package for Form 1 
reporting.7 The software would be available on standard computer 
diskettes with instructions and documentation and would be sent to each 
Form 1 respondent without charge. The program would display the Form 1, 
schedule by schedule, on the respondent's PC. The required data could 
then be manually key-entered on the respondent's PC. The program was 
intended to permit the respondent to ``import'' the required data from 
its PC or mainframe computer directly into the software package, thus 
avoiding the manual data-entry process. When the data entry process was 
completed, the respondent, using the software, would be able to produce 
a data diskette that would be submitted to the Commission, along with 
the required paper copies.8

    \7\An IBM compatible, DOS-based system.
    \8\The software package would also enable respondents to print 
paper copies of the Form 1.
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    The Commission noted that it had already initiated the process of 
procuring the necessary software package for automating Form 1 
reporting and stated that, upon receipt of the software package, the 
Commission staff would test all aspects of the system, including data 
input, data output, and print capability. The Commission also stated 
its intention to conduct a thorough field test of the software package 
with volunteer Form 1 respondents.

V. Development of the Software Program

    Development of software for electronic reporting of Form 1 was 
carried out in accordance with the outline set forth in the NOPR. 
Working with members of the Commission staff, a software contractor 
developed an initial program, which was submitted for preliminary 
testing. The program was thoroughly tested by the staff and numerous 
adjustments and revisions were adopted. Following completion of these 
tests, the staff established a working group of volunteer electric 
utilities to design a field test for the program. The field test was 
undertaken and successfully completed. The results of the field test 
confirm that the Form 1 software program is practical, reliable, and 
suitable for the purpose of electronic filing of Form 1.

VI. Reporting Procedure

    The Commission intends to mail the program to each Form 1 
respondent in late December 1994 or early January 1995. The program is 
incorporated in three diskettes, which will be accompanied by a user 
manual and a cover letter. The cover letter will include (1) an 
explanation of the principal features of the program, (2) the names and 
telephone numbers of staff contacts for any respondents requiring 
assistance, (3) diskette labelling instructions, (4) instructions for 
filing corrections (resubmissions), and (5) other pertinent information 
regarding the filing requirements and procedures. The Form 1 report, 
which will be incorporated on a single diskette, must be submitted by 
each respondent on or before April 30 of each year, commencing April 
30, 1995. Each respondent will be required to submit two duplicate 
diskettes, together with the required original and six paper copies.
    The Commission is adopting one change in reporting procedure as a 
result of the adoption of the electronic filing requirement. 
Heretofore, revisions to Form 1 data were made by means of submitting 
only those individual pages or schedules requiring correction. In the 
future, in cases where changes are required, respondents will be 
required to submit a complete Form 1 report incorporating the necessary 
changes and corrections. Two new diskettes and an original and six 
conforming paper copies will be required to be filed. This requirement 
is necessary in order to facilitate electronic collation of the 
reported data and to assure the completeness and consistency of 
reporting.

VII. Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act9 requires rulemakings to 
contain either a description and analysis of the effect that a rule 
will have on small entities or to certify that the rule will not have a 
significant economic effect on a substantial number of small entities. 
Because most respondents do not fall within the definition of ``small 
entity,''10 the Commission certifies that this rule will not have 
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.

    \9\5 U.S.C. 601-612.
    \10\See 5 U.S.C. 601(3), citing to section 3 of the Small 
Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 632, which defines a ``small-business 
concern'' as a business which is independently owned and operated 
and which is not dominant in its field of operation.
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VIII. Information Collection Statement

    The regulations of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)11 
require that OMB approve certain information and recordkeeping 
requirements imposed by an agency. The information collection 
requirements in this Final Rule are contained in FERC Form No. 1, 
``Annual Report of Major electric utilities, licensees and others'' 
(OMB approval No. 1902-0021). Since this Final Rule does not involve 
new information requirements and will have a minimal effect on current 
information collections, there is no need to obtain [[Page 1718]] OMB 
approval. However, the Commission is sending a copy to OMB for 
informational purposes only.

    \11\5 CFR 1320.14.
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IX. Environmental Statement

    Commission regulations require that an environmental assessment or 
an environmental impact statement be prepared for any Commission action 
that may have a significant adverse effect on the human 
environment.12 No environmental consideration is necessary for the 
promulgation of a rule that involves information gathering, analysis 
and dissemination.13 The final rule only affects the way in which 
the Commission gathers information. Accordingly, no environmental 
consideration is necessary.

    \12\Regulations Implementing National Environmental Policy Act, 
52 FR 47897 (Dec. 17, 1987); FERC Stats. & Regs. Regulations 
Preambles 1986-90 30,783 (1987).
    \13\18 CFR 380.4(a)(5).
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X. Effective Date

    This final rule is effective February 6, 1995.

List of Subjects

18 CFR Part 141

    Electric power, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

18 CFR 375

    Authority delegations (Government agencies), Seals and insignia, 
Sunshine Act.

18 CFR Part 385

    Administrative practice and procedure, Electric power, Penalties, 
Pipelines, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    By the Commission.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.

    In consideration of the foregoing, the Commission amends Parts 141, 
375 and 385 in Chapter I, Title 18, Code of Federal Regulations, as set 
forth below.

PART 141--STATEMENTS AND REPORTS (SCHEDULES)

    1. The authority citation for Part 141 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 79; 16 U.S.C. 791a-828c, 2601-2645; 31 
U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 7101-7352.

    2. In Sec. 141.1, the heading of paragraph (b) is revised and 
paragraph (b)(2) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 141.1  FERC Form No. 1, Annual report of Major electric utilities, 
licensees and others.

* * * * *
    (b) Filing requirements.
* * * * *
    (2) When to file and what to file. This report form shall be filed 
on or before April 30 of each year for the previous calendar year. This 
report form must be filed as prescribed in Sec. 385.2011 of this 
chapter and as indicated in the general instructions set out in this 
report form, and must be properly completed and verified. Filing on 
electronic media pursuant to Sec. 385.2011 of this chapter will be 
required commencing with report year 1994, due on or before April 30, 
1995.

PART 375--THE COMMISSION

    3. The authority citation for Part 375 is revised to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 551-557; 15 U.S.C. 717-717w, 3301-3432; 16 
U.S.C. 791-825r, 2601-2645; 42 U.S.C. 7101-7352.

    4. Section 375.303 is amended by revising paragraph (l) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 375.303  Delegations to the Chief Accountant.

* * * * *
    (1) Deny or grant, in whole or part, requests for waiver of the 
requirements for statements or reports under Sec. 141.1 of this chapter 
(FERC Form No. 1, Annual Report of Major electric utilities, licensees 
and others) and Sec. 141.2 of this chapter (FERC Form No. 1-F, Annual 
report for Nonmajor public utilities and licensees), and of the filing 
of FERC Form No. 1 on electronic media (Sec. 385.2011 of this chapter, 
Procedures for filing on electronic media, paragraphs (a)(6), (c), and 
(e)).

PART 385--RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE

    5. The authority citation for Part 385 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 551-557; 15 U.S.C. 717-717z, 3301-3432; 16 
U.S.C. 791a-825r, 2601-2645; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 7101-7352; 49 
U.S.C. 60502; 49 App. U.S.C. 1-85.

    6. Section 385.2011 is amended by revising the heading, by adding 
paragraph (a)(6) and by revising paragraphs (c)(3), (e)(1), (e)(2) and 
(e)(4) to read as follows:


Sec. 385.2011  Procedures for filing on electronic media (Rule 2011).

    (a) * * *
    (6) FERC Form No. 1, Annual report of Major electric utilities, 
licensees and others.
* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (3) The electronic media must be accompanied by the traditional 
prescribed number of paper copies.
* * * * *
    (e) Waiver--(1) Filing of petition. If a natural gas company, 
electric utility, licensee or other entity does not have and is unable 
to acquire the computer capability to file the information required to 
be filed on electronic media, the company may request waiver from the 
requirement of this part, by filing an original and two copies of a 
petition. The natural gas company, electric utility, licensee or other 
entity may renew the waiver if the company can continue to show that it 
does not have and is unable to acquire the computer capability for 
electric filing.
    (2) Standard for waiver. The petition for waiver must show that the 
natural gas company, electric utility, licensee or other entity does 
not have the computer capability to file the information required under 
this section on electronic media and that acquisition of the capability 
would cause the company severe economic hardship. This waiver may be 
granted for up to one year.
* * * * *
    (4) Decision on petition. The Commission or its designee will 
review a petition for waiver and notify the applicant of its grant or 
denial. Once the petition is decided, the natural gas company, electric 
utility, licensee or other entity will have 30 days from the date of 
notification of the decision to submit any information, in the manner 
specified by the Commission in the decision on the waiver petition, 
that was required to be filed while the petition was pending.

[FR Doc. 95-263 Filed 1-4-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P