[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 3, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14766-14768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-8133]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Energy Information Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities

AGENCY: Energy Information Administration, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Agency information collection activities: Proposed collection; 
comment request.

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SUMMARY: The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is soliciting 
comments concerning the revisions to the Form EIA-411, ``Coordinated 
Bulk Power Supply Program Report.''

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before June 3, 1996. If 
you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find it 
difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this notice, 
you should advise the contact listed below of your intention to do so 
as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Mr. John W. Makens, EI-523, Office of Coal, 
Nuclear, Electric and Alternate Fuels, Energy Information 
Administration, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, 
SW., Washington, DC 20585. Phone--(202) 426-1165. FAX--(202) 426-1308. 
E:mail: [email protected]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the form and instructions should be directed to Mr. John W. 
Makens at the address listed above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background.
II. Current Actions.
III. Request for Comments.

[[Page 14767]]


I. Background

    In order to fulfill its responsibilities under the Federal Energy 
Administration Act of 1974 (Pub. L. No. 93-275) and the Department of 
Energy Organization Act (Public Law 95-91), the Energy Information 
Administration is obliged to carry out a central, comprehensive, and 
unified energy data and information program. As part of this program, 
EIA collects, evaluates, assembles, analyzes, and disseminates data and 
information related to energy resource reserves, production, demand, 
and technology, and related economic and statistical information 
relevant to the adequacy of energy resources to meet demands in the 
near and longer term future for the Nation's economic and social needs.
    The Energy Information Administration, as part of its continuing 
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden (required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-13)), conducts a 
presurvey consultation program to provide the general public and other 
Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or 
continuing reporting forms. This program helps to ensure that requested 
data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden is 
minimized, reporting forms are clearly understood, and the impact of 
collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed.
    The Form EIA-411 is filed annually as a voluntary report. The 
information reported includes: (1) Actual energy and peak demand for 
the preceding year and 10 additional years; (2) existing and future 
generating capacity; (3) scheduled capacity transfers; (4) projections 
of capacity, demand, purchases, sales, and scheduled maintenance; and 
(5) bulk power system maps. These data support queries from the 
executive branch, Congress, other public agencies, and the general 
public. The data present various council aggregate totals for their 
member electric utilities, with some nonmember information included. 
The 1994 Electric Power Annual, Volume II published selected 
information, while the 1994 Inventory of Power Plants in the United 
States published capacity information. These publications and other EIA 
publications may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, 
U.S. Government Printing Office. Telephone orders may be directed to: 
Mail Order Desk, (202) 512-1800 or by FAX at (202) 512-2250.

II. Current Actions

    EIA is requesting a 3 year clearance to an existing collection that 
has been changed. The following schedules were dropped when the form 
(previously the OE-411, ``Coordinated Regional Bulk Power Supply 
Program Report) was transferred to EIA: Item 3-B, Assessment of 
Adequacy; Item 3-C, Generating Capacity Unavailability; Item 5-A, Near 
Term Transmission Adequacy; Item 5-B, Future Critical Bulk Power 
Facilities That Will Not Be in Service When Required; Item 5-C, System 
Evaluation Criteria; Item 6-A, Coordination of Operations; Item 6-B, 
Load Preservation Program; and Item 7, Additional Information. 
Comments, if any, about these deletions from the new form will be 
considered. In addition, the information from Item 1, Actual Energy and 
Peak Demand for the Preceding Year and 10 Additional Years, will not be 
available in 1996; however, Item 1 is under consideration to be kept on 
the new form via this clearance review. Information found in Item 1 
includes, by North American Electric Reliability Council Region (NERC), 
the 12 monthly peak and energy demand data elements for the prior year, 
estimated values for the reporting year, and 10-year projections. The 
information provided shows all monthly peak loads and energy, thereby 
allowing the examination of seasonal patterns by NERC regions and for 
any region having sub-regions.
    The Form EIA-411 will be filed in a unified, electronic format in 
which the national and individual council aggregates will be provided 
for all items. There will be no individual council reports produced on 
paper.

III. Request for Comments

    Prospective respondents and other interested parties should comment 
on the actions discussed in item II. The following guidelines are 
provided to assist in the preparation of responses.

General Issues

    EIA is interested in receiving comments from persons regarding:
    A. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether the information will have practical utility. Practical utility 
is the actual usefulness of information to or for an agency, taking 
into account its accuracy, adequacy, reliability, timeliness, and the 
agency's ability to process the information it collects.
    B. What enhancements can EIA make to the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected?

As a Potential Respondent

    A. Are the instructions and definitions clear and sufficient? If 
not, which instructions require clarification?
    B. Can data be submitted in accordance with the due date specified 
in the instructions?
    C. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to 
average 13 hours per utility providing information to the NERC regional 
councils and average of 650 hours for each of the regional councils to 
provide consolidated information to NERC. It is then estimated that it 
will take NERC 240 hours to file 1 report covering all council regions 
with the EIA. Burden includes the total time, effort, or financial 
resources expended to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or 
provide the information including: (1) Reviewing instructions; (2) 
developing, acquiring, installing, and utilizing technology and systems 
for the purposes of collecting, validating, verifying, processing, 
maintaining, disclosing and providing information; (3) adjusting the 
existing ways to comply with any previously applicable instructions and 
requirements; (4) training personnel to respond to a collection of 
information; (5) searching data sources; (6) completing and reviewing 
the collection of information; and (7) transmitting, or otherwise 
disclosing the information.
    Please comment on (1) the accuracy of our estimate, and (2) how the 
agency could minimize the burden of the collection of information, 
including, through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology.
    D. What are the estimated (1) total dollar amount annualized for 
capital and start-up costs, and (2) recurring annual dollar amount of 
operation and maintenance and purchase of services costs associated 
with this data collection? The estimates should take into account the 
costs associated with generating, maintaining, and disclosing or 
providing the information. Estimates should not include purchases of 
equipment or services made as part of customary and usual business 
practices, or the cost of any burden hours for completing the form. EIA 
estimates that there are no additional costs other than those that the 
respondent incurs in keeping the information for its own uses.
    E. Do you know of any other Federal, State, or local agency that 
collects similar data? If you do, specify the agency, the data 
element(s), and the methods of collection.

[[Page 14768]]


As a Potential User

    A. Can you use data at the levels of detail indicated on the form?
    B. For what purpose would you use the data? Be specific.
    C. Are there alternate sources of data and do you use them? If so, 
what are their deficiencies and/or strengths?
    D. For the most part, information is published by EIA in U.S. 
customary units, e.g., cubic feet of natural gas, short tons of coal, 
and barrels of oil. Would you prefer to see EIA publish more 
information in metric units, e.g., cubic meters, metric tons, and 
kilograms? If yes, please specify what information (e.g., coal 
production, natural gas consumption, and crude oil imports), the metric 
unit(s) of measurement preferred, and in which EIA publication(s) you 
would like to see such information.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the form. They also 
will become a matter of public record.

    Statutory Authority: Section 3506 (c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Public Law No. 104-13).

    Issued in Washington, DC March 27, 1996.
Yvonne M. Bishop,
Director, Office of Statistical Standards Energy Information 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 96-8133 Filed 4-2-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P