[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 170 (Friday, August 30, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45957-45959]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-22184]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Western Area Power Administration


Proposed Allocation of the Post-2000 Resource Pool--Pick-Sloan 
Missouri Basin Program, Eastern Division

AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Allocation.

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SUMMARY: Western Area Power Administration (Western), a Federal power 
marketing agency of the Department of Energy, hereby announces its 
Post-2000 Resource Pool Proposed Allocation of Power to fulfill the 
requirements of Subpart C--Power Marketing Initiative of the Energy 
Planning and Management Program Final Rule, 10 C.F.R. Sec. 905. The 
Post-2000 Resource Pool Proposed Allocation of Power is Western's 
implementation of Subpart C--Power Marketing Initiative of the Energy 
Planning and Management Program Final Rule. Western's call for 
applications for power was published in the Federal Register at 61 FR 
2817, January 29, 1996, and revised and clarified in the Federal 
Register at 61 FR 28574, June 5, 1996. Western published the Final 
Post-2000 Resource Pool Allocation Procedures in the Federal Register 
at 61 FR 41142, August 7, 1996.
    Applications for power were accepted at Western's Upper Great 
Plains Customer Service Region until close of business on July 5, 1996. 
The Proposed Allocation of Power published herein is the result of 
those applications. Only comments relevant to the proposed allocations 
will be accepted during this period. A Federal Register notice of the 
final allocations of power will address the comments received during 
the comment period.

DATES: The comment period on the Proposed Allocation of Power will 
begin August 30, 1996 and will end October 7, 1996. To be assured of 
consideration, all written comments must be sent by certified or return 
receipt requested U.S. mail and received by the end of the comment 
period. Western will hold public information forums and public comment 
forums on the Proposed Allocation of Power on September 18, 19, and 20, 
1996, at the following locations and times:

September 18, 1996
    Hilton Sioux Hotel, 707 Fourth St., Sioux City, Iowa
    Information forum--1 p.m. (not to exceed 2 hours)
    Comment forum--immediately following the information forum
September 19, 1996
    Kelly Inn, 1-29 and Main Avenue, Fargo, North Dakota
    Information forum--1 p.m. (not to exceed 2 hours)
    Comment forum--immediately following the information forum
September 20, 1996
    Holiday Inn Rushmore Plaza, 505 North 5th Street, Rapid City, South 
Dakota
    Information forum--9 a.m. (not to exceed 2 hours)
    Comment forum--immediately following the information forum

    All comments regarding the Proposed Allocation of Power should be 
directed to the following address: Mr. Gerald C. Wegner, Regional 
Manager, Upper Great Plains Customer Service Region, Western Area Power 
Administration, P.O. Box 35800, Billings, MT 59107-5800.
    All documentation developed or retained by Western for the purpose 
of developing the Proposed Allocation of Power will be available for 
inspection and copying at the Upper Great Plains Customer Service 
Region located at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert J. Harris, Power Marketing 
Manager, Upper Great Plains Customer

[[Page 45958]]

Service Region, Western Area Power Administration, P.O. Box 35800, 
Billings, MT 59107-5800, (406) 247-7394.
    After all public comments have been thoroughly considered, Western 
will prepare and publish the Final Allocation of Power in the Federal 
Register.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Western published final procedures on August 
7, 1996, at 61 FR 41142, to implement Subpart C--Power Marketing 
Initiative of the Energy Planning and Management Program Final Rule, 10 
C.F.R. Sec. 905. The Energy Planning and Management Program (Program), 
which was developed in part to implement section 114 of the Energy 
Policy Act of 1992, became effective on November 20, 1995. Subpart C of 
the Program provides for the establishment of project-specific resource 
pools and the allocation of power from these pools to new preference 
customers. Those final procedures, in conjunction with the Eastern 
Division, Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program Final Post-1985 Marketing 
Plan (Post-1985 Marketing Plan) (45 FR 71860), will establish the 
framework for allocating power from the resource pool to be established 
for the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program--Eastern Division (P-SMBP-
ED).

Proposed Allocation of Power

    Written comments on the Proposed Allocation of Power must be sent 
by certified or return receipt requested U.S. mail at the address set 
forth above by close of business on October 7, 1996. Western will 
respond to the comments received on the Proposed Allocation of Power 
and publish its final allocations after the end of the public comment 
period. New utility customers', nonutility customers', and Native 
American tribes' contracts may be entered into by Western after 
publication of that notice.
    Western proposes that Native American tribes' share of the resource 
pool is 80.64 percent in the summer season and 78.33 percent in the 
winter season. The new utility and nonutility customers' share of the 
resource pool is 19.36 percent in the summer season and 21.67 percent 
in the winter season.
    The proposed allocations of power for new Native American customers 
and the data these allocations are based upon are as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Average current western  Proposed post 2000 power
                                                  Estimated            service                 allocation       
         New Native American customers              demand   ---------------------------------------------------
                                                  kilowatts      Summer       Winter       Summer       Winter  
                                                               (percent)    (percent)    kilowatts    kilowatts 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blackfeet Nation...............................       18,600           34           29        5,454        5,184
Cheyenne River Sioux...........................       13,500           33           29        4,094        3,762
Chippewa Cree-Rocky Boy........................        5,000           55           44          416          643
Crow Creek.....................................        4,100           50           47          546          405
Crow...........................................       12,500           55           44        1,040        1,609
Devils Lake Sioux..............................        7,700           22           14        3,182        3,301
Flandreau Santee Sioux.........................        2,355           55           56          196           20
Fort Belknap Indian Community..................        6,200           28           22        2,190        2,162
Fort Peck Tribes...............................       15,300           34           31        4,486        3,958
Lower Brule Sioux..............................        3,100           33           29          940          864
Lower Sioux....................................        3,750            0  ...........        2,375        2,133
Northern Cheyenne..............................        9,400           36           37        2,568        1,868
Oglala Sioux-Pine Ridge........................       29,600           28           24       10,456        9,729
Omaha Tribe of Nebraska........................        5,100           15           14        2,464        2,186
Ponca Tribe of Nebraska........................        2,100            8            6        1,162        1,068
Rosebud Sioux..................................       21,300           49           43        3,051        2,954
Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska.................        1,100           10            8          587          538
Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux........................        7,500           40           38        1,749        1,415
Standing Rock Sioux............................       12,900           30           29        4,299        3,595
Three Affiliated Tribes........................        8,000           30           25        2,666        2,550
Turtle Mountain Chippewa.......................       18,000           35           18        5,098        6,996
Upper Sioux....................................        1,250           42           39          267          223
White Earth Indian Reservation.................        3,500            6            7        2,006        1,745
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska....................        3,100           10            8        1,653        1,515
Yankton Sioux..................................        5,300           25           24        2,031        1,742
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The proposed allocations for new Native American customers were 
calculated based upon the estimated demand figures set forth in the 
table above. Inconsistent demand estimates were adjusted by Western.
    In order to fairly distribute the benefits of Federal hydropower 
among the tribes, Western calculated the proposed power allocations in 
the table above in such a manner as to levelize total Federal 
hydropower benefits to each of the Native American tribes. This results 
in a total Federal hydropower benefit of 63.323 percent in the summer 
season and 56.869 percent in the winter season to each of the tribes. 
To levelize the total Federal hydropower benefits, the average current 
percentage of Western service that each of the tribes receives through 
their current power supplier(s) was utilized and is as shown in the 
table above. For the Blackfeet Nation, Western used the weighted 
average of the current percentage of Western service for the remaining 
tribes. The Blackfeet Nation is served by Glacier Electric Cooperative, 
which is a total requirements customer of Bonneville Power 
Administration, therefore the Blackfeet Nation does not receive Western 
service, but does receive the benefit of Federal hydropower.
    The proposed allocations to new Native American customers set forth 
in the table above are based on the P-SMBP-ED marketable resource 
available at this time. If the P-SMBP-ED marketable resource is 
adjusted in the future, the proposed allocations will be adjusted 
accordingly.
    The proposed allocations of power for new utility and nonutility 
customers and the loads these allocations are based upon are as 
follows:

[[Page 45959]]



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                        Proposed post 2000 power
                                                              1994 Summer    1994-95           allocation       
            New utility and nonutility customers              season load     Winter   -------------------------
                                                                kilowatts  season load     Summer       Winter  
                                                                            kilowatts    kilowatts    kilowatts 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Village of Emerson, NE......................................        1,454        1,146          361          412
City of Estherville, IA.....................................       11,040        7,820        2,743        2,814
City of Randolph, NE........................................        1,861        1,386          462          499
City of Pocahontas, IA......................................        3,980        3,144          989        1,131
City of Madison, NE.........................................       10,034        8,759        2,493        3,152
City of South Sioux City, NE \1\............................       24,977       21,846        5,000        5,000
City of Sergeant Bluff, IA..................................        6,076        3,888        1,510        1,399
City of Wakefield, NE.......................................        4,717        3,667        1,172        1,320
City of Fairmont, MN........................................        2,330        2,464          579          887
City of Marathon, IA........................................          520          764          129          275
City of Stanton, ND.........................................          656          850          163          306
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 5,000 kW is the maximum allocation allowed under the Final Procedures.                                      

    The proposed allocations of power for new utility and nonutility 
customers were calculated using Post-1985 Marketing Plan criteria. 
Under the Post-1985 Marketing Plan criteria, the proposed summer 
allocations are 24.84413 percent of total summer load and the proposed 
winter allocations are 35.98853 percent of total winter load.
    The proposed allocations for new utility and nonutility customers 
set forth in the table above are based on the P-SMBP-ED marketable 
resource available at this time. If the P-SMBP-ED marketable resource 
is adjusted in the future, the proposed allocations will be adjusted 
accordingly.

VI. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. Sec. 601 et seq (Act), 
requires Federal agencies to perform a regulatory flexibility analysis 
if a proposed regulation is likely to have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities. Western has 
determined this rulemaking relates to services offered by Western, and, 
therefore, is not a rule within the purview of the Act.

VII. Review Under the Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, 44 U.S.C. 
3501-3520, Western has received approval from the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for the collection of customer information in this 
rule, under control number 1910-1200.

IX. Determination Under Executive Order 12866

    DOE has determined this is not a significant regulatory action 
because it does not meet the criteria of Executive Order 12866, 58 FR 
51735. Western has an exemption from centralized regulatory review 
under Executive Order 12866; accordingly, no clearance of this notice 
by OMB is required.

    Issued at Golden, Colorado, August 21, 1996.
J.M. Shafer,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 96-22184 Filed 8-29-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P