[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 110 (Wednesday, June 7, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36284-36287]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-13103]



[[Page 36283]]

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Part VI





Department of Energy





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Federal Energy Regulatory Commission



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Open Access Same-Time Information System (OASIS) and Standards of 
Conduct; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 110 / Wednesday, June 7, 2000 / 
Notices  

[[Page 36284]]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. RM95-9-011]


Open Access Same-Time Information System (OASIS) and Standards of 
Conduct

May 19, 2000.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of proposed changes.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (the Commission) 
proposes to adopt revisions to Version 1.3 of the OASIS Standards and 
Communication Protocols Document. The changes are being proposed to 
improve OASIS performance and to conform with Commission policy. The 
Commission invites written comments on this proposal and on four 
specific questions enumerated in the notice.

DATES: Written comments (an original and 14 paper copies) must be 
received by July 7, 2000. In addition, the Commission encourages the 
filing of a copy of the comments on computer diskette or by E-Mail by 
the same date.

ADDRESSES: Office of the Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426 and by E-Mail to 
``[email protected]''.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Marvin Rosenberg (technical information), Office of Markets, Tariffs, 
and Rates, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE, 
Washington, DC 20426; (202) 208-1283
Paul Robb (technical information), Office of Markets, Tariffs, and 
Rates, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE, 
Washington, DC 20426; (202) 219-2702
Gary D. Cohen (legal information), Office of the General Counsel, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, 
DC 20426; (202) 208-0321

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The full text of this notice, including the 
OASIS Standards and Communication Protocols, Version 1.4, is available 
for inspection in the Commission's Public Reference Room at 888 First 
Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426, during regular business hours, is 
posted on both the Commission's Issuance Posing System (CIPS) and the 
Records and Information Management System (RIMS), and may be viewed and 
printed remotely via the Internet through FERC's Home Page (http://www.ferc.fed.us).

Notice of Proposed Changes

I. Introduction

    In this notice, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(Commission) proposes to revise Version 1.3 of the OASIS Standards and 
Communication Protocols Document (S&CP Document, Version 1.3) to 
reflect recommended revisions put forth by the OASIS How Working Group 
(How Group) and the Market Interface Committee (MIC) (collectively How/
MIC) \1\ in a joint filing submitted on January 31, 2000 (January 31 
submittal).
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    \1\ As explained in Order No. 638, Open Access Same-time 
Information System and Standards of Conduct, Final Rule, 65 FR 17370 
(March 31, 2000), FERC Stats. & Regs. para. at 31,398 n.2, 31,400 & 
n.8 (February 25, 2000), the MIC is an industry working group, 
sponsored by the North American Electric Reliability Council, that 
has taken over functions previously performed by the Commercial 
Practices Working Group.
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    The January 31 submittal was filed prior to our issuance of our 
``Business Practice Standards for OASIS Transactions'' (BPS) in Order 
No. 638 and thus does not reflect our findings in that order. 
Accordingly, in addition to inviting comments on our proposed revisions 
to S&CP Document, Version 1.3, we are inviting commenters to address 
four specific questions (enumerated below) that are designed to insure 
that any revised S&CP Document we issue will be consistent with our 
determinations in Order No. 638.

II. Background

    The Commission first issued the S&CP Document (Version 1.0) on 
April 24, 1996, as a separate document whose issuance accompanied 
issuance of Order No. 889.\2\ We explained in Order No. 889 that we 
would periodically update and revise the S&CP Document as needed.\3\ On 
September 10, 1996, the Commission issued a revised S&CP Document 
(Version 1.1) in Open Access Same-Time Information System and Standards 
of Conduct, 76 FERC para. 61,243 (1996). On June 18, 1998, the 
Commission again issued a revised S&CP Document (Version 1.2) in Open 
Access Same-Time Information System and Standards of Conduct, 83 FERC 
para. 61,360 (1998). On September 29, 1998, the Commission issued a 
third revised S&CP Document (Version 1.3) in Open Access Same-Time 
Information System and Standards of Conduct, 84 FERC para. 61,329 
(1998). This is the S&CP Document currently in effect.
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    \2\ See Open Access Same-Time Information System and Standards 
of Conduct, Order No. 889, 61 FR 21737 (May 10, 1996), FERC Stats. & 
Regs. para. 31,035 at 31,586 (April 24, 1996), order on reh'g, Order 
No. 889-A, 62 FR 12484 (March 14, 1997), FERC Stats. & Regs. para. 
31,049 (March 4, 1997), order on reh'g, Order No. 889-B, 81 FERC 
para. 61,253 (1997), order on reh'g, Order No. 889-C, 82 FERC para. 
61,046 (1998).
    \3\ Order No. 889, FERC Stats. & Regs. para. 31,035 at 31,591.
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III. Discussion

    The January 31 submittal recommends the following changes to 
Version 1.3 of the S&CP Document: (1) Post procedures associated with 
capacity benefit margin; (2) post references on curtailment 
information, interruptions, and system studies; (3) modifications to 
the TRANSREQUEST template; (4) removal of the TRANSALT, CURTAIL, and 
AUDIT templates; (5) addition of templates for SECURITY, REDUCTION, and 
SYSTEMDATA; (6) rename the SCHEDULE template as SCHEDULEDETAIL; (7) 
revised procedures for posting information in the TRANSOFFERING 
template; (8) addition of a unique reference to continuation records; 
(9) revisions to OASIS performance response times (section 5.3) to add 
specific required response times; and (10) corrections to support the 
above changes and update the table of contents.\4\
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    \4\ A more complete explanation of these recommended changes is 
included in the January 31 submittal.
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    These changes are designed to implement the Commission's findings 
in Order No. 605,\5\ the Commission's OASIS Audit Template Experiment, 
recent orders on posting capacity benefit margin (CBM), and other 
miscellaneous changes. We propose to adopt these changes. However, 
these changes, as proposed in the January 31 submittal, were not 
designed to implement the Commission's findings in Order No. 638, which 
was issued on February 25, 2000.
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    \5\ Open Access Same-Time Information System and Standards of 
Conduct, Final Rule, 64 FR 34117 (June 25, 1999), FERC Stats. & 
Regs. para. 31,075 (May 27, 1999).
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    We therefore have concerns that additional changes may be needed to 
the S&CP Document to ensure consistency between the S&CP Document and 
our findings in Order No. 638. Accordingly, although this notice 
proposes adoption of the How/MIC-sponsored revisions to the S&CP 
Document (as a baseline), we contemplate that our final notice on this 
subject may include further revisions to reflect our findings in Order 
No. 638. We therefore invite interested persons filing comments on this 
NOPR to address both the merits of the proposed revisions to the S&CP 
Document as well as the following:


[[Page 36285]]


    1. If we adopt the proposed revisions to the S&CP Document, are 
changes needed to reflect our findings in Order No. 638?
    2. Specifically, do any provisions of the proposed S&CP 
revisions conflict with provisions of Order No. 638? If so, how 
should those conflicts be resolved? \6\
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    \6\ For example, this NOPR proposes modifying the TRANSQUEST 
template to allow Transmission Customers to request modifications to 
confirmed transmission reservations. Among the new types of 
transmission requests proposed is RENEWAL. This is intended to 
permit a customer to request to renew an expiring transmission 
reservation. Would such a request provide the existing customer 
rights it did not have under S&CP Document Version 1.3 or the OASIS 
Business Practice Standards? Does RENEWAL conflict with any OASIS 
Business Practice Standards or rights of first refusal under the pro 
forma tariff?
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    3. With regard to section 4.3.4.4 on System Data (Recommended 
S&CP Document Version 1.4 at page 55), this section states that a 
transmission provider is obligated to post values for one or more of 
the defined system attributes, but does not state that all system 
attributes can be requested at the same time.\7\ We therefore 
request comment on whether the description of the template in 
section 4.3.4.4 should be revised to clarify that all system 
attributes can be requested at the same time.
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    \7\ We note that: (1) More than four system attributes are 
listed in section 4.3.4.4; (2) the system attribute query variable 
in section 4.3.4.4 is followed by an asterisk; and, (3) section 
4.3.2 (Recommended S&CP Document Version 1.4 at page 44) states that 
a variable listed with an asterisk can have at least four multiple 
instances defined by the user in making a query. Taken together, 
these provisions show that multiple system attributes may be 
requested in one request, even though this is not explicitly stated 
in section 4.3.4.4.
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    4. With regard to section 5.3.3 on Measurement Criteria for 
OASIS Node Functions (Recommended S&CP Document Version 1.4 at page 
108), we see three possible problems. First, section 5.3.3, as 
recommended, provides performance standards (time limits) for 
responding to queries regarding TRANSSTATUS and TRANSOFFERING. It 
does not establish comparable requirements regarding response times 
for any other queries. We therefore invite comment on whether the 
proposed performance standards meet customer needs today and for the 
near term future.

    Note: Proposed section 5.3.3 would require the following 
response times to OASIS queries:


------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Average response    90% of responses
   Template or GUI equivalent       not fewer than      not fewer than
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transstatus.....................  100 rows/minute...  10 rows/minute.
transoffering...................  500 rows/minute...  100 rows/minute.
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    Second, we also note that the recommended performance standards 
in section 5.3.3 are so specific that they may become obsolete and 
fail to keep pace with changing technology, market conditions, and 
user needs. We therefore invite comment on whether it would be 
preferable to adopt a more general performance standard, such as one 
that would require a node's response to be sufficient to meet the 
legitimate needs of its customers.
    Third, we also would be open to consideration of other possible 
revisions to section 5.3.3 that might contain a novel approach 
preferable to either that proposed in this NOPR or that contained in 
Version 1.3.

IV. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA),\8\-\9\ requires 
the Commission to describe the impact a proposed rule would have on 
small entities or to certify that the rule, if promulgated, will not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.
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    \8\-\9\ 5 U.S.C. 601-612.
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    If promulgated, the same entities subject to the current S&CP 
Document would be required to comply with the revised S&CP Document 
(Version 1.4) proposed in this Notice. Moreover, the proposals in this 
Notice would not affect which entities would be eligible for a waiver. 
As we explained in Order No. 889-A, under appropriate circumstances the 
Commission will grant waiver of the OASIS Final Rule requirements 
(including compliance with the S&CP Document) to small public 
utilities. We further explained that the Commission's waiver policy 
follows the SBA definition of small electric utility \10\ and that 34 
small entities had received waivers of the requirement to establish and 
maintain an OASIS and five small entities had received waivers of the 
OASIS Standards of Conduct requirements.\11\ These decisions show that 
the Commission carefully evaluates the effect of the OASIS requirements 
on small electric utilities and is granting waivers where appropriate, 
thus mitigating the effect of that rule on small public and non-public 
utilities. The Commission's standards for deciding on requests for 
waiver are unaffected by this Notice.
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    \10\ See 5 U.S.C. 601(3) and 601(6) and 15 U.S.C. 632(a). The 
RFA defines a small entity as one that is independently owned and 
not dominant in its field of operation. See 15 U.S.C. 632(a). The 
Small Business Administration defines a small electric utility as 
one that disposes of 4 million MWh or less of electric energy in a 
given year. See 13 CFR 121.601 (Major Group 49--Electric, Gas and 
Sanitary Services).
    In the Open Access Final Rule, we concluded that, under these 
definitions, the Open Access Final Rule and the OASIS Final Rule 
would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number 
of small entities. We reaffirmed that conclusion in Order Nos. 888-A 
and 889-A.
    \11\ See Order No. 889-A, FERC Stats. & Regs. para. 31,049 at 
30,578.
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    The proposed revisions to the S&CP Document are technical revisions 
intended to implement the Commission's findings in Order No. 605,\12\ 
the Commission's OASIS Audit Template Experiment, recent orders on 
posting CBM, and other miscellaneous technical changes. We hereby 
certify, under section 605(b) of RFA, that this notice, if promulgated, 
will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities within the meaning of RFA. Accordingly, no regulatory 
flexibility analysis is required pursuant to section 603 of RFA.
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    \12\ Open Access Same-Time Information System and Standards of 
Conduct, Final Rule, 64 FR 34117, FERC Stats. & Regs. para. 31,075 
(1999).
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V. Environmental Statement

    Commission regulations require that an environmental assessment or 
an environmental impact statement be prepared for a Commission action 
that may have a significant effect on the human environment.\13\ In the 
Commission's view, the environmental impact of this proposal is 
negligible. This proposal makes technical revisions to existing 
technical requirements governing the format used for OASIS postings to 
ensure uniformity in the display of information posted on OASIS nodes. 
Accordingly, we find that this notice does not propose any action that 
might have a significant effect on the human environment and find that 
no environmental impact statement concerning this proposal is required.
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    \13\ Regulations Implementing National Environmental Policy Act, 
Order No. 486, 52 FR 47897 (Dec. 17, 1987); 1986-90 Regs. Preambles 
FERC Stats. & Regs. para. 30,783 (Dec. 10, 1987) (codified at 18 CFR 
Part 380).
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VI. Statement of Information Collection and Public Reporting Burden

    In this notice, based on recommendations from two industry working 
groups with input from diverse industry segments, we propose minor 
technical revisions to Version 1.3 of the S&CP Document.
    On December 1, 1998, the Commission issued a proposed information 
collection and request for

[[Page 36286]]

comments in Docket No. IC99-717-000 that covered all information 
collected under the requirements of FERC-717 ``Open Access Same-Time 
Information System and Standards of Conduct'' (OMB No. 1902-0173) over 
the next three years that provides as follows:

Information Collection Statement

    Title: FERC-717, Open Access Same-Time Information Systems and 
Standards of Conduct.
    Action: Proposed Collection.
    OMB Control No: 1902-0173.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit, including small 
business.
    Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
    Necessity of the Information: The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
solicits public comments on proposed revisions to Version 1.3 of the 
OASIS Standards and Communication Protocols Document (S&CP Document, 
Version 1.3) to reflect recommended revisions put forth by two 
industry-led working groups. These technical revisions are designed to 
implement the Commission's findings in Order No. 605, the Commission's 
OASIS Audit Template Experiment, recent orders on posting CBM, and 
other miscellaneous changes.
    In addition, the burden estimate submitted on December 1, 1998 for 
all OASIS requirements was as follows:
    Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this collection is 
estimated as:

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    Number of respondents annually       Number of responses per respondent     Average burden hours per response         Total annual burden hours
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(1)                                                                   (2)                                   (3)                       (1) x (2) x (3)
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                               140                                      1                                 1,418                         198,520 hours
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    The estimated total cost to respondents is $21,157,500.\14\
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    \14\ The estimated total cost of $21,157,500 was computed as 
follows:
    The Commission has assumed that 4.5 personnel are necessary for 
staffing and using a total personnel cost of $109,889, the result is 
$494,501. To get the total cost, add annual ongoing costs of 
$110,000 plus staffing costs [$110,000 + $494,501] for a total of 
$604,501 divided by 4 = $151,125. The estimated total cost of the 
OASIS requirement is 140 respondents  x  $151,125 or $21,157,500.
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    We are not preparing a separate estimate covering this notice only, 
because we find that the notice would not significantly alter the 
estimate contained in the December 1, 1998 notice. The December 1, 1998 
burden estimate gave the Commission's estimate of OASIS-related 
information requirements over the next three years, and this estimate 
contemplated the Commission's continued use of the S&CP Document during 
this time frame. In any event, if a separate estimate were prepared, it 
would not be substantial, because the proposal in this notice, if 
promulgated, would not substantially increase the information 
collection requirements already specified in Version 1.3 of the S&CP 
Document.
    The collection of information contained in this notice has been 
submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review under 
Section 3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 
3507(d). For copies of the OMB submission, contact Michael Miller at 
202-208-1415.

Internal Review

    The Commission has conducted an internal review of the public 
reporting burden associated with this collection of information and has 
assured itself, by means of its internal review, that there is 
specific, objective support for this information burden estimate. 
Moreover, the Commission has reviewed the collection of information 
proposed by this notice and has determined that the collection of 
information is necessary and conforms to the Commission's plan, as 
described in this order, for the collection, efficient management, and 
use of the required information.\15\
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    \15\ See 44 U.S.C. 3506(c).
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    Based on our experience in OASIS implementation over the past four 
years, the Commission has refined the estimate of reporting entities 
covered by OASIS regulations. Our latest estimate is that 140 
respondents are required to collect information under the OASIS 
regulations. However, as discussed above, this notice does not impose 
any new information collection burdens.
    The Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) regulations,\16\ 
require OMB to approve certain information collection requirements 
imposed by agency rule. The information collection requirements in this 
notice will be reflected in OASIS postings that are directly available 
to transmission users and subject to subsequent audit by the 
Commission. The more efficient posting of this information will help 
the Commission carry out its responsibilities under Part II of the FPA.
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    \16\ 5 CFR 1320.11.
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    The Commission is submitting notification of this notice to OMB. 
Persons wishing to comment on the collections of information proposed 
by this notice should direct their comments to the Desk Officer for 
FERC, OMB, Room 10202 NEOB, Washington, DC 20503, phone 202-395-3087, 
facsimile 202-395-7285. Comments must be filed with OMB within 30 days 
of publication of this document in the Federal Register. Three copies 
of any comments filed with the Office of Management and Budget also 
should be sent to the following address: Mr. David P. Boergers, 
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Room 1A, 888 First 
Street NE, Washington, DC 20426. For further information on the 
reporting requirements, contact Michael Miller at (202) 208-1415.

VII. Public Comment Procedure

    This notice gives notice of our intention to make certain technical 
revisions to S&CP Document, Version 1.3. Prior to taking final action 
on this notice, we are inviting comments from interested persons on the 
proposals discussed in this notice and compiled in the OASIS Standards 
and Communication Protocols, Version 1.4. In addition, the Commission 
specifically invites comments on four specific questions enumerated in 
the discussion above relating to whether the proposal is consistent 
with our findings in Order No. 638. The Commission invites interested 
persons to submit written comments on the matters and issues proposed 
in this notice to be adopted, including any related matters or 
alternative proposals that commenters may wish to discuss.

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    The original and 14 copies of such comments must be received by the 
Commission by July 7, 2000. Comments should be submitted to the Office 
of the Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First 
Street NE, Washington DC 20426 and should refer to Docket No. RM95-9-
011.
    In addition to filing paper copies, the Commission encourages the 
filing of comments either on computer diskette or via Internet E-Mail. 
Comments may be filed in the following formats: WordPerfect 8.0 or 
lower version, MS Word Office 97 or lower version, or ASCII format.
    For diskette filing, include the following information on the 
diskette label: Docket No. RM95-9-011; the name of the filing entity; 
the software and version used to create the file; and the name and 
telephone number of a contact person.
    For Internet E-Mail submittal, comments should be submitted to 
``[email protected]'' in the following format. On the subject 
line, specify Docket No. RM95-9-011. In the body of the E-Mail message, 
include the name of the filing entity; the software and version used to 
create the file, and the name and telephone number of the contact 
person. Attach the comment to the E-Mail in one of the formats 
specified above. The Commission will send an automatic acknowledgment 
to the sender's E-Mail address upon receipt. Questions on electronic 
filing should be directed to Brooks Carter by telephone at 202-501-8145 
or by E-Mail (to [email protected]).
    Commenters should take note that, until the Commission amends its 
rules and regulations, the paper copy of the filing remains the 
official copy of the document submitted. Therefore, any discrepancies 
between the paper filing and the electronic filing or the diskette will 
be resolved by reference to the paper filing.

VIII. Document Availability

    All written comments will be placed in the Commission's public 
files and will be available for inspection in the Commission's Public 
Reference Room at 888 First Street NE, Washington DC 20426, during 
regular business hours. Additionally, comments may be viewed and 
printed remotely via the Internet through FERC's Home Page (http://www.ferc.fed.us) and in FERC's Public Reference Room during normal 
business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First Street 
NE, Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426.
    From FERC's Home Page on the Internet, this information is 
available in both the Commission Issuance Posting System (CIPS) and the 
Records and Information Management System (RIMS).

--CIPS provides access to the texts of formal documents issued by the 
Commission since November 14, 1994.
--CIPS can be accessed using the CIPS link or the Energy Information 
Online icon. The full text of this document is available on CIPS in 
ASCII and WordPerfect 8.0 format for viewing, printing, and/or 
downloading.
--RIMS contains images of documents submitted to and issued by the 
Commission after November 16, 1981. Documents from November 1995 to the 
present can be viewed and printed from FERC's Home Page using the RIMS 
link or the Energy Information Online icon. Descriptions of documents 
back to November 16, 1981, are also available from RIMS-on-the-Web; 
requests for copies of these and other older documents should be 
submitted to the Public Reference Room.

    User assistance is available for RIMS, CIPS, and the Website during 
normal business hours from our Help line at (202) 208-2222, or by E-
Mail (to [email protected]) or the Public Reference Room at (202) 
208-1371 (E-Mail to [email protected]).
    During normal business hours, documents can also be viewed and/or 
printed in FERC's Public Reference Room, where RIMS, CIPS, and the FERC 
Website are available. User assistance is also available.

    By direction of the Commission.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 00-13103 Filed 6-6-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P