[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 27, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81852-81853]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-32906]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC01-719-000, FERC-719]


Proposed Information Collection and Request for Comments

December 20, 2000.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Request for Office of Management and Budget Emergency 
Processing of proposed information collection and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is 
providing notice of its request to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for emergency processing of a proposed collection of information 
in connection with the California electricity markets, and is 
soliciting public comment on that information collection.

DATES: The Commission and OMB must receive comments on or before 
December 22, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to:
    (1) Michael Miller, Office of the Chief Information Officer, CI-1, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, 
DC 20426. Mr. Miller may be reached by telephone at (202) 208-1415 and 
by e-mail at [email protected]; and
    (2) Amy Farrell, FERC Desk Officer, Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10202 NEOB, 
725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503. Ms. Farrell may be reached by 
telephone at (202) 395-7318 or by fax at (202) 395-7285.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Morton, Office of the General 
Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, (202) 208-0642.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Federal Power Act directs the Commission 
to ensure just and reasonable rates for transmission and wholesale 
sales of electricity in interstate commerce. See 16 U.S.C. 824e(a). To 
enable the Commission to fulfill this duty, the Federal Power Act also 
authorizes the Commission to conduct investigations of, and collect 
information from public utilities. See 16 USC 825, 825c, 825f, and 
825j. The Commission has been investigating the California electricity 
market, which is in a state of emergency with prices at extremely high 
levels. The Commission has concluded that a primary cause of the 
problems was that the investor-owned utilities in California (IOUs) 
were required to sell all the power they generate into the California 
Power Exchange (PX), and then buy back from the PX all the power they 
need. This requirement caused IOUs to make most of their purchases on 
the spot market. On December 15, 2000, the Commission issued an order 
to remedy the problems in California. San Diego Gas & Electric Co., et 
al. v. Sellers of Energy and Ancillary Services et al., Docket No. 
EL00-95-000 et al., 93 FERC para.61, 294. That order includes reporting

[[Page 81853]]

requirements that may be subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act, which 
requires OMB to review certain federal reporting requirements. 44 USC 
3507. In light of the critical condition of the California electricity 
markets, the Commission has requested emergency processing of this 
proposed information collection.
    The Commission's order eliminates the PX buy-sell requirement, and 
encourages IOUs to purchase most of the power they need (apart from 
their own self-supplied power) through long-term contracts. For those 
purchases still made in the spot market, the order directs a technical 
conference to be held so that a comprehensive monitoring and mitigation 
program can be proposed and in place by May 1, 2001, to ensure that 
prices are just and reasonable. During the interim period before the 
monitoring plan is in place, sellers bidding at or below $150 per 
megawatt hour (MWh) on the PX or Independent System Operator (ISO) spot 
markets will receive the market clearing prices, but not more than 
$150. If sellers bidding above the $150 breakpoint are selected to 
clear the market, those sellers will receive their actual bids. 
However, to allow the Commission to monitor the prices charged on the 
ISO and PX spot markets, the Commission proposes to require sellers to 
report any hourly transaction exceeding $150. See San Diego Gas & 
Electric Co. et al. v. Sellers of Energy and Ancillary Services et al., 
slip op. at 31-32.
    The Commission will refer to these reports as ``California Public 
Utility Sellers Weekly Reports.'' Sellers would provide the Public 
Utility Sellers Weekly Reports on a weekly basis beginning on January 
10, 2001 for the week of January 1, 2001. The Reports would contain the 
following information:

Generation unit;
Transaction starting and ending times;
Price and quantity;
Heat rate (btu/KWh) and type of fuel (natural gas, oil, coal, and 
other);
If not generated, the purchase price and the name of the supplier;
Total fuel quantity and cost;
NOX emissions rate (lbs/MWh) and cost;
Variable operation and maintenance costs;
Outage information for all of the seller's individual resources for the 
transaction period;
Any unsold MWhs which the individual seller has failed to bid into the 
spot markets during the transaction period; and
All bids submitted into the spot markets during the transaction period.

For more information, see San Diego Gas & Electric Co., et al. v. 
Sellers of Energy and Ancillary Services et al., slip op. at 59-61.
    The Commission estimates that 150 sellers could be subject to this 
reporting requirement, and that during any given week, 10 to 20 of 
those sellers would likely have to report. Therefore, for the 17 weeks 
the reporting requirement would be in place, there would be a maximum 
of 340 reports to be filed. The Commission estimates that it would take 
each seller 24 hours to develop a system for generating the reports, 
and no more than 6 hours to generate each individual report. Therefore, 
the total number of hours it would take to comply with the reporting 
requirement would be 5,640 hours. The Commission estimates a cost of 
$50 per hour, based on salaries for professional and clerical staff, as 
well as direct and indirect overhead costs. Therefore, the total 
estimated cost of compliance would be $282,000.
    The Commission has submitted this reporting requirement to OMB for 
approval. OMB's regulations describe the process that federal agencies 
must follow in order to obtain OMB approval of reporting requirements. 
See 5 CFR Part 1320. The standards for emergency processing of 
information collections appear at 5 CFR 1320.13. If OMB approves a 
reporting requirement, then it will assign an information collection 
control number to that requirement. If a request for information 
subject to OMB review does not display a valid control number, or if 
the agency has not provided a justification as to why the control 
number cannot be displayed, then the recipient is not required to 
respond.
    OMB requires federal agencies seeking approval of reporting 
requirements to allow the public an opportunity to comment on the 
proposed reporting requirement. 5 CFR 1320.5(a)(1)(iv). Therefore, the 
Commission is soliciting comment on:
    (1) Whether the collection of the information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the Commission's functions, including whether the 
information will have practical utility;
    (2) The accuracy of the Commission's estimate of the burden of the 
collection of this information, including validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used;
    (3) The quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and
    (4) How to minimize the burden of the collection of this 
information on respondents, including the use of appropriate automated 
electronic, mechanical, or other forms of information technology.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 00-32906 Filed 12-26-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M