[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 110 (Thursday, June 7, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30722-30723]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-14351]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC01-720-000; FERC-720]


Proposed Information Collection and Request for Comments

June 1, 2001.
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 request to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for emergency processing of a proposed collection of information 
in connection with the New York electricity markets, and is soliciting 
public comment on that information collection.

DATES: Comments are requested on or before June 8, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Send comments: (1) Michael Miller, Officer of the Chief 
Information Officer, CI-1, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First, 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: Connie Caldwell, Office of the General 
Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, (202) 208-2027.

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 U.S.C. 825, 825c, 825f, and 
825j.
    Commission staff has reason to believe that the New York 
electricity market may experience prices at very high levels during the 
summer season. Several recent surveys and reports cite New York as an 
area likely to experience high electricity prices as we move into the 
summer. For example, a study published in May, 2001, by Xenergy 
entitled ``Wholesale Market Structure,'' found that ``fundamental 
supply/demand factors * * * are the greatest contributor to high prices 
and other market problems'' in New York. The North American Electric 
Reliability Council's ``Summer Assessment for 2001'' cites New York as 
an area that should be closely watched over the next few months. See 
http://www.nerc.com. In March, 2001, the NYISO issued a report titled, 
``Power Alert: New York's Energy Crossroads,'' which reported the 
possibility of an impending electricity crisis in New York due to a 
growing imbalance in the supply and demand of electricity. This report 
may be found at http://www.nyiso.com. The Wall Street Journal has 
reported that ``New York City already displays some of the early 
warning signs observed in California in the spring of 2000. The city's 
grid operator estimates that this summer demand could outstrip supply 
by as much as 9%, raising the specter of blackouts.'' See Wall Street 
Journal, April 26, 2001.
    If demand does in fact exceed supply this summer, forced and 
scheduled outages by electric generators in New York, particularly in 
the New York City and Long Island areas, may contribute to or be the 
sole cause of the high prices that are bound to accompany a supply/
demand imbalance. In addition to causing higher prices, the outages 
limit the availability of electric power, and may lead to the necessity 
for blackouts to preserve transmission and distribution systems. If 
increased summer demand is not matched by generation supply in New 
York, these problems are likely to occur.
    Commission staff believes that it is in the public interest to 
monitor generation outages in New York to assess their causes, 
particularly during the summer cooling season when electricity demand 
is at its highest. Commission staff proposes to do so by requesting 
that selected generators in the state of New York electronically 
provide to the Commission information on total or partial generation 
unit outages within 24 hours of their occurrence, whether scheduled, 
forced or otherwise.
    Specifically, Commission staff will be requesting information only 
from generators that own, operate, or control in New York an individual 
generation unit with a generating capacity of 30 MW or more or 
generation units aggregating capacity of 50 MW or more.
    For the purposes of this data collection, Commission staff 
considers an outage partial if it reduces the available output of a 
generation unit below its nameplate rated capacity or below the New 
York Independent System Operator's (NYISO's) Dependable Maximum Net 
Capability (DMNC) for the unit. The Commission staff will treat 
information provided by the generators as non-public pursuant to the 
provisions of 18 CFR 1b.9.
    Commission staff will be requesting that the information be 
provided through a template that will be mailed to the generators and 
that can be accessed from the FERC website at http://www.ferc.gov/. The 
Commission staff is requesting that the generators send the outage 
information to an electronic address, [email protected]. To 
further assist monitoring efforts, Commission staff will be requesting 
that generators provide the information on the template for all outages 
that are current as of the date they receive the letter containing the 
template. Although Commission staff will be requesting information from 
municipalities concerning their generation units in New York, 
Commission staff is requesting such data on a voluntary basis and is 
not questioning the jurisdictional status of those entities.
    Because Commission staff is requesting information from a large 
number of generators (over 100) concerning future outages, the data 
collection is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act, which requires 
OMB to

[[Page 30723]]

review certain federal reporting requirements. 44 U.S.C. 3507. In light 
of the potential for critical events to occur in the New York 
electricity market caused by generation outages, particularly during 
the summer cooling season, Commission staff will be requesting 
emergency processing of this proposed information collection. If the 
Commission followed the regular provisions of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act, Commission staff would be unable to collect this information until 
most of the summer cooling season was over.
    Commission staff estimates that between 100 and 110 generators 
could be subject to this reporting request, and that during any given 
week, only 15-25 of those entities would likely have an outage to 
report. However, many entities own several generation units, so the 
number of entities actually submitting reports would vary. Based on 
historical average outage rates, compiled by NERC for 1995 through 1999 
(see http:www.nerc.com/~gads), of U.S. and Canadian generation 
facilities and the number of plants to be monitored, staff estimates 
that about 2,900 reports would be filed during the 180 days the 
reporting request would be in place.
    Because Commission staff has created a pre-existing template, 
generators need not take any time to develop a reporting format. 
Commission's staff estimates that it would take each generator 
approximately one hour to fill out an initial report for a generation 
unit, but, as most of the unit information will remain constant (such 
as its name, fuel type and megawatt rating), it should take 20 minutes 
or less to fill out and send each subsequent report.
    The outage reports are to be submitted electronically within 24 
hours of when a total or partial unit outage begins and ends. As stated 
above, based on information compiled by the NERC, staff estimates that 
2,900 reports may be filed under this information collection 
requirement. Assuming that number of reports are filed during the 180 
days for which this information collection is requested, the total 
number of hours it would take to comply with the reporting requirement 
would be approximately 110 hours for initial submission and 930 hours 
for subsequent submissions, assuming 20 minutes per submission). 
Commission staff estimates a cost of $50 per hour for complying with 
the reporting requirement, 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 $52,000.
    Commission staff will submit this reporting requirement to OMB for 
approval. OMB's regulation 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, 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 cannot be penalized for failing 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, 
comments are being solicited 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 Commission staff's estimate of the burden of 
the collection of this information, including the 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.

David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 01-14351 Filed 6-6-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M