[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 148 (Thursday, August 1, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49914-49915]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-19411]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. RM01-12-000]


Electricity Market Design and Structure; Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment and Request for Comments on the 
Scope of Issues to be Addressed for the Proposed Rulemaking on 
Electricity Market Design and Structure

July 26, 2002.
    1. The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (``FERC'' 
or ``Commission'') will prepare an environmental assessment to address 
the environmental impacts of the Commission's Proposed Rulemaking on 
Electric Market Design and Structure.
    2. The Commission anticipates issuing the proposed rulemaking on 
July 31, 2002. This represents the third of a series of initiatives 
undertaken by the Commission to harness the benefits of competitive 
markets for the nation's electric energy customers, in order to meet 
its statutory responsibility to assure adequate and reliable supplies 
of electric energy at a just and reasonable price. The Commission's 
objectives in this third rulemaking initiative are to establish a 
standardized transmission service and wholesale electric market design 
that will provide a non-discriminatory level playing field for all 
entities that seek to participate in wholesale electric markets.
    The Commission proposes to provide new choices through a flexible 
transmission service, promote efficient grid operations, establish a 
market design that minimizes the opportunities for market manipulation 
and gaming, mitigate market power and provide the right pricing signals 
for investment in transmission and generation facilities, as well as 
investment in demand reduction.
    3. The EA Process: The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
requires the Commission to take into account the environmental impacts 
that could result from the issuance of a rulemaking. NEPA also requires 
the Commission to discover and address concerns the public may have 
about proposed federal actions. This process is referred to as 
``scoping''. The main goal of the scoping process is to focus the 
analysis in the EA on the important environmental issues. By this 
Notice of Intent, the Commission requests public comments on the scope 
of the issues it will address in the EA. All comments received are 
considered during the preparation of the EA. State and local government 
representatives are encouraged to notify their constituents of this 
proposed action and encourage them to comment on their areas of 
concern. The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of 
implementation of the proposed rulemaking.
    4. We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the proposal or 
portions of the proposal, and make recommendations on how to lessen or 
avoid environmental impacts. Our independent analysis of the issues 
will be in the EA. Depending on the comments received during the 
scoping process, the EA may be published and mailed to Federal, state, 
and local agencies, public interest groups, interested individuals, 
affected industry representatives, newspapers, libraries, and the 
Commission's official service list for this proceeding. A comment 
period will be allotted for review if the EA is published. We will 
consider all comments on the EA before we make our recommendations to 
the Commission.
    5. To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow 
the instructions in the public participation section below.
    6. Currently Identified Environmental Issues: We have already 
examined the likely environmental effects of establishing competitive 
wholesale markets for electric power in an Environmental Impact 
Statement for Order No. 888 (Docket Nos. RM95-8-000 and RM94-7-001) and 
an Environmental Assessment for Order No. 2000 (Docket No. RM99-2-000). 
We intend to focus this assessment on any relevant changes that may 
have arisen since those other two studies, effects that particular 
aspects of Standard Market Design may have, and environmental effects 
not contemplated earlier.
    7. Public Participation: You can provide us with specific comments 
or concerns about the proposal. By becoming a commentor, your concerns 
will be addressed in the EA and considered by the Commission. You 
should focus on the potential environmental effects of the proposal, 
alternatives to the proposal and measures to avoid or lessen 
environmental impact. The more specific your comments, the more useful 
they will be. Please carefully follow these instructions to ensure that 
your comments are received in time and properly recorded.
    8. Send an original and two copies of your letter to: Magalie R. 
Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory

[[Page 49915]]

Commission, 888 First St., NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
    9. Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Office of 
Market Oversight and Investigation.
    10. Reference Docket No. RM01-12-000.
    11. Mail your comments so that they will be received in Washington, 
DC on or before September 3, 2002.
    12. Please note that we are continuing to experience delays in mail 
deliveries from the U.S. Postal Service. As a result, we will include 
all comments that we receive within a reasonable time frame in our 
environmental analysis of this proposal. However, the Commission 
encourages electronic filing of any comments to this proceeding. See 18 
CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's web 
site at http://www.ferc.gov under the ``e-Filing'' link and the link to 
the User's Guide. Before you can file comments you will need to create 
a free account which can be created by clicking on ``Login to File'' 
and then ``New User Account.''
    13. Scoping Meeting: A public Scoping Meeting will be held at 2:00 
PM, August 12, 2002, at FERC Headquarters; 888 First Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20426. All those wishing to present oral comments at the 
scoping meeting are encouraged to contact Lonnie Lister, at (202) 208-
2191, to have their name placed on the Speakers List. Further 
opportunity will be provided for anyone to present their comments at 
the meeting after the pre-registered speakers have made their 
statements. A court reporter will transcribe the meeting, and copies of 
the transcript will be available from the reporting service. A formal 
copy of the transcript will be placed in the public record in Docket 
No. RM01-12-000 approximately ten days after the meeting.
    14. Environmental Mailing List: This notice is being sent to 
individuals, organizations, and government entities interested in and/
or potentially affected by the proposed rulemaking.
    15. Additional Information: Additional information about the 
proposed rulemaking is available from the Commission's Office of 
External Affairs, call toll-free at 1-866-208-FERC, or you can call the 
FERC operator at 1-800-847-8885 and ask for External Affairs. 
Information is also available on the FERC website (www.ferc.gov) using 
the ``RIMS'' link to information in this docket number. Click on the 
``RIMS'' link, select ``Docket #'' from the RIMS Menu, and follow the 
instructions. For assistance with access to RIMS, the RIMS helpline can 
be reached at (202) 208-2222.
    16. Similarly, the ``CIPS'' link on the FERC Internet website 
provides access to the texts of formal documents issued by the 
Commission, such as orders, notices, and rulemakings. From the FERC 
Internet website, click on the ``CIPS'' link, select ``Docket #'' from 
the CIPS menu, and follow the instructions. For assistance with access 
to CIPS, the CIPS helpline can be reached at (202) 208-2222.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-19411 Filed 7-31-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P