[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 64 (Friday, April 2, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17400-17402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-7484]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of Energy 
(DOE).

ACTION: Agency information collection activities: Proposed collection; 
comment request.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The EIA is soliciting comments on the proposed revisions and a 
three-year extension to the Forms:

EIA-411, ``Coordinated Bulk Power Supply Program Report,''
EIA-412, ``Annual Electric Industry Financial Report,''
EIA-423, ``Monthly Cost and Quality of Fuels for Electric Plants,''
EIA-767, ``Steam-Electric Plant Operation and Design Report,''
EIA-826, ``Monthly Electric Sales and Revenue with State Distributions 
Report,''
EIA-860, ``Annual Electric Generator Report,''
EIA-861, ``Annual Electric Power Industry Report,''
EIA-906, ``Power Plant Report,'' and
EIA-920, ``Combined Heat and Power Plant Report.''

    The EIA is also soliciting comments on a proposed new Form EIA-
860M, ``Monthly Update to the Annual Electric Generator Report'' to be 
authorized for three years.

DATES: Comments must be filed by June 1, 2004. If you anticipate 
difficulty in submitting comments within that period, contact the 
person listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Charlene Harris-Russell. To ensure receipt 
of the comments by the due date, submission by fax ((202) 287-1946) or 
e-mail [email protected] is recommended. The mailing 
address is Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Division, 
EI-53, Forrestal Building, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC 
20585. Alternatively, Charlene Harris-Russell may be contacted by 
telephone at (202) 287-1747.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of any forms and instructions should be directed to Charlene 
Harris-Russell at the address listed above. To review the proposed 
forms and instructions, please visit: http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/page/fednotice/formsandinstr.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background
II. Current Actions
III. Request for Comments

I. Background

    The Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-275, 15 
U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the DOE Organization Act (Pub. L. 95-91, 42 
U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) require the EIA to carry out a centralized, 
comprehensive, and unified energy information program. This program 
collects, evaluates, assembles, analyzes, and disseminates information 
on energy resource reserves, production, demand, technology, and 
related economic and statistical information. This information is used 
to assess the adequacy of energy resources to meet near and longer term 
domestic demands.
    The EIA, as part of its effort to comply with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), provides 
the general public and other Federal agencies with opportunities to 
comment on collections of energy information conducted by or in 
conjunction with the EIA. Any comments received help the EIA to prepare 
data requests that maximize the utility of the information collected, 
and to assess the impact of collection requirements on the public. 
Also, the EIA will later seek approval by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) under section 3507(a) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995.
    The EIA collects information about the electric power industry for 
use by government and private sector analysts. The survey information 
is disseminated in a variety of print publications, electronic 
products, and electronic data files. For details on EIA's electric 
power information program, please visit the electricity page of EIA's 
Web site at http://www.eia.doe.gov/fuelelectric.html.
    Please refer to the proposed forms and instructions for more 
information about the purpose, who must report, when to report, where 
to submit, the elements to be reported, detailed instructions, 
provisions for confidentiality, and uses (including possible 
nonstatistical uses) of the information. For instructions on obtaining 
materials, see the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

II. Current Actions

    EIA has completed an extensive review and update of the electric 
power survey collection instruments. The forms presented here are the 
result of that task which includes input from the electric power 
industry, other industrial users of the data, government agencies, 
consumer groups, and private sector analysts. Along with the forms 
changes, the EIA is proposing a revision to the commercially sensitive 
data elements collected on EIA's electric power forms that will be 
treated as confidential.
    As a means of improving its electric power surveys to reflect the 
changing industry, EIA proposes the following changes:
    Form EIA-411, ``Coordinated Bulk Power Supply Program Report.'' The 
collection of this form is proposed to become mandatory subject to a 
revised memorandum of agreement with the North American Electric 
Reliability Council. Additional revisions include: (1) Reconcile 
differences between capacity totals reported to EIA by its respondents 
and the planning capacity data reported by the North American Electric 
Reliability Council, (2) transmission line outage data, and (3) 
distributed generation data. Specifically, a new Schedule 3, 
Reconciliation Between Total Generation Regional Capacity and Planned 
Regional Capacity Resources (Summer, Winter), collects 35 proposed data 
elements on generator capacity. This replaces the previous Schedule 3 
that collected 115 data elements concerning capacity information by 
generator. A new Schedule 7, Annual Data for Transmission Line Outages 
for Extra High Voltage (EHV) Lines, will collect 13 new data elements 
on outages by voltage class. Schedule 2, Part A and B. Historical and 
Projected Demand and Capacity--Summer, Winter, will collect distributed 
generation data. Together, these represent a net decrease of 60 data 
elements on the Form EIA-411. The form and instructions will be 
modified to show these changes.
    Form EIA-412 ``Annual Electric Industry Financial Report.'' This 
form will now ask in the Identification Section, if an entity generates 
electricity. In addition, a new Schedule 9B, Electric Generating Plant 
Statistics, Unregulated Companies, will collect cost data from 
unregulated plants at a higher aggregated level than previously 
requested. As a result of these actions, the overall net change for the 
Form EIA-412 is a decrease of 10 data elements collected from 
unregulated plants.

[[Page 17401]]

Schedule 9, Part A, is no longer applicable to unregulated plants. The 
form and instructions will be modified to show these changes.
    Form EIA-423, ``Monthly Cost and Quality of Fuels for Electric 
Plants.'' EIA proposes to ask one new question that will identify 
`tolling agreements' for a plant. A tolling agreement is an arrangement 
that allows one company to have marketing control of electricity 
produced by generating assets owned by another company. The agreement 
usually requires the marketer to procure the fuel supply necessary to 
produce the electricity. The form and instructions will be modified to 
show this change.
    Form EIA-767, ``Steam-Electric Plant Generation and Design 
Report.'' EIA proposes to revise Schedule 4. Part E, Mercury Emission 
Controls. This schedule will allow respondents to select from an array 
of mercury emission controls rather than provide a written description 
of the emission control type. The form and instructions will be 
modified to reflect these changes.
    Form EIA-826, ``Monthly Electric Sales and Revenue with State 
Distributions Report.'' Schedule 1. Part D, Bundled Service by Retail 
Energy Providers, or any Power Marketer that Provides ``Bundled 
Service'', and Part E, Any Other Retail Service Provider, are new 
categories of providers that will answer the same questions as Parts A, 
B, and C. These new respondents do not fit into current ownership 
categories. In addition, a question has been added requesting 
information on mergers and acquisitions by reporting parties during the 
report period. The net result is the addition of new categories of 
respondents and one data item for existing respondents. The form and 
instructions will be modified to reflect these changes.
    Form EIA-860, ``Annual Electric Generator Report.'' Schedule 5. New 
Generator Connection Information, will collect cost and physical data 
about the site connection of a new generator to the electric grid. In 
addition, Schedule 3. Power Plant Data, will be revised to collect 
generator-level information on fuel switching capability for existing 
power plants and those planned for initial operation in five years. As 
a result of these additions, 65 new items will be added to the form. 
The form and instructions will be modified to show these changes.
    Form EIA-861, ``Annual Electric Power Industry Report.'' A question 
will be added to Schedule 2. Part A, General Information, which asks 
for the status of plans to operate alternate-fueled vehicles. In 
addition, Schedule 4. Part D, Bundled Service by Retail Energy 
Providers, or any Power Marketer that Provides ``Bundled Service'', and 
Part E, Any Other Retail Service Provider, are supplied for new 
categories of providers that will answer the same questions as Parts A, 
B, and C. These new respondents do not fit into current ownership 
categories. In addition, a question has been added requesting 
information on mergers and acquisitions by reporting parties during the 
reporting period. Also, 7 additional data items will be collected on 
Schedule 6, Demand-Side Management, about costs incurred in DSM 
programs. Schedule 7, Customer-Site Generation, will collect data on 
distributed generation capacity, including back-up generation capacity. 
The net result is the addition of new respondent categories and 28 data 
elements. The form and instructions will be modified to show these 
changes.
    Form EIA-906, ``Power Plant Report.'' A new Schedule 3, Annual 
Electricity Sources and Disposition, will incorporate a new schedule to 
collect energy sources and disposition from unregulated electricity 
generators. This data will be collected once a year as annual totals. 
The form will also be modified to collect gross generation in addition 
to the existing collection of net generation. This data will be 
collected monthly from a sample of respondents and annually from the 
remaining respondents. The result of adding this schedule is the 
addition of 8 new data elements. The form and instructions will be 
modified to reflect these changes.
    Form EIA-920, ``Combined Heat and Power Plant Report.'' A new 
Schedule 4, Annual Electricity Sources and Disposition, will collect 
energy sources and disposition from `combined heat and power plants'. 
This data will be collected once a year as annual totals. The schedule 
will result in 8 new data elements. The form and instructions will be 
modified to reflect the changes.
    Form EIA-860M, ``Monthly Update to the Annual Electric Generator 
Report.'' This new form will collect data on the status of proposed new 
generators or proposed changes to existing generators. It will be 
collected for each generator that is scheduled to become operational 
within a rolling 12 month period. For inclusion in the EIA-906 monthly 
survey a generator must meet the same criteria as for the EIA-860 
annual survey: the generator must have a nameplate capacity of 1 
megawatt or greater and the generator, or the facility that houses the 
generator, must be connected to the electric power grid. Data items to 
be collected include the current status of the plant, prime mover type, 
and nameplate capacity. There will be 15 data items collected on each 
proposed or modified generators. Form and instructions will be 
provided.
    With regard to confidential treatment of information reported on 
the electric power surveys, EIA is proposing changes in the elements 
that will be treated as confidential and not publicly released in 
individually-identifiable form. These changes are being proposed for 
two reasons. First, as the level of generation competition increases, 
so does the concern for the disclosure of commercially sensitive data. 
Certain elements reported on EIA's electric power survey forms are 
trade secrets and commercial or financial information that are 
privileged or confidential. Also, certain elements reported on EIA's 
electric power surveys reveal details that could be exploited by those 
seeking to harm the Nation's critical energy infrastructure. Public 
release of these elements is expected to impair the Government's 
ability to obtain the information in the future and would be harmful to 
the Government's ability to analyze and respond to situations affecting 
the electric power supply and system operations of the United States.
    EIA continuously monitors the electric power industry. Based on its 
review, EIA is proposing to increase the number of elements that will 
be treated as confidential. Following are the data elements from EIA's 
electric power surveys that will receive confidential treatment 
beginning in 2005. (Elements currently treated as confidential by EIA 
are marked by asterisks.)
    a. Monthly retail sales, revenue and number of customers of energy 
service providers* (EIA-826) (see following discussion regarding 
removal of the confidential protection 6 months after the end of the 
calendar year of the data).
    b. Fuel cost* (EIA-423) (see following discussion regarding removal 
of the confidential protection 6 months after the end of the calendar 
year of the data).
    c. Fuel Stocks* (EIA-906 and EIA-920) (see following discussion 
regarding removal of the confidential protection 6 months after the end 
of the calendar year of the data).
    d. Plant cost data for unregulated plants* (EIA-412) (see following 
discussion regarding additional protection limiting use to exclusively 
statistical purposes).
    e. Latitude and Longitude* (EIA-767 and EIA-860).
    f. Bulk Transmission Facility Power Flow Cases (EIA-411).
    g. Electric Transmission Maps (EIA-411).
    h. Maximum tested heat rate under full load* (EIA-860).

[[Page 17402]]

    In addition to the elements listed above that will be treated as 
confidential, EIA proposes to collect one of those elements in 
accordance with the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical 
Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA) (Title 5 of Pub. L. 107-347). This will 
ensure that the information is used only for exclusively statistical 
purposes unless respondents provide informed consent for other uses. 
The element to be collected under CIPSEA is: Plant cost for unregulated 
entities (EIA-412).
    For certain elements, commercial sensitivity declines rapidly over 
time and EIA is proposing to remove the confidential protection 6 
months after the end of the calendar year of the data for the:
    a. Fuel cost (EIA-423).
    b. Fuel stocks (EIA-906 and EIA-920).
    c. Monthly retail sales, revenues and number of customers of energy 
providers (EIA-826).
    The individual survey forms and instructions will be modified to 
address the specific confidentiality provisions that apply to the data 
elements.

III. Request for Comments

    Prospective respondents and other interested parties should comment 
on the proposals discussed in Item II. The following guidelines are 
provided to assist in the preparation of comments. Please indicate to 
which form(s) your comments apply.

General Issues

    A. Are the proposed collections of information necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency and does the 
information have practical utility? Practical utility is defined as the 
actual usefulness of information to or for an agency, taking into 
account its accuracy, adequacy, reliability, timeliness, and the 
agency's ability to process the information it collects.
    B. What enhancements can be made to the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected?
    C. Does EIA's proposed confidentiality treatment for electric power 
survey information maximize the utility of the data for users while 
adequately protecting sensitive information?

As a Potential Respondent to the Request for Information

    A. What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize the 
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information to be 
collected?
    B. Are the instructions and definitions clear and sufficient? If 
not, which instructions need clarification?
    C. Can the information be submitted by the due dates?
    D. Public reporting burden for the collections are estimated to 
average the times shown below. The estimated burden includes the total 
time necessary to provide the requested information. In your opinion, 
how accurate are these estimates?

Form EIA-411, ``Bulk Power Supply Program Report,''--14.15 hours per 
response in 2005 (previous estimate was 16.15 hours);
Form EIA-412, ``Annual Electric Industry Financial Report 
Utilities,''--25.00 hours per response in 2005 (previous estimate was 
25.00 hours);
Form EIA-423, ``Cost and Quality of Fuels for Electric Plants,''--2.00 
hours per response in 2005 (previous estimate was 2.00 hours);
Form EIA-767, ``Steam Electric Plant Operation and Design Report,''--
82.00 hours per response in 2005 (previous estimate was 82.00 hours);
Form EIA-826, ``Monthly Electric Sales and Revenue with State 
Distributions Report,'' 1.50 hours per response in 2005 (previous 
estimate was 1.50 hours);
Form EIA-860, ``Annual Electric Generator Report,''--18.12 hours per 
response in 2005 (previous estimate was 16.12 hours);
Form EIA-861, `` Annual Electric Power Industry Report,''--10.50 hours 
per response in 2005 (previous estimate was 9.30 hours);
Form EIA-906, ``Power Plant Report,''--2.00 hours per response in 2005 
(previous estimate was 1.40 hours);
Form EIA-920, ``Combined Heat and Power Plant Report,''--2.00 hours per 
response in 2005 (previous estimate was 1.40 hours);
Form EIA-860M, ``Monthly Update to the Annual Electric Generator 
Report,''--1.00 hour per response in 2005 (new form).

    E. The agency estimates that the only cost to a respondent is for 
the time it will take to complete the collection. Will a respondent 
incur any start-up costs for reporting, or any recurring annual costs 
for operation, maintenance, and purchase of services associated with 
the information collection?
    F. What additional actions could be taken to minimize the burden of 
this collection of information? Such actions may involve the use of 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    G. Does any other Federal, State, or local agency collect similar 
information? If so, specify the agency, the data element(s), and the 
methods of collection.

As a Potential User of the Information To Be Collected

    A. What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize the 
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information 
disseminated?
    B. Is the information useful at the levels of detail to be 
collected?
    C. For what purpose(s) would the information be used? Be specific.
    D. Are there alternate sources for the information and are they 
useful? If so, what are their weaknesses and/or strengths?
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the form. They also 
will become a matter of public record.


    Statutory Authority: Section 3507(h)(1) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

    Issued in Washington, DC, March 30, 2004.
Jay H. Casselberry,
Agency Clearance Officer, Statistics and Methods Group, Energy 
Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 04-7484 Filed 4-1-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P