[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 161 (Friday, August 20, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51648-51649]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-1861]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[IC04-519-000, FERC-519]


Commission Information Collection Activities, Proposed 
Collection; Comment Request; Extension

August 13, 2004.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of Section 3506(c)(2)(a) 
of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is soliciting public 
comment on the specific aspects of the information collection described 
below.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due by October 12, 
2004.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the proposed collection of information can be 
obtained from Michael Miller, Office of the Executive Director, ED-30, 
888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426. Comments may be filed 
either in paper format or electronically. Those persons filing 
electronically do not need to make a paper filing. For paper filings, 
the original and 14 copies of such 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. 
IC04-519-000.
    Documents filed electronically via the Internet must be prepared in 
WordPerfect, MS Word, Portable Document Format, or ASCII format. To 
file the document, access the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov and click on ``Make an E-filing,'' and then follow the 
instructions for each screen. First time users will have to establish a 
user name and password. The Commission will send an automatic 
acknowledgment to the sender's E-mail address upon receipt of comments. 
User assistance for electronic filings is available at 202-502-8258 or 
by e-mail to [email protected]. Comments should not be submitted to the 
e-mail address.
    All comments are available for review at the Commission or may be 
viewed on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov, using the 
`eLibrary' link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three 
digits in the docket number field to access the document. For 
assistance, contact [email protected] or toll-free at (866) 
208-3676 or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Miller may be reached by 
telephone at (202) 502-8415, by fax at (202) 273-0873, and by e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The information is collected under the 
requirements of FERC-519 ``Application for Sale, Lease or Disposition, 
Merger or Consolidation of Facilities or for Purchase or Acquisition of 
Securities'' (OMB No. 1902-0082). The information is used by the 
Commission to implement the statutory provisions of the Section 203 of 
the Federal Power Act (FPA), 16 U.S.C. 824b. Section 203 authorizes the 
Commission to grant approval for transactions in which a public utility 
disposes of jurisdictional facilities, merges such facilities with the 
facilities owned by another person or acquires the securities of 
another public utility. Under this statute, the Commission must find 
that the proposed transaction will be consistent with the public 
interest. Section 318 exempts certain persons from the requirements of 
Section 203 which would otherwise concurrently apply under the Public 
Utility Holding Company Act of 1935.
    Under Section 203 of the FPA, FERC must review proposed mergers, 
acquisitions and dispositions of jurisdictional facilities by public 
utilities, if the value of the facilities exceeds $50,000, and must 
approve these transactions if they are consistent with the public 
interest. Today, one of FERC's overarching goals is to promote 
competition in wholesale power markets, having determined that 
effective competition, as opposed to traditional forms of price 
regulation, can best protect the interests of ratepayers. Market power, 
however, can be exercised to the detriment of effective competition and 
customers. Therefore, FERC regulates transmission service, mergers and 
wholesale rates so as to prevent the exercise of market power in bulk 
power markets. The Commission

[[Page 51649]]

implements these filing requirements in the Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR) under 18 CFR part 33.
    Action: The Commission is requesting a three-year approval of these 
reporting requirements, with no changes to the existing collection of 
data.
    Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this collection is 
estimated as:

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                                            Number of
                                          responses per    Average burden hours per    Total annual burden hours
  Number of respondents annually  (1)      respondent*          response #  (3)               (1)x(2)x(3)
                                               (2)
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134....................................               1   395.......................  52,930
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*The Commission anticipates that over the next three years it will receive on average per year the following
  number of filings: merger applications (2); disposition of facilities (109); corporate restructuring (20); and
  acquisition of securities (3).
# The Commission has estimated that it takes on average anywhere from 91 hours to 12,557 hours to comply with
  the requirements of Part 33 and encompasses non-merger transactions i.e. divestiture of assets, acquisition of
  securities; simple merger applications where no competitive concerns are raised to complex merger applications
  were horizontal competitive concerns are raised and there is a need for extensive analysis.

    Estimated cost burden to respondents: 52,930 hours / 2,080 hours 
per year x $107,185 per year = $2,727,549.
    The reporting burden includes the total time, effort, or financial 
resources expended to generate, maintain, retain, disclose, or provide 
the information including:
    (1) Reviewing instructions; (2) developing, acquiring, installing, 
and utilizing technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, 
validating, verifying, processing, maintaining, disclosing and 
providing information; (3) adjusting the existing ways to comply with 
any previously applicable instructions and requirements; (4) training 
personnel to respond to a collection of information; (5) searching data 
sources; (6) completing and reviewing the collection of information; 
and (7) transmitting, or otherwise disclosing the information.
    The estimate of cost for respondents is based upon salaries for 
professional and clerical support, as well as direct and indirect 
overhead costs. Direct costs include all costs directly attributable to 
providing this information, such as administrative costs and the cost 
for information technology. Indirect or overhead costs are costs 
incurred by an organization in support of its mission. These costs 
apply to activities which benefit the whole organization rather than 
any one particular function or activity.
    Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Commission, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond.

Linda Mitry,
Acting Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E4-1861 Filed 8-19-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P