[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 57 (Friday, March 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14888-14891]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-4230]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. AD06-2-000]


Assessment of Demand Response Resources

March 15, 2006.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission).

ACTION: Notice of issuance of voluntary survey.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) section 
1252(e)(3),\1\ the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is 
required to prepare a report, by appropriate region, that assesses 
demand response resources, including those available from all consumer 
classes. To gather information for this report, a voluntary survey will 
be issued to 3,372 respondents to gather information on advanced 
metering (AMI) and demand response (DR) and time-based rate programs.
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    \1\ Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-58, section 
1252(e)(3), 119 Stat. 594, (2005) (EPAct section 1252(e)(3)).

DATES: E-Mails and letters will be sent to the survey respondents by 
March 16, 2006. Responses should be made by April 12, 2006. Extensions 
will be granted on a case-by-case basis by contacting the Demand 
Response Team (anytime).

[[Page 14889]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Kathan, Office of Energy Markets 
and Reliability, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First 
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-6404, E-mail: Demand 
Response Team.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notice of Issuance of Voluntary Survey on Advanced Metering and Demand 
Response Programs

    1. Take notice that a survey of demand response (DR) and time-based 
rate programs/tariffs, and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) is 
being issued to gather information to assist in the preparation of a 
report for Congress that assesses various aspects of demand response in 
the United States as specified in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 
2005) section 1252(e)(3).\2\ The survey will be sent to 3,372 electric 
power businesses and organizations who directly serve end-use 
customers. E-mails will be sent to each respondent along with follow-up 
letters. Reponses would be appreciated by April 12, 2006 to provide 
sufficient time to process and analyze the results by August 8, 2006, 
the date set by Congress for submission of the report.
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    \2\ Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-58, Sec.  
1252(e)(3), 119 Stat. 594, (2005) (EPAct section 1252(e)(3)).
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    2. This survey is the first nationwide effort to gather information 
on the dispersion of advanced metering and demand response programs. 
Industry cooperation is important for us to obtain as accurate and up-
to-date information as possible to respond to Congress, as well as to 
provide information to states and other market participants. We, 
therefore, strongly encourage all potential survey respondents to 
complete the survey.
    3. Towards this end, the survey has been designed to be as user-
friendly as possible. To ease the burden of responding, the survey will 
be conducted using the Internet and will allow respondents to enter 
information via a Web-survey instrument. The survey will use three Web-
based forms that collect general corporate information, inventory AMI 
at the utility, and inventory DR and time-based programs/tariffs.\3\ 
The survey has been divided into three sections to allow different 
people within an organization to enter information on AMI, DR, and 
time-based rate programs and/or tariffs.
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    \3\ The final versions of the corporate information, AMI, and 
demand-response and time-based rate programs/tariffs surveys can be 
accessed at: http://www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indus-act/dem-resp/gen-inf-sec.pdf, http://www.ferc.gov/[fsxp0]industries/
electric/indus-act/dem-resp/ami-sec.pdf, and http://www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indus-act/dem-resp/drs-tbr.pdf.
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 I. Background

    4. Section 1252(e)(3) of EPAct 2005 requires the Commission to 
draft and publish a report, by appropriate region, that assesses DR 
resources, including those available from all consumer classes. 
Specifically, EPAct 2005 requires that the Commission identify and 
review:
    (A) Saturation and penetration rates of advanced meters and 
communications technologies, devices and systems;
    (B) Existing demand response programs and time-based rate programs;
    (C) The annual resource contribution of demand resources;
    (D) The potential for demand response as a quantifiable, reliable 
resource for regional planning purposes;
    (E) Steps taken to ensure that, in regional transmission planning 
and operations, demand resources are provided equitable treatment as a 
quantifiable, reliable resource relative to the resource obligations of 
any load-serving entity, transmission provider, or transmitting party; 
and
    (F) Regulatory barriers to improved customer participation in 
demand response, peak reduction and critical period pricing programs.
    5. On November 3, 2005, a notice was issued requesting comments on 
proposed survey questions. A survey was proposed because adequate 
information on this subject is not collected by other sources. Twenty-
nine comments were filed on the draft survey.

II. Discussion

    6. We appreciate all the useful comments submitted on the survey 
questions. Within the limits of the available survey instrument, we 
have made revisions to reduce the burden in responding and to ensure 
the information is more accurate. In certain cases, we did not make 
suggested changes because more detailed information is needed to 
respond to specific items in the EPAct or to provide useful data. We 
trust that with the changes that have been made, the survey should not 
be onerous to complete, and we encourage all potential respondents to 
complete the survey so that we can obtain the most precise information 
possible.
    7. The following summarizes the major changes to the survey and 
addresses the concerns expressed by commenters:
    (1) New survey software is being used to make navigation among 
sections of the survey faster and easier.
    (2) To make entering information simpler, the survey asks all 
respondents to enter general company information only once, and 
provides for the entry of company name and utility identification 
number to allow data linkages among data from all survey parts.
    (3) The demand response and time-based rate program sections of the 
survey also have been combined, as suggested by commenters.
    (4) The survey is going to regulated and non-regulated entities 
that own or operate end-use meters that are used for billing purposes 
and to entities that offer DR programs and/or time-based rates. In 
response to commenters, the latter now includes third-party curtailment 
service providers and ISOs/RTOs.
    (5) In the interest of reducing possible confusion and to ensure 
more direct comparison, the commercial/industrial (C/I) customer 
definition used in the draft surveys has been revised. The final survey 
asks respondents to report their data into five categories: 
Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Transportation, and Other. These 
categories are relatively standard and with the exception of the 
``Other'' category are identical to the categories used by the Energy 
Information Administration (EIA) in their form EIA-861, ``Annual 
Electric Power Industry Report.''
    (6) The survey has been revised to eliminate the need for state 
level reporting on demand response and time-based rate programs/
tariffs, as suggested by commenters. The final survey will allow 
respondents the flexibility to list demand response and time-based rate 
programs/tariffs that cross state boundaries.
    (7) State level reporting will be requested on AMI information. We 
received comments from state commissions that state level data will be 
important for their consideration of smart metering required in EPAct 
section 1252. We trust that larger, regional companies will be able to 
easily report or estimate their AMI data by state.
    (8) In response to requests in comments, the final demand response 
and time-based rates/tariffs section of the survey adds questions with 
regards to expected impact on energy usage, and the total maximum 
demand of participating customers. This information will provide useful 
information for determining the size and impact of demand response and 
time-based rate programs/tariffs.
    (9) The final version of the AMI section of the survey continues to 
request data on the number of installed meters by frequency of 
measurement

[[Page 14890]]

and frequency of data retrieval, and does not provide a specific 
definition for advanced metering. Although several parties requested a 
specific definition of advanced metering, there was a lack of consensus 
in the comments on the definition on advanced metering. Consequently, 
Commission staff determined that a broader data collection would be 
useful and appropriate to support the development of the final report 
and to support future policy deliberations.
    (10) A glossary of terms and list of acronyms have been added and 
instructions for completing the survey have been significantly revised. 
When respondents access the survey on the Web site, they will be able 
to access and download the glossary of terms, a list of acronyms used 
in the survey, and instructions for each section of the survey. 
Respondents will also be able to download a copy of the entire survey 
instrument to help them organize their collection of the data and to 
help them complete the Web survey online as quickly as possible.
    (11) The final survey incorporates many of the general suggestions 
commenters made, such as providing response space throughout to give 
respondents the opportunity to provide more information on the purpose 
and applicability of the programs. Commission staff wants to receive 
information on all programs, regardless of size and encourages 
potential respondents to take the survey even if they have only one 
program.
    (12) The Commission is very interested in achieving as high a 
response rate as possible to this survey. The Commission is aware that 
some potential respondents do not have email and/or Internet access. 
These respondents will receive a letter informing them of the survey 
and providing them with hard copies of all the information they need to 
participate in this important national study.
    (13) In response to comments related to security, there are a 
number of steps that will safeguard both the data collection and the 
data itself. First, Commission staff has assigned each respondent a 
utility identification and a password. This identifying data is 
required for completion of each section of the survey and will allow 
automated compilation and verification of validity of the survey data. 
The survey instrument itself is powered by Snap Survey Software. This 
is a tool the survey contractor has used extensively without ever 
encountering a security breach. Respondents completing the survey via 
FERC-727 and FERC-728 will be working on the survey contractor's Web 
site. The survey contractor's server hosting company uses network 
intrusion detection in a signature based model. They also use a state 
based layer 3 firewall with notification and alerting of abnormal 
events. The administrator at the contractor's server hosting company is 
a Certified Information Systems Security Professional. The survey 
contractor, who has extensive general expertise and knowledge about 
demand response programs across the country, will also be conducting 
validity checks on the data as the forms are completed and after all 
the data is collected to ensure early and timely detection of unusual 
data entries.
    (14) The Commission received a comment from one large company 
indicating that based on a preliminary ``dry run'' of activities 
necessary to complete the draft FERC-727, the company did not believe 
that the Commission's estimate of reporting burden associated with 
completion of this survey accurately reflected the actual effort that 
will be required to complete the survey. The commenter indicated that 
the data collection and input required for it to complete FERC-727 
would require approximately four hours. Although the Commission burden 
estimate for this information collection was questioned by only one 
commenter, Commission staff is revising its burden estimate for FERC-
727 from one hour to four hours for two primary reasons. First, as 
described previously, a number of commenters asked for FERC-727 to 
collect data on various additional aspects of demand response and time-
based rate programs/tariffs to ensure the meaningfulness of the data 
and the survey has been revised to accommodate these reasonable 
requests. Second, Commission staff anticipates that many of the largest 
potential respondents to the survey (such as Pacific Gas and Electric) 
will also be the largest contributors to total national demand 
response. Commission staff thereby revises its burden estimate for 
FERC-727 and predicts that it will take all respondents 1 hour or less 
to enter the data they have compiled from their businesses into the 
Web-based form but that many will need as many as 3 non-continuous 
hours to collect data for a number of the questions being asked in the 
final FERC-727. The total estimated reporting burden for FERC-727 and 
FERC-728 is estimated to be five hours maximum. The Commission expects 
that the majority of the respondents will take significantly less time 
to complete the survey because of the smaller size and less 
extensiveness of their programs. Other details regarding this data 
collection are as follows.

III. Data Collection Information

    8. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations require that 
OMB approve certain reporting, record keeping, and public disclosure 
(collections of information) imposed by an agency.\4\ Accordingly, 
pursuant to OMB regulations, notice is given to the public that OMB has 
reviewed and approved the final survey under section 3507(d) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.\5\
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    \4\ 5 CFR 1320.10 (2005).
    \5\ 44 U.S.C. 3507(d) (2005).
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    9. The OMB has approved the Commission's burden estimate and the 
calculation of the information collection costs and determined that the 
survey meets its information collection requirements. The OMB 
authorization numbers for collecting this information via FERC-727 and 
FERC-728 are displayed on the forms themselves and shown below.

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                                                                                                        Total
                       Data collection                         Number of    Number of    Hours per      annual
                                                              respondents   responses     response      hours
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FERC-727, Demand Response and Time Based Rate Programs              3,372            1            4       13,488
 Survey, OMB No. 1902-0214..................................
FERC-728, Advanced Metering Survey, OMB No. 1902-0213.......        3,372            1            1        3,372
                                                             ---------------------------------------------------
    Totals..................................................        3,372            2            5       16,860
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[[Page 14891]]

    10. Total Annual Hours for Collection: The reporting burden for 
this survey is estimated at 16,860 hours.
    11. Information Collection Costs: The surveyed organizations 
collect all the information requested in FERC-727 and FERC-728 as part 
of their customary and usual business practices. There were no comments 
on the cost of responding to FERC-727 and FERC-728. Therefore, the 
Commission concludes that its calculation of the average annualized 
cost for all respondents being projected to be $910,440 (16,860 hours x 
$54 per hour) is accurate.
    12. Title: FERC-727, Demand Response and Time-Based Rate Programs 
Survey and FERC-728, Advanced Metering Infrastructure Survey.
    13. Action: Proposed Information Collection. The respondent shall 
not be penalized for failure to respond to this collection of 
information unless the collection of information displays a valid OMB 
control number.
    14. Respondents: Business or other for profit, publicly-owned 
utilities, and electric cooperatives, RTOs/ISOs.
    15. Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
    16. Necessity of Information: On August 8, 2005, Congress enacted 
EPAct 2005. Section 1252 (e)(3) of the EPAct 2005 requires the 
Commission to draft and publish a report, by appropriate region, that 
assesses demand response resources, including those available from all 
consumer classes. Commission staff has reviewed public information to 
determine the availability of saturation and penetration data on 
advanced metering with the regional specificity required by the EPAct 
2005. The review included an assessment of the EIA-861, which collects 
aggregate information on energy efficiency and load management. The 
EIA-861 does not include any information on advanced metering. 
Moreover, there are no publicly available saturation and penetration 
data on advanced metering at the level required by the EPAct 2005. The 
Commission is dedicated to establishing clear market rules to govern 
electric markets. The information collected through this survey will 
assist the Commission in carrying out its goal of developing robust and 
efficient energy markets.
    17. Internal Review: Internal review at the Commission shows that 
there is specific, objective support for the burden estimates 
associated with the information requirements. The Commission will 
review the data resulting from the survey to ensure that the survey 
results meet the congressional requirements of the report on DR in 
EPAct 2005. This conforms to the Commission's plan for efficient 
information collection, communication, and management within the 
electric industry.
    18. Interested persons may obtain information on the reporting 
requirements of the survey by contacting the following: Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426 
(Attention: Michael Miller, Office of the Executive Director, 202-502-
8415, fax: 202-273-0873, e-mail: [email protected]). To submit 
comments concerning the collection of information and the associated 
burden estimates including suggestions for reducing this burden, please 
send your comments to the contact listed above and to the Office of 
Management and Budget, Room 10202 NEOB, 725 17th Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20503 (Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission), fax: 202-395-7285, e-mail: [email protected]).
    19. The ``public protection'' provision of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act \6\ requires each agency to display a currently valid OMB control 
number and to inform respondents that a response is not required unless 
the information collection displays a valid OMB control number on each 
information collection. This provision has two legal effects: (1) It 
creates a legal responsibility for the agency; and (2) it provides an 
affirmative legal defense for respondents if the information collection 
is imposed on respondents by the Commission through regulation or 
administrative means in order to satisfy a legal authority or 
responsibility of the Commission. If the Commission should fail to 
display an OMB control number, then it is the Commission not the 
respondent who is in violation of the law. ``Display'' is defined as 
publishing the OMB control number in regulations, guidelines or other 
issuances in the Federal Register (for example, in the preamble or 
regulatory text for the final rule containing the information 
collection).\7\ Therefore, the Commission may not conduct or sponsor, 
and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information 
unless the information collection displays a valid OMB control number.
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    \6\ 44 U.S.C. 3512 (2000); 5 CFR 1320.5(b) (2005); 5 CFR 
1320.6(a) (2005).
    \7\ See 1 CFR 21.35 (2005); 5 CFR 1320.3(f)(3) (2005).
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IV. Document Availability

    20. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the 
Internet through the Commission's Home Page (http://www.ferc.gov) and 
in the Commission's Public Reference Room during normal business hours 
(8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First Street, NE., Room 2A, 
Washington, DC 20426.
    21. From the Commission's home page on the Internet, this 
information is available in the Commission's document management 
system, eLibrary. The full text of this document is available on 
eLibrary in PDF and Microsoft Word format for viewing, printing, and/or 
downloading. To access this document in eLibrary, type the docket 
number excluding the last three digits of this document in the docket 
number field.
    22. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the Commission's 
Web site during normal business hours. For assistance, please contact 
the Commission's Online Support at 1-866-208-3676 (toll free) or 202-
502-6652 (e-mail at [email protected]), or the Public 
Reference Room at (202) 502-8371, TTY (202) 502-8659. E-Mail the Public 
Reference Room at [email protected].

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-4230 Filed 3-23-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P