[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 100 (Wednesday, May 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29927-29928]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-7959]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[IC06-585-001, FERC 585]


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

May 18, 2006.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of section 3507 of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507, the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission (Commission) has submitted the information 
collection described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review and extension of this information collection requirement. 
Any interested person may file comments directly with OMB and should 
address a copy of those comments to the Commission as explained below. 
The Commission received no comments in response to an earlier Federal 
Register notice of February 24, 2006 (71 FR 9529-9530) and has made 
this notation in its submission to OMB.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due by June 26, 
2006.

ADDRESSES: Address comments on the collection of information to the 
Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Desk Officer. 
Comments to OMB should be filed electronically, c/o [email protected] and include the OMB Control No. as a point of 
reference. The Desk Officer may be reached by telephone at 202-395-
4650. A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, Office of the Executive Director, ED-34, 
Attention: Michael Miller, 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, an original and 14 copies of such comments should be 
submitted to the Secretary of the Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426 and should 
refer to Docket No. IC06-587-001.
    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 
acknowledgement 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 this e-mail address.
    All comments may be viewed, printed or downloaded remotely via the 
Internet through FERC's homepage using the ``eLibrary'' link. Enter the 
docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number 
field to access the document. For user 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:

[[Page 29928]]

Description

    The information collection submitted for OMB review contains the 
following:
    1. Collection of Information: FERC Form 585 ``Reporting of Electric 
Energy
    Shortages and Contingency Plans under PURPA''.
    2. Sponsor: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
    3. Control No.: 1902-0138.
    The Commission is now requesting that OMB approve and extend the 
expiration date for an additional three years with no changes to the 
existing collection. The information filed with the Commission is 
mandatory.
    4. Necessity of the Collection of Information: Submission of the 
information is necessary for the Commission to carry out its 
responsibilities in implementing the statutory provisions of section 
206 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1979 (PURPA) 
Public Law 95-617, 92 Stat. 3117. Section 206 of PURPA amended the 
Federal Power Act (FPA) by adding a new subsection (g) to section 202, 
under which the Commission by rule, was to require each public utility 
to (1) report to the Commission and appropriate state regulatory 
authorities of any anticipated shortages of electric energy or capacity 
which would affect the utility's capability to serve its wholesale 
customers; and (2) report to the Commission and any appropriate state 
regulatory authority in a contingency plan that would outline what 
circumstances might give rise for such occurrences.
    In FERC Order No. 575 (60 FR 4859, January 25, 1995) the Commission 
modified the reporting requirements in 18 CFR 294.101(b) to provide 
that if a public utility includes in its rates schedule a provision 
that: (a) During electric energy and capacity shortages it will treat 
firm power wholesale customers without undue discrimination or 
preference; and (b) it will report any modifications to its contingency 
plan for accommodating shortages within 15 days to the appropriate 
state regulatory agency and to the affected wholesale customers, then 
the utility need not file with the Commission an additional statement 
of the contingency plan for accommodating such shortages. This revision 
merely changed the reporting mechanism; the public utility's 
contingency plan would be located in its filed rate rather than in a 
separate document.
    In FERC Order No. 659, (70 FR 35027-28, June 16, 2006) the 
Commission revised its regulations to provide an alternative means for 
public utilities to report shortages of electric energy and capacity by 
submitting an electronic filing via the Commission's Division of 
Reliability's pager system at [email protected] instead of filing with 
the Secretary of the Commission.
    The Commission uses the information to evaluate and formulate 
appropriate an option for action in the event an unanticipated shortage 
is reported and/or materializes. Without this information, the 
Commission and State agencies would be unable to: (1) Examine, approve 
or modify utility actions, (2) prepare a response to anticipated 
disruptions in electric energy and (3) ensure equitable treatment of 
all public utility customers under the shortage situations. The 
Commission implements these filings requirements in the Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR part 294.
    5. Respondent Description: The respondent universe currently 
comprises 7 companies (on average) subject to the Commission's 
jurisdiction.
    6. Estimated Burden: 511 total hours, 7 respondents (average), 1 
response per respondent, and 73 hours per response (average).
    7. Estimated Cost Burden to Respondents: 511 hours/2080 hours per 
years x $112,767 per year = $ 27,704. The cost per respondent is equal 
to $3,958.

    Statutory Authority: Statutory provisions of section 206 of the 
Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1979 (PURPA) Pub. L. 95-
617, 92 Stat. 3117.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E6-7959 Filed 5-23-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P