[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 223 (Tuesday, November 20, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 65246-65248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-22550]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

18 CFR Parts 141 and 385

[Docket No. RM07-18-000]


Elimination of FERC Form No. 423

November 2, 2007.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission (Commission) is proposing to amend its 
regulations to eliminate the FERC Form No. 423, Monthly Report of Cost 
and Quality of Fuels for Electric Plants. The Commission's infrequent 
use of the information no longer justifies the burden and cost of 
collecting it. Conversely, the Energy Information Administration has 
expressed a need for this information and, upon cessation of the 
Commission's collection, proposes to collect the information, as part 
of its newly proposed EIA-923.

DATES: Comment deadline: Comments are due December 20, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket No. RM07-18-
000, by one of the following methods:
     eFiling: From the Commission's Web site: http://www.ferc.gov, follow the instructions for submitting comments 
electronically found by selecting eFiling under the Documents & Filing 
heading.
     Mail: Commenters unable to file comments electronically 
must mail or hand deliver an original and 14 copies of their comments 
to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the 
Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
    Please refer to the Comment Procedures section for additional 
information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lawrence Greenfield (Legal 
Information), Office of the General Counsel--Energy Markets, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 
20426,

[[Page 65247]]

Telephone: (202) 502-6415, E-mail: [email protected].
    Patricia W. Morris (Technical Information), Division of 
Administration, Budget and Strategic Planning, Office of Energy Market 
Regulation, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, 
NE., Washington, DC 20426, Telephone: (202) 502-8730, E-mail: 
[email protected].
    James Krug (Technical Information), Division of Administration, 
Budget and Strategic Planning, Office of Energy Market Regulation, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20426, Telephone: (202) 502-8419, e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    1. In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission is 
proposing to amend its regulations, 18 CFR 141.61, to eliminate its 
Form No. 423, Monthly Report of Cost and Quality of Fuels for Electric 
Plants (OMB No. 1902-0024). The Commission's infrequent use of the 
information no longer justifies the burden and cost of collecting it. 
While the Commission is proposing to eliminate the Form 423, the Energy 
Information Administration (EIA) has expressed a need for this 
information and, upon cessation of the Commission's collection, has 
proposed to collect the information, as part of its newly proposed EIA-
923 survey.\1\
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    \1\ Energy Information Administration Electric Power Survey, OMB 
Control No. 1905-0129, Supporting Statement A, (submitted to the 
Office of Management and Budget for review on October 4, 2007), 
available at: http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewDocument?ref_nbr=200709-1905-003.
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Background

    2. Form 423 gathers information on the cost and quality of fuels 
delivered to steam electric generating plants of 50 MW or greater. This 
information has been used over the years for a variety of purposes, 
including: (1) To conduct fuel reviews under Federal Power Act (FPA) 
sections 205(a) and (e); \2\ (2) to address fuel costs and fuel 
purchase practices affecting public utility rates under FPA sections 
205 and 206; \3\ and (3) to detect abnormally high fuel costs in public 
utility fuel purchases indicative of affiliate preference under FPA 
sections 205 and 206.\4\
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    \2\ 16 U.S.C. 824d(a), (e).
    \3\ 16 U.S.C. 824d, 824e.
    \4\ Id.
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    3. Form 423 is submitted electronically on a monthly basis by 
approximately 190 utilities for their 569 steam electric generating 
plants.

Discussion

    4. The issuance of Order No. 888 \5\ and the public utility 
industry's increasing reliance on market-based rates have created a 
diminished need for the Form 423 information; greater use of market-
based rates has resulted in less reliance on cost-based rates and less 
need to evaluate rates by reference to the utility's costs. In short, 
there are fewer public utilities with cost-based rates \6\ and 
particularly with fuel adjustment clauses as part of their rates. This, 
in turn, has resulted in fewer rate cases and fewer complaints filed 
with the Commission. Moreover, should the Commission have a need for 
information concerning fuel costs and purchases, it can obtain such 
information on a case-by-case basis through special reports, 
investigations, or in formal proceedings.\7\
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    \5\ Promoting Wholesale Competition Through Open Access Non-
discriminatory Transmission Services by Public Utilities; Recovery 
of Stranded Costs by Public Utilities and Transmitting Utilities, 
Order No. 888, 61 FR 21540 (May 10, 1996), FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 
31,036 (1996), order on reh'g, Order No. 888-A, 62 FR 12274 (Mar. 
14, 1997), FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,048 (1997), order on reh'g, 
Order No. 888-B, 81 FERC ] 61,248 (1997), order on reh'g, Order No. 
888-C, 82 FERC ] 61,046 (1998), aff'd in relevant part sub nom. 
Transmission Access Policy Study Group v. FERC, 225 F.3d 667 (D.C. 
Cir. 2000), aff'd sub nom. New York v. FERC, 535 U.S. 1 (2002).
    \6\ A review of data from the Electric Quarterly Reports for 
calendar year 2006 indicates that market-based power sales 
constituted ninety percent of jurisdictional power sales (reported 
as energy sales and booked out transactions). Five percent were at 
cost-based rates, and the other five percent could not be readily 
categorized given the information reported.
    \7\ See, e.g., 16 U.S.C. 825e, 825f.
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    5. The Commission's infrequent use of the information collected 
through Form 423, in sum, no longer justifies the burden of collecting 
it. The Commission therefore proposes to cease to collect the Form 423 
information ending with the December 2007 information, due February 15, 
2008.
    6. In contrast to the Commission's lack of need for the 
information, the EIA, in a collection statement to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB), states that EIA has multiple uses for it 
and request approval to collect it. Presently, EIA collects similar 
information from nonutility generators and, as explained in EIA's 
collection statement to OMB, adding to it information from Commission-
jurisdictional public utilities would, for the first time, capture all 
such data on one form for the entire industry. EIA further proposes to 
merge the combined data collection with information from three other 
existing EIA collections: EIA-906, EIA-920 and EIA-767, in an effort to 
improve data quality, consistency and reporting efficiency. The result, 
EIA states, will be a new survey, the EIA-923, Power Plant Operations 
Report.
    7. The Commission proposes to collect Form 423 information ending 
with the December 2007 report, due February 15, 2008, to coordinate 
with the initiation of EIA's collection of that information. However, 
if EIA is not prepared to collect the information at that time, to 
prevent a gap in data continuity, the Commission will continue to 
collect the information, until such time as EIA is prepared to begin 
collection, but not beyond the December 2008 report, due in February 
2009.
    8. The annual estimated $385,128 cost to filers to provide the Form 
423 information, added to the $193,869 cost to the Commission to 
collect it, means eliminating the collection would save $578,997. The 
added burden on EIA to collect the FERC Form 423 data, EIA states in 
its OMB submission, is offset by the added efficiencies of reorganizing 
their data collections.

Solicitation of Comments

    9. The Commission seeks comments both on its proposal to eliminate 
the Form 423, and on the date the Commission proposes to eliminate the 
Form 423.

Information Collection Statement

    10. OMB regulations require OMB to approve certain information 
collection requirements imposed by an agency.\8\ Here, the Commission 
is proposing to cease collecting certain information. Nevertheless, OMB 
has been notified of the Commission's actions in this case. The 
Commission will submit a copy of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(NOPR) to OMB for information purposes only.
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    \8\ 5 CFR 1320.11.
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    11. Interested persons may obtain information on the elimination of 
these reporting requirements by contacting the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426 
[Attn: Michael Miller, Information Services Division (202) 502-8415, 
fax: (202) 273-0873]. Comments also can be sent to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB [Attn: Desk Officer for the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; phone, (202) 395-4650, fax: (202) 
395-7285, e-mail: [email protected]. Comments regarding 
EIA's collection of information now collected on Form 423 should be 
addressed to OMB at the above address.

[[Page 65248]]

Environmental Analysis

    12. Commission regulations require that an Environmental Assessment 
or an Environmental Impact Statement be prepared for any Commission 
action that may have a significant adverse effect on the human 
environment.\9\ The Commission has categorically excluded certain 
actions from this requirement as not having a significant adverse 
effect on the human environment. No environmental consideration is 
necessary for the promulgation of a rule concerning information 
gathering, analysis or dissemination.\10\ Because this NOPR concerns 
the elimination of an information collection, no environmental 
consideration is necessary.
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    \9\ Regulations Implementing the National Environmental Policy 
Act, Order No. 486, 52 FR 47897 (Dec. 17, 1987), FERC Stats. & Regs. 
] 30,783 (1987) (codified at 18 CFR Part 380).
    \10\ 18 CFR 380.4(a)(5).
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Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    13. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) \11\ generally 
requires either a description and analysis of a rule that will have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
or a certification that the rule will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities. Most utilities to 
which this proposed rule applies would not fall within the RFA's 
definition of small entity.\12\ Consequently, the Commission certifies 
that this NOPR, if adopted, will not have a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities. Moreover, elimination of the 
Form 423 will reduce the burden on all entities, including small 
entities.
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    \11\ 5 U.S.C. 601-12.
    \12\ 5 U.S.C. 601(3), citing to section 3 of the Small Business 
Act, 15 U.S.C. 632. Section 3 of the Small Business Act defines a 
``small business concern'' as a business that is independently owned 
and operated and that is not dominant in its field of operation. The 
Small Business Size Standards component of the North American 
Industry Classification System (NAICS) defines a small electric 
utility as one that, including its affiliates, is primarily engaged 
in the generation, transmission, and/or distribution of electric 
energy for sale and whose total electric output for the preceding 
fiscal year did not exceed four million MWh. 13 CFR 121.201.
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Comment Procedures

    14. The Commission invites interested persons to submit comments on 
the changes proposed in this NOPR to be adopted, including any related 
matters or alternative proposals that commenters may wish to discuss. 
Comments are due December 20, 2007. Comments must refer to Docket No. 
RM07-18-000, and must include, in the comments, the commenter's name, 
the organization represented, if applicable, and the address. Comments 
may be filed either in electronic or paper format.
    15. Comments may be filed electronically via the eFiling link found 
under the Documents & Filings heading on the Commission's Web site at 
http://www.ferc.gov. The Commission accepts most standard word 
processing formats, but requests commenters to submit comments in a 
text-searchable format rather than a scanned image format. Commenters 
filing electronically do not need to make a paper filing. Commenters 
that are not able to file comments electronically must send an original 
and 14 copies of their comments to: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20426.
    16. All comments will be placed in the Commission's public files 
and may be viewed, printed, or downloaded remotely as described in the 
Document Availability section below. Commenters on this proposal are 
not required to serve copies of their comments on other commenters.

Document Availability

    17. 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.
    18. From the Commission's Home Page on the Internet, the full text 
of this document is available in the Commission's document management 
system, eLibrary, in PDF and Microsoft Word format for viewing, 
printing, and downloading. To access this document in eLibrary, type 
the docket number (excluding the last three digits of the docket 
number), in the Docket Number field.
    19. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the Commission's 
Web site during normal business hours. For assistance, please contact 
FERC Online Support at (202) 502-6652 (toll-free at 1-866-208-3676), e-
mail [email protected], or contact the Public Reference Room 
at (202) 502-8371, TTY (202) 502-8659, e-mail: 
[email protected].

List of Subjects

18 CFR Part 141

    Electric power, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

18 CFR Part 385

    Administrative practice and procedure, Electric power, Penalties, 
Pipelines, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements

    By direction of the Commission.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
    In consideration of the foregoing, the Commission proposes to amend 
parts 141 and 385, Chapter I, Title 18, Code of Federal Regulations, as 
follows:

PART 141--STATEMENTS AND REPORTS (SCHEDULES)

    1. The authority citation for part 141 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 79; 16 U.S.C. 791a-828c, 2601-2645; 31 
U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 7101-7352.


Sec.  141.61  [Removed and reserved]

    2. Section 141.61 is removed and reserved.

PART 385--RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE

    3. The authority citation for part 385 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 551-557; 15 U.S.C. 717-717z, 3301-3432; 16 
U.S.C.791a-825v, 2601-2645; 28 U.S.C. 2461; 31 U.S.C. 3701, 9701; 42 
U.S.C. 7101-7352, 16441, 16451-16463; 49 U.S.C. 60502; 49 App. 
U.S.C. 1-85 (1988).


Sec.  385.2011  [Amended]

    4. Section 385.2011, paragraph (a)(8) is removed and reserved.

[FR Doc. E7-22550 Filed 11-19-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P