[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 32 (Thursday, February 19, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7679-7680]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-3452]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC09-556-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-556); Proposed 
Collection; Comment Request; Extension

February 11, 2009.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed information collection and request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of section 3506(c)(2)(a) 
of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13), the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is soliciting public comment 
on the specific aspects of the information collection described below.

DATES: Comments in consideration of the collection of information are 
due April 17, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be filed either electronically or in paper 
format, and should refer to Docket No. IC09-556-000. Documents must be 
prepared in an acceptable filing format and in compliance with 
Commission submission guidelines at http://www.ferc.gov/help/
submission-guide.asp.
    Comments may be eFiled. The eFiling option under the Documents & 
Filings tab on the Commission's home web page (http://www.ferc.gov) 
directs users to the eFiling Web site. First-time users follow the 
eRegister instructions on the eFiling web page to establish a user name 
and password before eFiling. Filers will receive an e-mailed 
confirmation of their eFiled comments. Commenters filing electronically 
should not make a paper filing. If unable to make a filing 
electronically, deliver an original and 14 paper copies of the filing 
to: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 
888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
    Parties interested in receiving automatic notification of activity 
in this docket may do so through eSubscription. The eSubscription 
option under the Documents & Filings tab on the Commission's home web 
page directs users to the eSubscription web page. Users submit the 
docket numbers of the filings they wish to track and will subsequently 
receive an e-mail notification each time a filing is made under the 
submitted docket numbers. First-time users will need to establish a 
user name and password before eSubscribing.
    Filed comments and FERC issuances may be viewed, printed and 
downloaded remotely from the Commission's Web site. The red eLibrary 
link found at the top of most of the Commission's web pages directs 
users to FERC's eLibrary. From the eLibrary web page, choose General 
Search, and in the Docket Number space provided, enter IC09-556; then 
click the Submit button at the bottom of the page.
    For help with any of the Commission's electronic submission or 
retrieval systems, contact FERC Online Support (e-mail at 
[email protected], or telephone toll-free (866) 208-3676 (TTY 
(202) 502-8659)).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: 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 Commission uses the FERC Form No. 556, 
Cogeneration and Small Power Production, OMB Control Number 1902-0075, 
to implement the statutory provisions in Federal Power Act (FPA) 
section 3 (16 U.S.C. 792-828c) and sections 201 and 210 of the Public 
Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2601). These 
statutes authorize the Commission to encourage cogeneration and small 
power production and to prescribe such rules as necessary in order to 
carry out these statutory directives. Commission regulations pertaining 
to FERC Form No. 556 can be found in 18 CFR 131.80 and 18 CFR Part 292.
    A primary objective of PURPA, as indicated in section 2 of the FPA 
is the conservation of energy through efficient use of energy resources 
and facilities by electric utilities. One means of achieving this goal 
is to encourage production of electric power by cogeneration facilities 
which make use of reject heat associated with commercial or industrial 
processes, and by small power production facilities which use other 
wastes and renewable resources as fuel. Congress, through PURPA, 
established various regulatory benefits to encourage the development of 
small power production facilities and

[[Page 7680]]

cogeneration facilities which meet certain technical and corporate 
criteria. Facilities that meet these criteria are deemed qualifying 
facilities (QFs).
    The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) \1\ and in particular 
section 1253(a), added section 210(m) to the PURPA providing, among 
other things, for termination of the requirement that an electric 
utility enter into a new contract or obligation to purchase electric 
energy from qualifying cogeneration facilities and qualifying small 
power production facilities (QFs) if the Commission finds that the QF 
has nondiscriminatory access to one of three categories of markets 
defined in section 210(m)(1)(A), (B) or (C). Thus, to relieve an 
electric utility of its mandatory purchase obligation under PURPA, the 
Commission has to identify which, if any, markets meet the criteria 
contained in 210(m)(1)(A), (B) or (C), and, if such markets are 
identified, it must determine whether QFs have nondiscriminatory access 
to those markets.
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    \1\ Pub. L. 109-58, 1253, 119 Stat. 594 (2005).
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    In 18 CFR Part 292, the Commission provides: (1) QF certification 
criteria, (2) QF application information, (3) a description of some of 
the benefits afforded QFs,\2\ and (4) transaction obligations electric 
utilities have with respect to QFs.
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    \2\ Other benefits may be available to certain QFs pursuant to 
other federal, state or local laws.
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    Among the PURPA benefits identified in Part 292, are the 
requirements for electric utilities: (1) To make avoided cost 
information and system capacity needs available to the public; (2) to 
purchase energy and capacity from QFs favorably priced on the basis of 
the avoided cost of the power that is displaced by the QF power (i.e., 
the incremental cost to the purchasing utility if it had generated the 
displaced power or purchased it from another source); (3) to sell 
backup, maintenance and other power services to QFs at rates based on 
the cost of rendering the services; (4) to provide certain 
interconnection and transmission services priced on a nondiscriminatory 
basis; and (5) to operate in ``parallel'' with other interconnected QFs 
so that they may be electrically synchronized with electric utility 
grids.
    A blank FERC Form No. 556 may be downloaded from the Commission's 
Web site: http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/hard-fil.asp#556. Click on 
the Electric tab, then click the Form No. 556 link. Choose from an MS 
Word or RTF format in the Downloads & Links column. Examples of filings 
may be viewed through the Commission's eLibrary system. Click on the 
red eLibrary link found at the top of any of the Commission's Web 
pages, choose General Search, then under Class/Type Info choose Type: 
Qualifying Facility Application or PURPA Energy Utility Filing; then 
click the Submit button at the bottom of the page.
    Action: The Commission is requesting a three-year extension of the 
current expiration date.
    Burden Statement: The public reporting burden for this collection 
is estimated to be as follows:

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                                          Number of          Number of        Average burden
              FERC-556                   respondents       responses per        hours per         Total annual
                                           annually          respondent          response         burden hours
                                                    (1)                (2)                (3)    (1) x (2) x (3)
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FERC Certification..................                  4                  1                 20                 80
Self Certification..................                820                  1                  3               2460
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    Total...........................                824  .................  .................               2540
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    The estimated total cost to respondents is $154,334.31 [2,540 hours 
divided by 2,080 hours \3\ per year, times $126,384 \4\ equals 
$154,334.31]. The cost per respondent is $187.30.
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    \3\ Number of hours an employee works each year.
    \4\ Average annual salary per employee.
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    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 respondent's cost estimate is based on 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 burden estimate 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 respondent information collection burden.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-3452 Filed 2-18-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P