[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 20 (Monday, February 1, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5066-5068]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-1978]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. IC10-60-001, IC10-61-001, and IC10-555A-001]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC Form 60,\1\ 
FERC-61, and FERC-555A); Comment Request; Submitted for OMB Review

January 25, 2010.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.
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    \1\ The rulemaking in Docket No. RM09-21-000 (``Revised Filing 
Requirements for Centralized Service Companies under the Public 
Utility Holding Company Act of 2005, the Federal Power Act, and the 
Natural Gas Act'') addresses clarifications to the FERC Form 60. The 
Final Rule (Order 731, issued 12/17/2009; 74 FR 68526, 12/28/2009) 
was submitted to OMB on 12/28/2009. The rulemaking in Docket No. 
RM09-21 is not a subject of this Notice in Docket No. IC10-60 et al.

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 or FERC) has submitted the 
information collections described below to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review of the information collection requirements. 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 issued a Notice in the Federal Register (74 FR 53225, 
10/16/2009) requesting public comments. FERC received no comments and 
has made this notation in its submission to OMB.

DATES: Comments on the collections of information are due by March 3, 
2010.

ADDRESSES: Address comments on the collections 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 OMB Control Number 1902-0215 (for 
FERC Form 60, FERC-61, and FERC-555A) as a point of reference. For 
comments that pertain to only one or two of the collections, specify 
the appropriate collection. The Desk Officer may be reached by 
telephone at 202-395-4638.
    A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission and should refer to Docket Nos. IC10-60-001, 
IC10-61-001, and IC10-555A-001. (If comments apply to only one or two 
of the collections, indicate the corresponding dockets and collection 
numbers.) Comments may be filed either electronically or in paper 
format. Those persons filing electronically do not need to make a paper 
filing. Documents filed electronically via the Internet must be 
prepared in an acceptable filing format and in compliance with the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission submission guidelines. Complete 
filing instructions and acceptable filing formats are available at 
http://www.ferc.gov/help/submission-guide/electronic-media.asp. To file 
the document electronically, access the Commission's Web site and click 
on Documents & Filing, E-Filing (http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp), 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.
    For paper filings, the comments should be submitted to the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First 
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, and should refer to Docket Nos. 
IC10-60-001, IC10-61-001, and IC10-555A-001 (or the appropriate docket 
numbers, if the comments pertain only to one or two of the 
collections).

[[Page 5067]]

    All comments may be viewed, printed or downloaded remotely via the 
Internet through FERC's homepage using the ``eLibrary'' link. For user 
assistance, contact [email protected] or toll-free at (866) 
208-3676 or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Brown may be reached by 
telephone at (202) 502-8663, by fax at (202) 273-0873, and by e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OMB Control Number 1902-0215 currently 
includes three information collections:
     FERC Form 60, ``Annual Report of Centralized Service 
Companies'', pursuant to 18 CFR 369.1 and 366.23, with details at 
http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/forms.asp#60,
     FERC-61, ``Narrative Description Of Service Company 
Functions'', pursuant to 18 CFR 366.23, and
     FERC-555A, ``Preservation of Records of Holding Companies 
and Service Companies Subject to PUHCA'' [Public Utility Holding 
Company Act of 2005], record retention requirements, pursuant to 18 CFR 
366.22, and parts 367 and 368.
    On August 8, 2005, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, was signed in to 
law, repealing the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA 
1935) and enacting the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 
(PUHCA 2005). Section 1264 (Federal books and records access provision) 
and Section 1275 (non-power goods and services provision) of PUHCA 2005 
supplemented FERC's existing ratemaking authority under the Federal 
Power Act (FPA) to protect customers against improper cross-
subsidization or encumbrances of public utility assets, and similarly, 
FERC's ratemaking authority under the Natural Gas Act (NGA). These 
provisions of PUHCA 2005 supplemented the FERC's broad authority under 
FPA Section 301 and NGA section 8 to obtain the books and records of 
regulated companies and any person that controls or is controlled by 
such companies if relevant to jurisdictional activities.
    FERC Form 60. Form No. 60 is an annual reporting requirement under 
18 CFR 366.23 for centralized service companies. The report is designed 
to collect financial information (including balance sheet, assets, 
liabilities, billing and charges for associated and non-associated 
companies) from centralized service companies subject to the 
jurisdiction of the FERC. Unless the holding company system is exempted 
or granted a waiver by Commission rule or order pursuant to 18 CFR 
366.3 and 366.4, every centralized service company in a holding company 
system must prepare and file electronically with the FERC the Form No. 
60, pursuant to the General Instructions in the form.
    FERC-61. FERC-61 is a filing requirement for service companies in 
holding company systems (including special purpose companies) that are 
currently exempt or granted a waiver of FERC's regulations and would 
not have to file FERC Form 60. Instead, those service companies are 
required to file, on an annual basis, a narrative description of the 
service company's functions during the prior calendar year (FERC-61). 
In complying, a holding company may make a single filing on behalf of 
all of its service company subsidiaries.
    FERC-555A. FERC prescribed preservation of records requirements for 
holding companies and service companies (unless otherwise exempted by 
FERC). This requires them to maintain and make available to FERC, their 
books and records. The preservation of records requirement provides for 
uniform records retention by holding companies and centralized service 
companies subject to PUHCA 2005.
    Data from the FERC Form 60, FERC-61, and FERC-555A provide a level 
of transparency that: (1) Helps protect ratepayers from pass-through of 
improper service company costs, (2) enables FERC to review and 
determine cost allocations (among holding company members) for certain 
non-power goods and services, (3) aids FERC in meeting its oversight 
and market monitoring obligations, and (4) benefits the public, both as 
ratepayers and investors. In addition, the records are used by the 
FERC's audit staff during compliance reviews and special analyses.
    If data from the FERC Form 60, FERC-61, and FERC-555A were not 
available, FERC would not be able to meet its statutory 
responsibilities, under EPAct 1992, EPAct of 2005, and PUHCA 2005, and 
FERC would not have all of the regulatory mechanisms necessary to 
ensure customer protection.
    Action: The Commission is requesting a three-year extension of the 
current FERC Form 60, FERC-61, and FERC-555A requirements, with no 
changes.
    Burden Statement: The estimated, average annual public reporting 
burden 2 3 follows.

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                                                   Annual no. of  Average no. of  Average burden   Total annual
                                                    respondents    reponses per      hours per     burden hours
           FERC information collection           ----------------   respondent       response    ---------------
                                                                 --------------------------------   (1) x (2) x
                                                        (1)             (2)             (3)             (3)
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FERC Form 60 \3\................................              38               1            75.0           2,850
FERC-61.........................................              22               1              .5              11
FERC-555A.......................................             100               1         1,080.0         108,000
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............         110,861
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    Note: The figures may not be exact, due to rounding.

    The total estimated annual cost burdens to respondents follow.
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    \2\ Employees work an average of 2,080 hours per year and cost 
an estimated $128,297 per year. The average hourly cost is 
$61.68125/hour [($128,297/year)/(2,080 hours/year)].
    \3\ The burden figures provided here for the FERC Form 60 are 
updated (from those in the 60-day Notice in Docket No. IC10-60) to 
reflect the more recent estimates provided in Docket No. RM09-21 and 
the associated supporting statement submitted to OMB. There were no 
comments on the burden associated with reporting requirements in 
Docket No. RM09-21 or Docket No. IC10-60.

[[Page 5068]]



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                                               Annual burden     Average cost ($) per hour     Total annual cost
                                                  (hrs.)     --------------------------------         ($)
         FERC information collection         ----------------                                -------------------
                                                    (1)                     (2)                    (1) x (2)
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FERC Form 60 \3\............................           2,850  $120.00/hour..................         $342,000.00
FERC-61 \2\.................................              11  61.68125/hour.................              678.49
FERC-555A \4\...............................         108,000  (\4\).........................    \4\ 1,912,341.25
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    Totals..................................  ..............  ..............................        2,255,019.74
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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.
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    \4\ Based on an estimated 120 cubic feet of paper records per 
respondent, the total estimated annual cost to all respondents is 
$1,912,341.25 [$1,836,000 (for staffing), plus $76,341.25 (for 
storage)]. However, the storage of paper (and related record 
retention and access) is more expensive than electronic storage, so 
savings are accomplished when documents are stored electronically 
(e.g., by using on-line electronic storage or removable storage 
media like CD-ROM or thumb drives). It would appear that these 
records are likely stored electronically, so the estimated cost 
($1,912,341.25) of storage for paper only is the worst case 
estimate.
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    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 collections of 
information are 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 estimates of the 
burden of the proposed collections 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 collections of information 
on those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-1978 Filed 1-29-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P