[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 14, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8245-8246]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-3407]



[[Page 8245]]

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FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. IC12-5-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-65, FERC-65A, 
and FERC-65B); Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of information collection and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, 44 USC 3506(c)(2)(A), the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (Commission or FERC) is soliciting public comment on the 
currently approved information collections, FERC-65, FERC-65A, and 
FERC-65B (Notification of Holding Company Status, Exemption 
Notification of Holding Company Status, and Waiver Notification of 
Holding Company Status).

DATES: Comments on the collections of information are due April 16, 
2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC12-5-
000) by either of the following methods:
     eFiling at Commission's Web Site: http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp
     Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20426.
    Instructions: All submissions must be formatted and filed in 
accordance with submission guidelines at: http://www.ferc.gov/help/submission-guide.asp. For user assistance contact FERC Online Support 
by email at [email protected], or by phone at: (866) 208-3676 
(toll-free), or (202) 502-8659 for TTY.
    Docket: Users interested in receiving automatic notification of 
activity in this docket or in viewing/downloading comments and 
issuances in this docket may do so at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/docs-filing.asp.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Notification of Holding Company Status (FERC-65), Exemption 
Notification of Holding Company Status (FERC-65A), and Waiver 
Notification of Holding Company Status (FERC-65B).
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0218 (FERC-65), 1902-0216 (FERC-65A), and 
1902-0217 (FERC-65B).\1\
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    \1\ In conjunction with the renewal process, the Commission 
intends to request OMB approval to combine all three collections 
under one OMB Control Number. This should simplify the FERC 
administrative burden of processing these information collection 
requirements.
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    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-65, FERC-65A, and 
FERC-65B information collection requirements with no changes to the 
current reporting requirements.
    Abstract:

FERC-65 (Notification of Holding Company Status)

    The FERC-65 is a one-time informational filing outlined in the 
Commission's regulations at 18 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 366.4. 
The FERC-65 must be submitted within 30 days of becoming a holding 
company. The Commission does not require the information to be reported 
in a specific format. The filing consists of the name of the holding 
company, the name of public utilities, the name of natural gas 
companies in the holding company system, and the names of service 
companies. The Commission requires the filing to include the names of 
special-purpose subsidiaries (which provide non-power goods and 
services) and the names of all affiliates and subsidiaries (and their 
corporate interrelationship) to each other. Filings may be submitted in 
hardcopy or electronically through the Commission's eFiling system.

FERC-65A (Exemption Notification of Holding Company Status)

    While noting the previously outlined requirements of the FERC-65, 
the Commission has allowed for an exemption from the requirement of 
providing the Commission with a FERC-65 if the books, accounts, 
memoranda, and other records of any person are not relevant to the 
jurisdictional rates of a public utility or natural gas company; or if 
any class of transactions is not relevant to the jurisdictional rates 
of a public utility or natural gas company. Companies seeking this 
exemption file the FERC-65A. Commission regulations within 18 CFR 366.3 
describe the criteria in more specificity.

FERC-65B (Waiver Notification of Holding Company Status)

    Entities may file a FERC-65B pursuant to the notification 
procedures contained in 18 CFR 366.4 to obtain a waiver from the 
requirement of providing the Commission with a FERC-65 if they meet the 
requirements in 18 CFR 366.3(c). Specifically, the Commission waives 
the requirement of providing it with a FERC 65 for any holding company 
with respect to one or more of the following: (1) Single-state holding 
company systems; (2) holding companies that own generating facilities 
that total 100 MW or less in size and are used fundamentally for their 
own load or for sales to affiliated end-users; or (3) investors in 
independent transmission-only companies. Filings may be made in 
hardcopy or electronically through the Commission's Web site.
    Type of Respondents: Public utility companies, natural gas 
companies, electric wholesale generators, foreign utility holding 
companies.
    Estimate of Annual Burden \2\: The Commission estimates the total 
Public Reporting Burden for this information collection as:
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    \2\ Burden is defined as the total time, effort, or financial 
resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or 
disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. For 
further explanation of what is included in the information 
collection burden, reference 5 CFR 1320.3.

          FERC-65, FERC-65A, and FERC-65B (IC12-5-000): Notification of Holding Company Status, Exemption Notification, and Waiver Notification
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                                                                                      Number of                        Average burden   Estimated  total
                                                                    Number of       responses per    Total number of      hours per       annual burden
                                                                   respondents       respondent         responses         response           (hours)
                                                                             (A)               (B)   (A) x (B) = (C)               (D)         (C) x (D)
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FERC-65 Notification of Holding Company Status................                 8                 1                 8                 3                24
FERC-65A Exemption Notification...............................                 1                 1                 1                 1                 1

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FERC-65B Waiver Notification..................................                 0                 1                 0                 1                 0
    Total.....................................................           \3\ N/A           \3\ N/A                 9           \3\ N/A                25
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    The total estimated annual cost burden to respondents is $1,725.35. 
[25 hours / 2080 \4\ hours/year = 0.01202 years * $143,540/year \5\ = 
$1,725.35]
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    \3\ Not applicable.
    \4\ 2080 hours = 40 hours/week * 52 weeks (1 year).
    \5\ Average annual salary per employee.
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    The estimated annual cost of filing the FERC-65, FERC-65A, and 
FERC-65B per response is $191.71. [$1725.31 / 9 responses = $191.71/
response]
    Comments: Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the 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 estimate of the burden and 
cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.

    Dated: February 8, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-3407 Filed 2-13-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P