[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 38 (Monday, February 27, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11519-11520]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4417]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC12-6-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

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 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (Commission or FERC) is soliciting public comment on the 
currently approved information collection, FERC-585, Reporting of 
Electric Energy shortages and Contingency Plans under PURPA.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due April 27, 
2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC12-6-
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: FERC-585, Reporting of Electric Energy shortages and 
Contingency Plans under PURPA.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0138.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-585 information 
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting 
requirements.
    Abstract: The information collected under the requirements of FERC-
585, ``Reporting of Electric Energy Shortages and Contingency Plans 
under PURPA'', is used by the Commission to implement 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

[[Page 11520]]

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 contingency plan that would outline what circumstances might 
give rise to such occurrences.
    In Order No. 575,\1\ the Commission modified the reporting 
requirements in 18 CFR 294.101(b) to provide that, if a public utility 
includes in its rates schedule, provisions 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 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.
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    \1\ 60 FR 4859 (25 Jan 1995).
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    In Order No. 659, \2\ the Commission modified the reporting 
requirements in 18 CFR 294.101(e) to provide that the means by which 
public utilities must comply with the requirements to report shortages 
and anticipated shortages is to submit this information electronically 
using the Office of Electric Reliability's pager system at 
[email protected] in lieu of submitting an original and two copies 
with the Secretary of the Commission.
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    \2\ 70 FR 35028 (16 Jun 2005).
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    The Commission uses the information to evaluate and formulate an 
appropriate 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 and 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 filing requirements in the Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR part 294.
    Type of Respondents: Public utilities.
    Estimate of Annual Burden \3\: The Commission estimates the total 
Public Reporting Burden for this information collection as:
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    \3\ 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 Code of Federal Regulations 
1320.3(b)(1).

         FERC-585 (IC12-6-000): Reporting of Electric Energy Shortages and Contingency Plans Under PURPA
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                                                     Number of                    Average burden     Estimated
                                     Number of     responses per   Total number      hours per     total annual
                                    respondents     respondent     of responses      response         burden
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                                             (A)             (B)     (A) x (B) =             (D)       (C) x (D)
                                                                             (C)
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Contingency Plan................               1               1               1              73              73
Capacity Shortage...............               1               1               1            0.25            0.25
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    Total.......................         N/A \4\         N/A \4\               2         N/A \4\           73.25
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    The total estimated annual cost burden to respondents is $5,054 
[73.25 hours / 2,080 \5\ hours/year = 0.03521 * $143,540/year \6\ = 
$5,054].
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    \4\ Not applicable.
    \5\ 2080 hours = 40 hours/week * 52 weeks (1 year).
    \6\ Average annual salary per employee in 2012.
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    The estimated annual cost of filing the FERC-585 per response is 
$2,527.02 [$5,054 / 2 responses = $2,527/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 17, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-4417 Filed 2-24-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P