[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 20, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16215-16216]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6645]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC12-4-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-716); Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Comment request.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D), the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (Commission or FERC) is submitting the information 
collection FERC-716, Self Certification for Entities Seeking Exempt 
Wholesale Generator or Foreign Utility Company Status, 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 
(77 FR 98, 1/3/2012) requesting public comments. FERC received no 
comments on the FERC-716 and is making this notation in its submittal 
to OMB.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due by April 19, 
2012.

ADDRESSES: Comments filed with OMB, identified by the OMB Control No. 
1902-0170, should be sent via email to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs: [email protected]. Attention: Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission Desk Officer. The Desk Officer may also be 
reached via telephone at 202-395-4718.
    A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, identified by the Docket No. IC12-4-000, 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], by telephone at (202) 502-8663, and by fax at 
(202) 273-0873.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: FERC-716, Good Faith Request for Transmission Service and 
Response by Transmitting Utility Under Sections 211(a) and 213(a) of 
the Federal Power Act.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0170.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-716 information 
collection requirements with no changes to the reporting requirements.
    Abstract: The Commission uses the information collected under the 
requirements of FERC-716 to

[[Page 16216]]

implement the statutory provisions of sections 211 and 213 of the 
Federal Power Act (FPA) as amended and added by the Energy Policy Act 
of 1992. FERC-716 also includes the requirement to file a section 211 
request if the negotiations between the transmission requestor and the 
transmitting utility are unsuccessful. For the initial process, the 
information is not filed with the Commission. However, the request and 
response may be analyzed as a part of a section 211 action. The 
Commission may order transmission services under the authority of FPA 
211.
    The Commission's regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR), 18 CFR 2.20, provide standards by which the Commission 
determines if and when a valid good faith request for transmission has 
been made under section 211 of the FPA. By developing the standards, 
the Commission sought to encourage an open exchange of data with a 
reasonable degree of specificity and completeness between the party 
requesting transmission services and the transmitting utility. As a 
result, 18 CFR 2.20 identifies 12 components of a good faith estimate 
and 5 components of a reply to a good faith request.
    Type of Respondents: Transmission Requestors and Transmitting 
Utilities.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \1\ The Commission estimates the total 
Public Reporting Burden for this information collection as:
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    \1\ 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.

  FERC-716 (IC12-4-000): Good Faith Request for Transmission Service and Response by Transmitting Utility Under
                               Sections 211(a) and 213(a) of the Federal Power Act
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                                                     Number of     Total number       Average        Estimated
                                     Number of     responses per   of responses    burden hours    total annual
                                    respondents     respondent      (A) x (B) =    per response    burden  (C) x
                                        (A)             (B)             (C)             (D)             (D)
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Information exchange between                   3               1               3             100             300
 parties........................
Application submitted to FERC if               3               1               3             2.5           \2\ 8
 parties' negotiations are
 unsuccessful...................
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    Total.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             308
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    The  total estimated annual cost burden to respondents is $21,082 
[308 hours / 2080 \3\ hours/year = 0.14807 years * $142,372 \4\ = 
$21,082].
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    \2\ Actual figure (7.5) rounded to 8.
    \3\ 2080 hours = 40 hours/week * 52 weeks (1 year).
    \4\ Average annual salary per employee in 2011.
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    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: March 14, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-6645 Filed 3-19-12; 8:45 am]
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