[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 16, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28863-28864]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-11831]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC12-13-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-915); 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 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-915, Public Utility 
Market-Based Rate Authorization Holders--Records Retention Requirement.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due July 16, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC12-13-
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-915 and Public Utility Market-Based Rate Authorization 
Holders--Records Retention Requirement.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0223.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-915 information 
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting 
requirements.
    Abstract: The Commission has the regulatory responsibility under 
section 205 of the Federal Power Act (FPA) to ensure that wholesale 
sales of electricity are just and reasonable and provided in a non-
discriminatory manner. The Commission uses the information maintained 
by the respondents under FERC-915 to monitor the entities' sales, 
ensure that the prices are just and reasonable, maintain the integrity 
of the wholesale jurisdictional sales markets, and ensure that the 
entities comply with the requirements of the FPA (i.e., the 
Commission's regulations) and any orders authorizing market-based rate 
sales.
    Type of Respondents: Public Utility Market-Based Rate Authorization 
Holders.
    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.
    \2\ Electric utilities with approved market-based rate 
authority--http://www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/gen-info/mbr/list.asp as of 4/30/2012.

                      FERC-915 (IC12-13-000)--Public Utility Market-Based Rate Authorization Holders--Records Retention Requirement
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                                                                                         Number of                      Average  burden
                                                                        Number of      responses per   Total number of     hours per     Estimated total
                                                                       respondents       respondent       responses         response      annual burden
                                                                                (A)              (B)    (A) x (B) = (C)            (D)                (C) x (D)
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Electric Utilities with Market-Based Rate Authority................       \2\ 1,730                1            1,730                1            1,730
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    The total estimated annual cost burden to respondents is $386,073 
[$32,870 (labor costs) + $315,792 (record retention/storage cost) + 
$37,411 (electronic record-keeping cost) = $386,073].



     Labor costs: 1,730 hours * $19/hours \3\ = $32,870.
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    \3\ 2012 average hourly wage of filing clerk working within an 
electric utility.
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     Record retention/storage cost (using an estimate of 48,891 
cubic feet): $315,792.\4\
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    \4\ The Commission bases this figure on industry archival 
storage costs.

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[[Page 28864]]

     Electronic record retention/storage cost: $37,411.25 
[1,730 hours / 2 = 865 hours * $28/hour \5\ = $24,220; \6\ electronic 
record storage cost: 865 * $15.25/year \7\ = $13,191; total electronic 
record storage cost: $37,411].
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    \5\ The Commission bases the $28/hour figure on a FERC staff 
study that included estimating public utility recordkeeping costs.
    \6\ Only 50% of records are retained in electronic formats.
    \7\ Per entity; the Commission bases this figure on the 
estimated cost to service and to store 1 GB of data (based on the 
aggregated cost of an IBM advanced data protection server).
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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: May 10, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-11831 Filed 5-15-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P