[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 250 (Monday, December 31, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77069-77070]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-31265]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC13-9-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-730); Comment 
Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Energy.

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-730, Report of 
Transmission Investment Activity.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due March 1, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC13-9-
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: Report of Transmission Investment Activity.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0239.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-730 information 
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting 
requirements.
    Abstract: Pursuant to Section 219 \1\ of the Federal Power Act, the 
Commission issued FERC Order No. 679,\2\ Promoting Transmission 
Investment Through Pricing Reform. Order No. 679 FERC amended its 
regulations in 18 CFR 35.35 to establish incentive-based (including 
performance-based) rate treatments for the transmission of electric 
energy in interstate commerce by public utilities. The Commission 
intended the order to benefit consumers by ensuring reliability and to 
reduce the cost of delivered power by reducing transmission congestion. 
Order No. 679 also adopted an annual reporting requirement (FERC-730) 
for utilities that receive incentive rate treatment for specific 
transmission projects. The FERC-730 provides annual data on 
transmission capital expenditures as well as project status detail. The 
Commission requires that filers specify which projects are currently 
receiving incentives in the project detail table and that they group 
together those facilities receiving the same incentive. Specifically, 
in accordance with the statute, public utilities with incentive rates 
must file:
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    \1\ Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law 109-58, 119 Stat. 594, 
315 and 1283 (2005).
    \2\ RM06-4-000 (issued 7/20/2006), published: 71 FR 43294.
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     Actual transmission investment for the most recent 
calendar year, and projected, incremental investments for the next five 
calendar years (in dollar terms); and
     A project by project listing that specifies for each 
project the most up to date, expected completion date, percentage 
completion as of the date of filing, and reasons for delays for all 
current and projected investments over the next five calendar years. 
Projects with projected costs less than $20 million are excluded from 
this listing.
    To ensure that Commission rules are successfully meeting the 
objectives of Section 219, the Commission collects industry data, 
projections and related information that detail the level of 
investment. FERC-730 information regarding projected investments as 
well as information about completed projects allows the Commission to 
monitor the success of the transmission pricing reforms and to 
determine the status of critical projects and reasons for delay.
    Type of Respondents: Public utilities that have been granted 
incentive based rate treatment for specific transmission projects under 
the provisions of 18 CFR 35.35(h) must file the FERC-730.
    Estimate of Annual Burden \3\: The Commission estimates the total 
Public Reporting Burden for this information collection as:
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    \3\ The Commission defines burden 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-730: Report of Transmission Investment Activity
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                                                                                           No. of                        Average burden
                                                                          No. of       responses per     Total No. 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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Public utilities granted incentive based rate treatment for                      63                1               63               30            1,890
 specific transmission projects under the provisions of 18 CFR
 35.35 (h).........................................................
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    The total estimated annual cost burden to respondents is 
$130,428.17 [1,890 hours / 2080 \4\ hours per year * $143,540/year \5\ 
= $130,428.17].
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    \4\ 2080 hours/year = 40 hours/week * 52 weeks/year
    \5\ Average annual salary per employee in 2012
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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

[[Page 77070]]

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 
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information technology.

    Dated: December 20, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-31265 Filed 12-28-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P