[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 89 (Wednesday, May 8, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26766-26768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-10946]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC13-13-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC Form 580); 
Comment Request; Revision

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 collection, FERC Form No. 580 
(Interrogatory on Fuel and Energy Purchase Practices).

DATES: Comments on the collections of information are due July 8, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC13-13-
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: Interrogatory on Fuel and Energy Purchase Practices (FERC 
Form No. 580).
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0131.
    Type of Request: Three-year approval of the FERC Form No. 580.
    Abstract: FERC Form No. 580 is collected in even numbered years. 
The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) \1\ amended the 
Federal Power Act (FPA) and directed the Commission to make 
comprehensive biennial reviews of certain matters related to automatic 
adjustment clauses (AACs) in wholesale rate schedules used by public 
utilities subject to the Commission's jurisdiction. Specifically, the 
Commission is required to examine whether the clauses effectively 
provide the incentives for efficient use of resources and whether the 
clauses reflect only those costs that are either ``subject to periodic 
fluctuations'' or ``not susceptible to precise determinations'' in rate 
cases prior to the time the costs are incurred.
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    \1\ Enacted November 8, 1978.
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    The Commission is also required to review the practices of each 
public utility under AACs ``to insure efficient use of resources under 
such clauses.'' \2\ In response to the PURPA directive, the Commission 
(Docket Number IN79-6-000) established an investigation. Beginning in 
1982, the Commission collected ``Interrogatory on Fuel and Energy 
Purchase Practices'' data every other year.
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    \2\ The review requirement is set forth in two paragraphs of 
Section 208 of PURPA, 49 Stat. 851; 16 U.S.C. 824d.
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    In 2010, the Commission redesigned the form to collect the 
information electronically through use of a standard form. Based on 
filer comments in response to the new electronic form used in the 2010 
and 2012 collections, FERC recommends the following changes to the 
form:

Question 1

--Repair the email field to eliminate error messages.

Question 2

--Add a column labeled ``Is this AAC a fuel adjustment clause?''
--Add a column labeled ``Tariff volume number containing''. This 
information will aid staff in locating AACs.
--Remove the column and, thus, the request for information titled:


    [cir] ``Type/s of AAC''

    [cir] ``Type of costs that were passed through the AAC--if fuel, 
state fuel type''

    There has been an increasing number of AAC-related cost types. This 
field makes it difficult for Commission staff to repopulate the 
dropdowns for this column without additional OMB approval. The 
information otherwise gained from respondents supplying the information 
collected in these columns will not be lost. Staff will locate and

[[Page 26767]]

recover the information from Commission rate filings by using the AAC 
identification information given by respondents in the first three 
columns of Question 2.
--Rename Question 2 columns as follows to correct typographical errors:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  From                                  To
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Identify service agreement within rate   Identify service schedule, if
 schedule containing AAC.                 any, where the AAC is located
                                          within the rate schedule.
If rate schedule superseded or           Was rate schedule superseded or
 abandoned during 2012-2013.              abandoned during 2012-2013?
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    Additional changes to Question 2 table:

--Add a check box to enable the utility to indicate that it had no non-
transmission related AACs during the reporting years, if the situation 
applies. This box, when checked, clearly indicates that there were no 
AACs to report.
--Add a ``Copy Row'' button to facilitate data entry.

    We are further reducing the amount of information required for AACs 
that are not fuel adjustment clauses. Utilities with no fuel adjustment 
clauses only need to respond to questions 1 and 2. Utilities with a FAC 
will continue to complete the entire form.

Question 3

--Reword the question from:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  From                                  To
------------------------------------------------------------------------
If during the 2010 and 2011 period, the  If during the 2012-2013 period,
 Utility had any contracts or             the Utility had any contracts
 agreements for the purchase of either    or agreements for the purchase
 energy or capacity under which all or    of either energy or capacity
 any portion of the purchase costs were   under which all or any portion
 passed through the AAC, for each         of the purchase costs were
 purchase provide the information         passed through a fuel
 requested in the table below. Provide    adjustment clause (FAC), for
 the information separately for each      each purchase from a PURPA
 reporting year 2010 and 2011. Do not     Qualifying Facility (QF) or
 report purchased power where none of     Independent Power Producer
 the costs were recovered through an      (IPP) provide the information
 AAC.                                     requested in the non-shaded
                                          columns of the table below.
                                          Provide the information
                                          separately for each reporting
                                          year 2012 and 2013. Do not
                                          report purchased power where
                                          none of the costs were
                                          recovered through an FAC. For
                                          each purchase where costs were
                                          flowed through an FAC, fill-in
                                          the non-shaded columns and
                                          either ``Only energy charges''
                                          or ``The total cost of the
                                          purchase of economic power''
                                          columns, whichever apply.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Commission is only interested in QF and IPP information here 
and not every power purchase contracts/agreement. The language will be 
similar to what was used in Form No. 580 interrogatories prior to 2010.

--Remove the request for information and thus the columns titled:


    [cir] Was an after-the-fact comparison made of actual avoided costs 
against the purchase costs?

    [cir] Were purchases made on an hourly economic dispatch basis?

    From the information provided in the 2010 and 2012 filings the 
Commission has found that it can fully evaluate regulatory compliance 
without this information.

Question 6

    Change the question as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  From                                  To
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For each fuel supply contract, where     For each fuel supply contract,
 costs were subject to 18 CFR 35.14,      of longer than one year in
 (including informal agreements with      duration, in force at any time
 associated companies), in force at any   during 2012 and/or 2013, where
 time during 2012 and/or 2013, of         costs were subject to 18 CFR
 longer than one year in duration,        35.14, (including informal
 provide the requested information.       agreements with associated
 Report the data individually, for each   companies), provide the
 contract, for each calendar year. [No    requested information. Report
 response to any part of Question 6 for   the data individually for each
 fuel oil no. 2 is necessary.] Report     contract for each calendar
 all fuels consumed for electric power    year. No response to any part
 generation and thermal energy            of Question 6 for fuel oil no.
 associated with the production of        2 is necessary. Report all
 electricity. Information for only        fuels consumed for electric
 coal, natural gas, and oil should be     power generation and thermal
 reported. Information for ALL FUELS      energy associated with the
 e.g. fossil fuels, wood chips), EXCEPT   production of electricity.
 URANIUM, should be reported.             Information for only coal,
                                          natural gas, and oil should be
                                          reported.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

--As with the request for transportation information that was 
eliminated in 2010, the Commission has found alternative information 
sources and analytical approaches sufficient to eliminate the request 
for fuels other than coal, natural gas and oil.
--Add a ``Copy Contract'' button.

Question 6a

--Add a column labeled ``Is contract evergreen?''.
--Add a column labeled ``Pipeline quality? (Y/N)''.

Question 6b

--Add a new column to the fuel quantity section labeled: ``Coal 
(x10\3\tons) not delivered by end of contract year.''
--Add a column labeled ``Pipeline quality? (Y/N)''.

Questions 7 and 8. There are no proposed changes.
    Glossary: Define Evergreen contracts as follows: Evergreen 
contract: a contract that is renewed automatically or by notice from 
year to year until canceled by either party.
    Access to the Revised Materials: A copy of the form, desk 
reference, and glossary are attached to this docket, but they are not 
included in the Federal

[[Page 26768]]

Register.\3\ Interested parties can see the form electronically as part 
of this notice in FERC's eLibrary (http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp) by searching Docket No. IC13-13-000. Interested parties 
may also request paper or electronic copies of the form and desk 
reference by contacting Ellen Brown, by telephone at (202) 502-8663, by 
fax at (202) 273-0873, or by email at [email protected].
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    \3\ The attached form is for illustrative purposes only and does 
not include all the interactive features of the actual form. For a 
copy of the actual form, please contact Ellen Brown as indicated in 
this notice.
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    Type of Respondents: Large FERC-jurisdictional electric public 
utilities.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \4\ The Commission estimates the total 
Public Reporting Burden for this information collection as:
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    \4\ 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 Form No. 580 (IC13-13-000):
                               Interrogatory on Fuel and Energy Purchase Practices
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                                                                                     Average
                                   Number of       Number of    Total Number of   burden hours   Estimated total
                                  respondents    responses per    responses (A)   per response    annual burden
                                      (A)       respondent (B)    x (B) = (C)          (D)          (C) x (D)
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Respondents with FACs.........              37             0.5             18.5             103          1,905.5
Respondents with AACs, but no               10             0.5              5                20            100
 FACs.........................
Respondents with no AACs nor                35             0.5             17.5               2             35
 FACs.........................
                               ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ..............  ..............  ...............  ..............          2,040.5
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    Despite the changes to the Form 580, burden estimates per response 
for each entity will not change from previously approved amounts. The 
burden estimate may vary by utility depending on whether the utility 
has or does not have an automatic adjustment clause and depending on 
whether or not those utilities with adjustment clauses allow automatic 
adjustment of fuel cost.
    The total estimated annual cost burden to respondents is $142,835. 
[2040.5 hours * $70/hour \5\ = $142,835]
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    \5\ FY2013 Estimated Average Hourly Cost per FERC FTE, including 
salary + benefits.
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    The estimated annual cost of filing the FERC Form 580 per response 
is $1,742. [$142,835 / 82 responses = $1,742/response]
    Comments: The Commission seeks public comment on and subsequent OMB 
approval of the proposed revised information collection. Also, the 
Commission invites comments 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 2, 2013.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-10946 Filed 5-7-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P