[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 247 (Tuesday, December 24, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77667-77668]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-30727]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Proposed Agency Information Collection Extension With Changes

AGENCY: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Department 
of Energy.

ACTION: Notice and Request for OMB Review and Comment.

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SUMMARY: EIA has submitted an information collection request to the OMB 
for extension with changes, under the provisions of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, for the Electricity and Renewable Power Surveys 
(OMB Control Number 1905-0129) information collection. EIA requests a 
three-year clearance with changes for the following existing forms:

    [ssquf] Form EIA-411, ``Coordinated Bulk Power Supply Program 
Report''
    [ssquf] Form EIA-826, ``Monthly Electric Utility Sales and Revenue 
Report with State Distributions''
    [ssquf] Form EIA-860, ``Annual Electric Generator Report''
    [ssquf] Form EIA-860M, ``Monthly Update to the Annual Electric 
Generator Report''
    [ssquf] Form EIA-861, ``Annual Electric Power Industry Report''
    [ssquf] Form EIA-861S, ``Annual Electric Power Industry Report 
(Short Form)''
    [ssquf] Form EIA-923, ``Power Plant Operations Report'' and

the addition of a new survey, Form EIA-930, ``Balancing Authority 
Operations Report'' under OMB Control Number 1905-0129.
    EIA also proposes to discontinue OMB Control Number 1905-0196 for 
the Solar Information Collection. This collection includes the Form 
EIA-63A (Annual Solar Thermal Collector/Reflector Shipments Report), 
Form EIA-63B (Annual Photovoltaic Module/Cell Shipments Report), and 
Form EIA-902 (Annual Geothermal Heat Pump Shipments Report). The 
current approval will expire on December 31, 2013. EIA does not plan to 
collect data on the Forms EIA-63A and EIA-902 and proposes to transfer 
the Form EIA-63B to the Electric Power Information Collection (OMB 
Control Number 1905-0129).

DATES: Comments regarding this collection must be received on or before 
January 23, 2014. If you anticipate that you will be submitting 
comments, but find it difficult to do so within the period of time 
allowed by this notice, please advise the DOE Desk Officer at OMB of 
your intention to make a submission as soon as possible. The Desk 
Officer may be telephoned at 202-395-4718 or contacted by email at 
[email protected].

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to the
    DOE Desk Officer, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 
10102, 735 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503, [email protected].
    And to Rebecca Peterson, U.S. Energy Information Administration, 
Mail Stop EI-23, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC 20585, [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Direct any requests for additional 
information or copies of the information collection instrument and 
instructions to Rebecca Peterson at [email protected], or at 202-586-
4509. The collection instrument and instructions are also available on 
the Internet at: http://www.eia.gov/survey/changes/electricity/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This information collection request 
contains:
    (1) OMB No.: 1905-0129;
    (2) Information Collection Request Title: Electricity and 
Renewables Power Surveys;
    (3) Type of Request: Extension, with changes of a currently 
approved collection;
    (4) Purpose: The electricity and renewables surveys collect data 
from entities involved in the production, transmission, delivery, and 
sale of electricity, and in maintaining the reliable operation of the 
power system. The data collected are the primary source of information 
on the nation's electric power industry. EIA uses the data collected on 
the electric power surveys to answer queries from the U.S. Congress, 
other federal and state agencies, the electric power industry, and the 
public; and as input to the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) and 
to EIA's other forecasting and analytical activities. Other users of 
the data include policy makers, regulators, energy market analysts, and 
the energy industries.
    EIA proposes that the existing Form EIA-63B, ``Annual Photovoltaic 
Cell/

[[Page 77668]]

Module Shipments Report,'' move into this clearance package to permit 
EIA to better align its surveys and programs. In addition, EIA's 
proposed new Form EIA-930, ``Balancing Authority Operations Report,''' 
will collect hourly information on the operation of the power system, a 
topic of growing interest due to the impact of renewable power plants 
and demand response programs on power system performance.
    Changes to the currently approved forms in this package include 
collecting enhanced data on power system reliability, operations, 
environmental performance, and energy efficiency and demand response 
programs, and eliminating questions where the data either are no longer 
needed or cannot be accurately or cost-effectively collected. In 
addition, EIA proposes changes to the data protection terms for the 
electric power survey forms to uniformly apply the same policy 
regarding electric power data. There are two changes in the provisions 
for protecting the survey data. The first change is that EIA will 
protect and not publicly disclose the information on the individuals 
who complete the survey forms. The second change is that, with the 
exceptions of blackstart data and power plant construction costs 
reported on Form EIA-860, and all data reported on Form EIA-63B, EIA 
will no longer apply disclosure limitation procedures to the published 
aggregate electric power statistical data.
    (5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 14,328;
    (6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 74,934;
    (7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 141,145;
    (8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: 
$76,000.

     Authority: Section 13(b) of the Federal Energy Administration 
Act of 1974, Public Law 93-275, codified at 15 U.S.C. 772(b).

    Issued in Washington, DC, December 18, 2013.
Stephanie Brown,
Director, Office of Survey Development and Statistical Integration, 
U.S. Energy Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-30727 Filed 12-23-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P