[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 69 (Thursday, April 10, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19888-19891]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-08038]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC14-10-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities, (FERC-725E, FERC-
583, FERC-512, and FERC-588); Consolidated Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of information collections 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 
requirements and burden \1\ of the information collections described 
below. Please note that this is the first time FERC has issued a 
consolidated notice involving otherwise unrelated information 
collections.
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    \1\ 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.

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DATES: Comments on the collections of information are due June 9, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC14-10-
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.
    Please reference the specific collection number and/or title in 
your comments.
    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: 
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the information collection 
requirements for all collections described below with no changes to the 
current reporting requirements. Please note that each collection is 
distinct from the others contained within this notice.
    Comments: Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the collections of 
information are 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 estimates of the 
burden and cost of the collections of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility and clarity of the information collections; and 
(4) ways to minimize the burden of the collections of information on 
those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.

FERC-725E, Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Western Electric 
Coordinating Council

    OMB Control No.: 1902-0246.
    Abstract: The information collected by the FERC-725E (OMB Control 
No. 1902-0246) is required to implement the statutory provisions of 
section 215 of the Federal Power Act (FPA) (16 U.S.C. 824o). Section 
215 of the FPA buttresses the Commission's efforts to strengthen the 
reliability of the interstate grid through the grant of new authority 
by providing for a system of mandatory Reliability Standards developed 
by the Electric Reliability Organization. Reliability Standards that 
the ERO proposes to the Commission may include Reliability Standards 
that are proposed to the ERO by a Regional Entity.\2\ A Regional Entity 
is an entity that has been approved by the Commission to enforce 
Reliability Standards under delegated authority from the ERO.\3\ On 
June 8, 2008 in an adjudicatory order, the Commission approved eight 
regional Reliability Standards submitted by the ERO that were proposed 
by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC).\4\
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    \2\ 16 U.S.C. 824o(e)(4).
    \3\ 16 U.S.C. 824o(a)(7) and (e)(4).
    \4\ 72FR33462, June 18, 2007.
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    WECC is responsible for coordinating and promoting electric system 
reliability. In addition to promoting a reliable electric power system 
in the Western Interconnection, WECC

[[Page 19889]]

supports efficient competitive power markets, ensures open and non-
discriminatory transmission access among members, and provides a forum 
for resolving transmission access disputes plus the coordination of 
operating and planning activities of its members.
    There are eight Reliability Standards currently applicable in the 
WECC region. These standards generally require entities to document 
compliance with substantive requirements, retain documentation, and 
submit reports to WECC.
     BAL-002-WECC-2 requires balancing authorities and reserve 
sharing groups to document compliance with the contingency reserve 
requirements described in the standard.
     BAL-004-WECC-02 requires balancing authorities to document 
that time error corrections and primary inadvertent interchange payback 
were conducted according the requirements in the standard.
     FAC-501-WECC-1 requires transmission owners with certain 
transmission paths to have a transmission maintenance and inspection 
plan and to document maintenance and inspection activities according to 
the plan.
     IRO-006-WECC-1 requires balancing authorities and 
reliability coordinators document actions taken to mitigate unscheduled 
flow.
     PRC-004-WECC-1 requires transmission owners, generator 
owners and transmission operators to document their analysis and/or 
mitigation due to certain misoperations on major transfer paths. This 
standard requires that documentation be kept for six years.
     TOP-007-WECC-1 requires transmission operators to document 
that when actual flows on major transfer paths exceed system operating 
limits their schedules and actual flows are not exceeded for longer 
than a specified time.
     VAR-002-WECC-1 requires generator operators and 
transmission operators to provide quarterly reports to the compliance 
monitor and have evidence related to their synchronous generators, 
synchronous condensers, and automatic voltage regulators.
     VAR-501-WECC-1 requires generator operators to provide 
quarterly reports to the compliance monitor and have evidence regarding 
operation of their power system stabilizers.
    The information generated by these standards generally serves to 
ensure entities are complying with applicable Reliability Standards.
    Type of Respondents: Balancing authorities, reserve sharing groups, 
transmission owners, reliability coordinators, transmission operators, 
generator operators.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden for the information collection as:

            FERC-725E, Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Western Electric Coordinating Council
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                                                                                                   Total annual
                                                 Number of      Annual  number  Average  burden/   burden hours
                                              respondents \5\   of  responses       cost per      (Total annual
                                                               per  respondent      response          cost)
FERC data collection                                      (1)              (2)              (4)      (1)*(2)*(3)
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                  FERC-725E
Reporting:
    Balancing Authorities...................               34                1               21              714
    Generator Operators.....................              228                1               10            2,280
    Transmission Operators applicable to                   86                4               10            3,440
     standard VAR-002 \6\...................
    Transmission Operators that operate                     9                3               40            1,080
     qualified transfer paths \7\...........
    Transmission Owners that operate                        5                3               40              600
     qualified transfer paths \8\...........
    Reliability Coordinators................                1                1                1                1
    Reserve Sharing Group...................                3                1                1                3
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        Total...............................  ...............  ...............  ...............            8,118
Record-keeping: \9\
    Balancing Authorities...................  ...............  ...............  ...............               71
    Balancing Authorities (IRO-006) \10\....  ...............  ...............  ...............               34
    Generator Operators.....................  ...............  ...............  ...............              228
    Transmission Operator (VAR-002).........  ...............  ...............  ...............              344
    Transmission Operator...................  ...............  ...............  ...............              108
    Transmission Owner......................  ...............  ...............  ...............               60
    Reliability Coordinator \11\............  ...............  ...............  ...............               34
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        Total...............................  ...............  ...............  ...............              879
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    \5\ Number of respondents derived from the NERC Compliance 
Registry as of February 25, 2014.
    \6\ Based on estimates in Order 751, Docket No. RM09-9-000
    \7\ Based on burden estimates taken from the Order in Docket No. 
RR07-11-000 P. 130.
    \8\ Id.
    \9\ Based on 10% total annual burden hours per response.
    \10\ Based on record keeping hours for Balancing Authorities in 
Order 746 in Docket No. RM09-19-000 implementing IRO-006-WECC-1.
    \11\ Based on record keeping hours in Order 746 in Docket No. 
RM09-19-000.
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FERC-583, Annual Kilowatt Generating Report (Annual Charges)

    OMB Control No.: 1902-0136.
    Abstract: The FERC-583 is used by the Commission to implement the 
statutory provisions of section 10(e) of the Federal Power Act (FPA) 
(16 U.S.C. 803(e)), which requires the Commission to collect annual 
charges from hydropower licensees for, among other things, the cost of 
administering Part I of the FPA and for the use of United States dams. 
In addition, section 3401 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 
1986 (OBRA) authorizes the Commission to ``assess and collect fees and 
annual charges in any fiscal year in amounts equal to all of the costs 
incurred by the Commission in that fiscal year.'' The information is 
collected annually and used to determine the amounts of the annual 
charges to be assessed licensees for

[[Page 19890]]

reimbursable government administrative costs and for the use of 
government dams. The Commission implements these filing requirements in 
the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR part 11.
    Type of Respondent: FERC-regulated private and public hydropower 
licensees.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden for the information collection as:

                          FERC-583, Annual Kilowatt Generating Report (Annual Charges)
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                     Annual  number                       Average  burden      Total annual
    Number of       of responses per   Total number  of    and cost  per     burden hours and       Cost per
 respondents \12\      respondent         responses        response \13\    total annual cost    respondent ($)
(1)                            (2)        (1)*(2)=(3)                (4)        (3)*(4)=(5)            (5)/(1)
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            517                  1                517                  2              1,034               $141
                                                                    $141            $72,897
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    \12\ Based on data from Fiscal Year 2013, there were 517 
projects, owned by 241 FERC-regulated private and public licensees. 
Many of the licensees owned multiple projects.
    \13\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the 
following formula: Average Burden Hours per Response * $70.50 per 
hour.
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FERC-512, Application for Preliminary Permit

    OMB Control No.: 1902-0073.
    Abstract: The Commission uses the information collected under the 
requirements of FERC-512 to implement the statutory provisions of 
sections 4(f), 5 and 7 of the Federal Power Act (FPA).\14\ The purpose 
of obtaining a preliminary permit is to maintain priority of the 
application for a license for a hydropower facility while the applicant 
conducts surveys to prepare maps, plans, specifications and estimates; 
conducts engineering, economic and environmental feasibility studies; 
and making financial arrangements. The conditions under which the 
priority will be maintained are set forth in each permit. During the 
term of the permit, no other application for a preliminary permit or 
application for a license submitted by another party can be accepted. 
The term of the permit is three years. The information collected under 
the designation FERC-512 is in the form of a written application for a 
preliminary permit which is used by Commission staff to determine an 
applicant's qualifications to hold a preliminary permit, review the 
proposed hydro development for feasibility and to issue a notice of the 
application in order to solicit public and agency comments. The 
Commission implements these mandatory filing requirements in the Code 
of Federal Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR 4.31-.33, 4.81-.83.
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    \14\ 16 U.S.C. 797, 798, & 800.
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    Type of Respondents: Hydropower facilities.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden for the information collection as:
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    \15\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the 
following formula: Average Burden Hours per Response * $70.50 per 
hour.

                                  FERC-512--Application for Preliminary Permit
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                                                                               Total annual
    Number of      Annual  number of   Total number  of  Average  burden/$     burden hours         Cost per
   respondents        responses per       responses        per  response      (total annual      respondent ($)
                       respondent                               \15\              cost)
(1)                            (2)        (1)*(2)=(3)                (4)        (3)*(4)=(5)            (5)/(1)
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            125                  1                125                 37              4,625          $2,608.50
                                                               $2,608.50        $326,062.50
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FERC-588, Emergency Natural Gas Transportation, Sale, and Exchange 
Transportation

    OMB Control No.: 1902-0144.
    Abstract: The Commission uses the information collected under the 
requirements of FERC-588 to implement the statutory provisions of 
sections 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) (Pub. L. 75-688) (15 U.S.C. 
717-717w) and provisions of the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 (NGPA), 
15 U.S.C. 3301-3432. Under the NGA, a natural gas company must obtain 
Commission approval to engage in the transportation, sale or exchange 
of natural gas in interstate commerce. However, section 7(c) exempts 
from certificate requirements ``temporary acts or operations for which 
the issuance of a certificate will not be required in the public 
interest.'' The NGPA also provides for non-certificated interstate 
transactions involving intrastate pipelines and local distribution 
companies.
    A temporary operation, or emergency, is defined as any situation in 
which an actual or expected shortage of gas supply would require an 
interstate pipeline company, intrastate pipeline, local distribution 
company, or Hinshaw pipeline to curtail deliveries of gas or provide 
less than the projected level of service to the customer. The natural 
gas companies which provide the temporary assistance to the companies 
which are having the ``emergency'' must file the necessary information 
described in Part 284, Subpart I of the Commission's Regulations with 
the Commission so that it may determine if their assisting transaction/
operation qualifies for exemption. The assisting company may or may not 
be under the Commission's jurisdiction and if their assisting actions 
qualify for the exemption, they will not become subject to the 
Commission's jurisdiction for such actions.
    A report within forty-eight hours of the commencement of the 
transportation, sale or exchange, a request to extend the sixty-day 
term of

[[Page 19891]]

the emergency transportation, if needed, and a termination report are 
required. The data required to be filed for the forty-eight hour report 
is specified by 18 CFR 284.270.
    Type of Respondents: Natural Gas Pipelines.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden for the information collection as:
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    \16\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the 
following formula: Average Burden Hours per Response * $70.50 per 
hour.

                FERC-588--Emergency Natural Gas Transportation, Sale, and Exchange Transportation
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                                                                               Total annual
    Number of      Annual  number of   Total number  of   Average burden/$     burden hours         Cost per
   respondents        responses per       responses      per response \16\    (total annual      respondent ($)
                       respondent                                                 cost)
(1)                            (2)        (1)*(2)=(3)                (4)        (3)*(4)=(5)            (5)/(1)
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              8                  1                  8                 10                 80               $705
                                                                    $705             $5,640
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    Dated: April 2, 2014.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-08038 Filed 4-9-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P