[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 221 (Monday, November 17, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68424-68426]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-27056]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC15-1-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-598, FERC-
716); 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.
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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.

DATES: Comments on the collections of information are due January 16, 
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2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC15-1-
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 next.
    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-598, Self-Certification for Entities Seeking Exempt Wholesale 
Generator Status or Foreign Utility Company Status

    OMB Control No.: 1902-0166.
    Abstract: The Commission uses the data in the FERC-598 information 
collection to implement the statutory provisions of Title XII, 
subchapter F of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005).\2\
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    \2\ Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law 109-58, 119 Stat. 594 
(2005)
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    EPAct 2005 repealed the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 
(PUHCA 1935) in its entirety, and adopted in its place the Public 
Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 (PUHCA 2005). This change enabled 
the Commission to exempt from the requirements of PUHCA 2005 the 
holding companies that hold responsibility over wholesale generators 
from PUHCA 2005 on a case-by-case basis. The Commission amended its 
regulations (in Order No. 667 \3\) to add procedures for self-
certification by entities seeking exempt wholesale generator (EWG) and 
Foreign Utility Company (FUCO) status. This self-certification is 
similar to the process available to entities that seek qualifying 
facility status.
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    \3\ Repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 and 
Enactment of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005, 70 FR 
75592 (2005), order on rehearing, Order 667-A, 71 FR 28446 (2006), 
order on rehearing, Order 667-B, 71 FR 42750 (2006), order on 
rehearing, Order 667-C, 118 FERC 61133 (2007).
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    An EWG is a ``person engaged directly, or indirectly through one or 
more affiliates . . . and exclusively in the business of owning or 
operating, or both owning and operating, all or part of one or more 
eligible facilities and selling electric energy at wholesale.'' \4\ A 
FUCO is a company that ``owns or operates facilities that are not 
located in any state and that are used for the generation, 
transmission, or distribution of electric energy for sale or the 
distribution at retail of natural or manufactured gas for heat, light, 
or power, if such company: (1) Derives no part of its income, directly 
or indirectly, from the generation, transmission, or distribution of 
electric energy for sale or the distribution at retail of natural or 
manufactured gas for heat, light, or power, within the United States; 
and (2) neither the company nor any of its subsidiary companies is a 
public-utility company operating in the United States.''
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    \4\ 18 CFR 366.1.
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    An EWG, FUCO, or its representative seeking to self-certify its 
status must file with the Commission a notice of self-certification 
demonstrating that it satisfies the definition of EWG or FUCO. In the 
case of EWGs, the person filing a notice of self-certification must 
also file a copy of the notice of self-certification with the state 
regulatory authority of the state in which the facility is located and 
that person must also represent to the Commission in its submission 
that it has filed a copy of the notice with the appropriate state 
regulatory authority.\5\
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    \5\ 18 CFR 366.7.

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[[Page 68425]]

    Submission of the information collected by FERC-598 is necessary 
for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities under EPAct 
2005.\6\ The Commission implements its responsibilities through the 
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 18 Part 366. These filing 
requirements are mandatory for entities seeking to self-certify their 
EWG or FUCO status.
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    \6\ 42 U.S.C. 16451 et seq.
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    Type of Respondent: EWGs and FUCOs.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden for the information collection as:

                 FERC-598 (Self-Certification for Entities Seeking Exempt Wholesale Generator Status or Foreign Utility Company Status)
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                                                                                                              Average      Total annual
                                                          Number of      Annual  number  Total number of   burden & cost  burden hours &     Cost per
                                                         respondents     of  responses      responses      per response    total annual     respondent
                                                                        per  respondent                         \7\            cost             ($)
                                                                  (1)              (2)   (1) * (2) = (3)             (4)     (3) * (4) =       (5) / (1)
                                                                                                                                     (5)
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EWGs/FUCOs...........................................             102                1              102                6             612            $423
                                                                                                                    $423         $43,146
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FERC-716, Good Faith Requests for Transmission Service and Good Faith 
Responses by Transmitting Utilities Under Sections 211(a) and 213(a) of 
the Federal Power Act (FPA) \8\
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    \7\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the 
following formula: Average Burden Hours per Response * $70.50 per 
Hour = Average Cost per Response. The cost per hour figure is the 
FERC average salary plus benefits. Subject matter experts found that 
industry employment costs closely resemble FERC's regarding the 
FERC-598 information collection.
    \8\ Previously titled ``Transmission Services (Good Faith 
Request, Response by Transmitting Utility, and Application) under 
Sections 211 and 213a of the Federal Power Act''.
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    OMB Control No.: 1902-0170.
    Abstract: The Commission uses the information collected under the 
requirements of FERC-716 to implement the statutory provisions of 
Sections 211 and Section 213 of the Federal Power Act as amended and 
added by the Energy Policy Act 1992. FERC-716 also includes the 
requirement to file a Section 211 request if the negotiations between 
the transmission requestor and the transmitting utility are 
unsuccessful. For the initial process, the information is not filed 
with the Commission. However, the request and response may be analyzed 
as a part of a Section 211 action. The Commission may order 
transmission services under the authority of FPA 211.
    The Commission's regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR), 18 CFR 2.20, provide standards by which the Commission 
determines if and when a valid good faith request for transmission has 
been made under section 211 of the FPA. By developing the standards, 
the Commission sought to encourage an open exchange of data with a 
reasonable degree of specificity and completeness between the party 
requesting transmission services and the transmitting utility. As a 
result, 18 CFR 2.20 identifies 12 components of a good faith estimate 
and 5 components of a reply to a good faith request.
    Type of Respondent: Transmission Requestors and Transmitting 
Utilities
    Estimate of Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden for the information collection as:
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    \9\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the 
following formula: Average Burden Hours per Response * $70.50 per 
Hour = Average Cost per Response. The cost per hour figure is the 
FERC average salary plus benefits. Subject matter experts found that 
industry employment costs closely resemble FERC's regarding the 
FERC-716 information collection.

    FERC-716 (Good Faith Requests for Transmission Service and Good Faith Responses by Transmitting Utilities Under Sections 211(a) and 213(a) of the
                                                                Federal Power Act (FPA))
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                                                                                                              Average      Total annual
                                                          Number of      Annual  number  Total number of   burden & cost  burden hours &     Cost per
                                                         respondents     of  responses      responses      per response    total annual     respondent
                                                                        per  respondent                         \9\            cost             ($)
                                                                  (1)              (2)   (1) * (2) = (3)             (4)     (3) * (4) =       (5) / (1)
                                                                                                                                     (5)
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Information exchange between parties.................               3                1                3              100             300           $7050
                                                                                                                   $7050         $21,150
Application submitted to FERC if parties'                           3                1                3              2.5             7.5         $176.25
 negotiations are unsuccessful.......................                                                            $176.25         $528.75
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    Total............................................  ...............  ...............               6   ..............           307.5       $7,226.25
                                                                                                                              $21,678.75
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[[Page 68426]]

    Dated: November 7, 2014.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-27056 Filed 11-14-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P