[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 11 (Friday, January 16, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2405-2407]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-00573]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC15-2-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities: FERC-65, FERC-65A, 
FERC-65B, FERC-585, and FERC-921; Consolidated Comment Request; 
Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Energy.

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 U.S.C. 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.

DATES: Comments on the collections of information are due March 17, 
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2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC15-2-
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-65 (Notice of Holding Company Status), FERC-65A (Exemption 
Notification of Holding Company Status), and FERC-65B (Waiver 
Notification of Holding Company Status)

    OMB Control No.: 1902-0218.
    Abstract: Pursuant to Section 366.4 of the Commission's rules and 
regulations, persons who meet the definition of a holding company shall 
provide the Commission notification of holding company status.
    The FERC-65 is a one-time informational filing outlined in the 
Commission's regulations at 18 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 366.4. 
The FERC-65 must be submitted within 30 days of becoming a holding 
company\2\.

[[Page 2406]]

While the Commission does not require the information to be reported in 
a specific format, the filing needs to consist of the name of the 
holding company, the name of public utilities, the name of natural gas 
companies in the holding company system, and the names of service 
companies. In addition, the Commission requires the filing to include 
the names of special-purpose subsidiaries (which provide non-power 
goods and services) and the names of all affiliates and subsidiaries 
(and their corporate interrelationship) to each other. Filings may be 
submitted in hardcopy or electronically through the Commission's 
eFiling system.
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    \2\ Persons that meet the definition of a holding company as 
provided by Sec.  366.1 as of February 8, 2006 shall notify the 
Commission of their status as a holding company no later than June 
15, 2006. Holding companies formed after February 8, 2006 shall 
notify the Commission of their status as a holding company, no later 
than the latter of June 15, 2006 or 30 days after they become 
holding companies.
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FERC-65A (Exemption Notification of Holding Company Status)

    While noting the previously outlined requirements of the FERC-65, 
the Commission has allowed for an exemption from the requirement of 
providing the Commission with a FERC-65 if the books, accounts, 
memoranda, and other records of any person are not relevant to the 
jurisdictional rates of a public utility or natural gas company; or if 
any class of transactions is not relevant to the jurisdictional rates 
of a public utility or natural gas company. Persons seeking this 
exemption file the FERC-65A, which must include a form of notice 
suitable for publication in the Federal Register. Those who file a 
FERC-65A in good faith will have a temporary exemption upon filing, 
after 60 days if the Commission has taken no action, the exemption will 
be deemed granted. Commission regulations within 18 CFR 366.3 describe 
the criteria in more specificity.

FERC-65B (Waiver Notification of Holding Company Status)

    If an entity meets the requirements in 18 CFR 366.3(c), they may 
file a FERC-65B waiver notification pursuant to the procedures outlined 
in 18 CFR 366.4. Specifically, the Commission waives the requirement of 
providing it with a FERC-65 for any holding company with respect to one 
or more of the following: (1) Single-state holding company systems; (2) 
holding companies that own generating facilities that total 100 MW or 
less in size and are used fundamentally for their own load or for sales 
to affiliated end-users; or (3) investors in independent transmission-
only companies. Filings may be made in hardcopy or electronically 
through the Commission's Web site.
    Type of Respondent: Public utility companies, natural gas 
companies, electric wholesale generators, foreign utility holding 
companies.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden for the information collection as:

   FERC-65 (Notification of Holding Company Status), FERC-65A (Exemption Notification of Holding Company Status), and FERC-65B (Waiver Notification of
                                                                 Holding Company Status)
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                                                                          Annual  number                      Average      Total annual
                                                             Number of     of  responses   Total  number  burden &  cost   burden hours      Cost per
                                                            respondents         per        of  responses   per  response      & total       respondent
                                                                            respondent                          \3\         annual cost         ($)
                                                                     (1)             (2)     (1)*(2)=(3)             (4)     (3)*(4)=(5)         (5)/(1)
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FERC-65.................................................               8               1               8         3, $216       24, $1728             216
FERC-65A................................................               1               1               1          1, $72          1, $72              72
FERC-65B................................................               0               1               0          1, $72           0, $0               0
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    Total...............................................  ..............  ..............               9  ..............      25, $1,800  ..............
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FERC-585 (Reporting of Electric Shortages and Contingency Plans Under 
PURPA 206)
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    \3\ 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 
2015 FERC average salary plus benefits.
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    OMB Control No.: 1902-0138.
    Abstract: The information collected under the requirements of FERC-
585, ``Reporting of Electric Energy Shortages and Contingency Plans 
under PURPA'', is used by the Commission to implement the statutory 
provisions of section 206 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act 
of 1979 (PURPA) Public Law 95-617, 92 Stat. 3117. Section 206 of PURPA 
amended the Federal Power Act (FPA) by adding a new subsection (g) to 
section 202, under which the Commission by rule, was to require each 
public utility to (1) report to the Commission and appropriate state 
regulatory authorities of any anticipated shortages of electric energy 
or capacity which would affect the utility's capability to serve its 
wholesale customers; and (2) report to the Commission and any 
appropriate state regulatory authority contingency plan that would 
outline what circumstances might give rise to such occurrences.
    In Order No. 575,\4\ the Commission modified the reporting 
requirements in 18 CFR 294.101(b) to provide that, if a public utility 
includes in its rates schedule, provisions that: (a) During electric 
energy and capacity shortages it will treat firm power wholesale 
customers without undue discrimination or preference; and (b) it will 
report any modifications to its contingency plan for accommodating 
shortages within 15 days to the appropriate state regulatory agency and 
to the affected wholesale customers, then the utility need not file 
with the Commission an additional statement of contingency plan for 
accommodating such shortages. This revision merely changed the 
reporting mechanism; the public utility's contingency plan would be 
located in its filed rate rather than in a separate document.
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    \4\ 60 FR 4859 (25 Jan 1995).
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    In Order No. 659,\5\ the Commission modified the reporting 
requirements in 18 CFR 294.101(e) to provide that the means by which 
public utilities must comply with the requirements to report shortages 
and anticipated shortages is to submit this information electronically 
using the Office of Electric Reliability's pager system at 
[email protected] in lieu of submitting an original and two copies 
with the Secretary of the Commission.
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    \5\ 70 FR 35028 (16 Jun 2005).
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    The Commission uses the information to evaluate and formulate an

[[Page 2407]]

appropriate option for action in the event an unanticipated shortage is 
reported and/or materializes. Without this information, the Commission 
and State agencies would be unable to: (1) examine and approve or 
modify utility actions, (2) prepare a response to anticipated 
disruptions in electric energy, and (3) ensure equitable treatment of 
all public utility customers under the shortage situations. The 
Commission implements these filing requirements in the Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR part 294.
    Type of Respondent: Public utilities.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden for the information collection as:

                                    FERC-585 (Reporting of Electric Shortages and Contingency Plans Under PURPA 206)
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                                                                          Annual  number                      Average      Total annual
                                                             Number of     of  responses   Total  number  burden &  cost   burden hours      Cost per
                                                            respondents         per        of  responses   per  response      & total       respondent
                                                                            respondent                          \3\         annual cost         ($)
                                                                     (1)             (2)     (1)*(2)=(3)             (4)     (3)*(4)=(5)         (5)/(1)
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Contingency Plan........................................               1               1               1      73, $5,256      73, $5,256           5,256
Capacity Shortage.......................................               1               1               1       0.25, $18       0.25, $18              18
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    Total...............................................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............   73.25, $5,274           5,274
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FERC-921 (Ongoing Electronic Delivery of Data From Regional 
Transmission Organization and Independent System Operators)

    OMB Control No.: 1902-0257.
    Abstract: The collection of data in the FERC-921 is an effort by 
the Commission to detect potential anti-competitive or manipulative 
behavior or ineffective market rules by requiring Regional Transmission 
Organizations (RTO) and Independent System Operators (ISO) \6\ to 
electronically submit, on a continuous basis, data relating to physical 
and virtual offers and bids, market awards, resource outputs, marginal 
cost estimates, shift factors, financial transmission rights, internal 
bilateral contracts, uplift, and interchange pricing. Individual 
datasets that the Commission is requesting may be produced or retained 
by the market monitoring units (MMUs). The Commission directed each RTO 
and ISO either to: (1) Request such data from its MMU, so that the RTO 
or ISO can deliver such data to the Commission; or (2) request its MMU 
to deliver such data directly to the Commission. Any burden associated 
with the delivery of such data is counted as burden on the RTO or ISO.
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    \6\ Per Final Rule RM-11-17-000 regionally organized markets 
would not be required to collect any additional data from market 
participants; requiring regional organized markets to provide data 
to the Commission that is already collected.
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    Type of Respondent: Regional transmission organizations and 
independent system operators.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden for the information collection as:
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    \7\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the 
following formula: Average Burden Hours per Response * $100.30 per 
Hour = Average Cost per Response.

  FERC-921 (Ongoing Electronic Delivery of Data from Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System
                                                   Operators)
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                                                                               Total annual
    Number of      Annual  number of   Total  number of  Average  burden &      recurring           Cost per
   respondents       responses  per       responses           cost per      operating  burden   respondent  ($)
                       respondent                           response \7\      hours  & cost
(1)                            (2)        (1)*(2)=(3)                (4)        (3)*(4)=(5)            (5)/(1)
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              6                  1                  6         98, $9,830       588, $58,980             $9,830
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    Dated: January 9, 2015.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-00573 Filed 1-15-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P