[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 36 (Tuesday, February 24, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9596-9600]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-03740]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

18 CFR Part 40

[Docket No. RM14-12-000; Order No. 804]


Demand and Energy Data Reliability Standard

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Commission approves Demand and Energy Data Reliability 
Standard MOD-031-1 developed by the North American Electric Reliability 
Corporation (NERC), which the Commission has certified as the Electric 
Reliability Organization responsible for developing and enforcing 
mandatory Reliability Standards. In addition, the Commission directs 
NERC to develop a clarifying modification to the Reliability Standard.

DATES: This rule will become effective April 27, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Susan Morris (Technical Information), Office of Electric Reliability, 
Division of Reliability Standards and Security, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, 
Telephone: (202) 502-6803, [email protected]
Robert T. Stroh (Legal Information), Office of the General Counsel, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington, 
DC 20426, Telephone: (202) 502-8473, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    1. Pursuant to section 215(d) of the Federal Power Act (FPA),\1\ 
the Commission approves Reliability Standard MOD-031-1 (Demand and 
Energy Data) developed by the North American Electric Reliability 
Corporation (NERC), the Commission-certified Electric Reliability 
Organization (ERO). Reliability Standard MOD-031-1 provides authority 
for planners and operators to collect demand, energy and related data 
to support reliability studies and assessments. In addition, the 
Commission approves NERC's proposed definitions for the terms Demand 
Side Management and Total Internal Demand. The Commission also approves 
the associated implementation plan, violation risk factors and 
violation severity levels, and NERC's proposed retirement of the 
currently-effective Reliability Standards MOD-016-1.1, MOD-017-0.1, 
MOD-018-0, MOD-019-0.1, and MOD-021-1 (Existing MOD C Standards).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 16 U.S.C. 824o(d) (2012).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    2. Further, pursuant to section 215(d)(5) of the FPA, the 
Commission directs NERC to (1) develop a modification to Reliability 
Standard MOD-031-1 to clarify certain obligations to provide data to 
the Regional Entity and (2) consider the compliance obligations of an 
applicable entity upon receipt of a data request that seeks 
confidential information.

I. Background

    3. Section 215 of the FPA requires a Commission-certified ERO to 
develop mandatory and enforceable Reliability Standards, which are 
subject to Commission review and approval. Once approved, the 
Reliability Standards are enforced by the ERO, subject to Commission 
oversight, or by the Commission independently. In 2006, NERC submitted 
the initial version of Reliability Standards MOD-016-1.1, MOD-017-0.1, 
MOD-018-0, MOD-019-0.1, MOD-020-0, and MOD-021-1. The Existing MOD C 
Standards were designed to help ensure that historical and forecasted 
demand and energy data are available for past event validation and 
future system assessment. In particular, the Existing MOD C Standards, 
along with Reliability Standard MOD-020-0, require the collection of 
actual and forecast demand data necessary to analyze the resource needs 
to serve peak demand while maintaining a sufficient margin to address 
operating events. In Order No. 693, the Commission approved the 
Existing MOD C Standards and Reliability Standard MOD-020-0.\2\ In 
addition, the Commission directed NERC to develop certain modifications 
to the standards.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System, 
Order No. 693, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,242, at PP 1223, 1235, order 
on reh'g, Order No. 693-A, 120 FERC ] 61,053 (2007).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

II. NERC Petition and NOPR

    4. In its petition, NERC stated that Reliability Standard MOD-031-1 
will provide planners and operators access to actual and forecast 
demand and energy data, as well as other related information, needed to 
perform resource adequacy studies.\3\ NERC explained that the proposed 
Reliability Standard also supports the continued development of the 
reliability assessments prepared by NERC. NERC stated that the proposed 
Reliability Standard improves the Existing MOD C Standards by: (1) 
Streamlining them to clarify data collection requirements; (2) 
including transmission planners as applicable entities that must report 
demand and energy data; (3) requiring applicable entities to report 
weather normalized annual peak hour actual demand data from the 
previous year to allow for meaningful comparison with forecasted 
values; and (4) requiring applicable entities to provide an explanation 
of how their forecasts compare to actual prior year data.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ NERC Petition at 3. The proposed MOD Reliability Standard is 
not attached to the Final Rule. The complete text of the Reliability 
Standard is available on the Commission's eLibrary document 
retrieval system in Docket No. RM14-12 and is posted on the ERO's 
Web site, available at: http://www.nerc.com.
    \4\ NERC Petition at 4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    5. Reliability Standard MOD-031-1 contains four requirements. 
Requirement R1 provides that each planning coordinator or balancing 
authority that identifies a need for the collection of demand and 
energy data must develop and issue a data request for such data to the 
relevant entities in its area. The requirement mandates that the data 
request identify: (i) The entities responsible for providing the data; 
(ii) the data to be provided by each entity; and (iii) the schedule for 
providing the data. Requirement R2 obligates the entities identified in 
a Requirement R1 data request to provide the requested data to their 
planning coordinator or balancing authority. Requirement R3 requires 
that the planning coordinator or the balancing authority provide the 
data collected under Requirement R2 to their Regional Entity, if 
requested, to

[[Page 9597]]

facilitate NERC's development of reliability assessments. Requirement 
R4 requires entities to share their demand and energy data with any 
applicable entity that demonstrates a reliability need for such 
data.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ Id. at 5.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    6. On September 18, 2014, the Commission issued a Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) proposing to approve Reliability Standard 
MOD-031-1 as just, reasonable, not unduly discriminatory or 
preferential, and in the public interest. The Commission also requested 
comments on the collection of demand and energy data. Specifically, the 
Commission sought comments on: (1) The Commission's understanding that 
while a planning coordinator or balancing authority may collect demand 
and energy forecast data under a tariff or other arrangement, the 
planning coordinator or balancing authority always retains the option 
to seek the necessary data through a Requirement R1 data request if, 
for example, the data are not forthcoming through other means; and (2) 
whether a planning coordinator or balancing authority that receives 
data through alternative mechanisms remains obligated to provide such 
data (i.e., within the scope of Requirement R1) to a Regional Entity 
upon request, as set forth in Requirement R3.

Comments

    7. Comments on the NOPR were submitted by NERC, Edison Electric 
Institute (EEI), ISO New England, Inc. (ISO New England), International 
Transmission Company d/b/a ITCTransmission, Michigan Electric 
Transmission Company, LLC, ITC Midwest LLC, and ITC Great Plains, LLC 
(collectively, ``ITC Companies''), PacifiCorp, and Idaho Power Company 
(Idaho Power).
    8. NERC, EEI, ISO New England support the Commission's proposed 
approval of MOD-031-1, and ITC Companies ``does not object'' to the 
standard. NERC and other commenters provide responses to the 
Commission's questions regarding the collection of demand and energy 
data, as discussed below.
    9. NERC, EEI, Idaho Power, and ISO New England confirm the 
Commission's understanding that the planning coordinator or balancing 
authority retains the option to seek the necessary data through a 
Requirement R1 data request. NERC states that the Reliability Standard 
provides planning coordinators and balancing authorities the authority 
to issue data requests to compel applicable entities to provide the 
demand and energy data necessary to conduct reliability assessments. 
According to NERC, the Reliability Standard does not require planning 
coordinators and balancing authorities to issue such data requests if 
they have alternative means of obtaining or developing that data but 
planning coordinators and balancing authorities may always use the 
authority provided by the Reliability Standard as a backstop to ensure 
they obtain complete and accurate data.
    10. With respect to the issue of whether a planning coordinator or 
balancing authority that receives data through alternative mechanisms 
remains obligated to provide such data to a Regional Entity upon 
request, NERC states that the intent of Requirement R3 was to require 
all planning coordinators and balancing authorities to provide the 
necessary demand and energy data to their respective Regional Entities 
to support the ERO development of seasonal and long-term reliability 
assessments. NERC commits to modifying the language of Requirement R3 
in its standard development process to clarify that planning 
coordinators and balancing authorities must provide their demand and 
energy data to their Regional Entity, upon request, whether that data 
is collected pursuant to the proposed Reliability Standard or through 
alternative arrangements.
    11. With regard to the Commission's question about the obligations 
of a planning coordinator or balancing authority to share data gathered 
or obtained through alternative mechanisms, EEI comments that there is 
no obligation to require a planning coordinator or balancing authority 
to share such data in a similar manner as required by Requirement R3. 
EEI adds that it is not aware of any reason that might motivate 
independent system operators (ISOs) or regional transmission 
organizations (RTOs) (in their role as planning coordinators or 
balancing authorities) to withhold such information from the Regional 
Entity. PacifiCorp agrees with EEI on this issue and favors a finding 
that Requirement R3 should not apply if the planning coordinator or 
balancing authority receives data through alternative means.
    12. In contrast, Idaho Power and ISO New England assert that a 
planning coordinator or balancing authority that receives data within 
the scope of Requirement R1 through alternative mechanisms (as opposed 
to a data request) remains obligated to provide the data to a Regional 
Entity upon request pursuant to Requirement R3.
    13. EEI also requests that the Commission clarify potential 
conflicts between a transmission provider's obligation to provide data 
under Reliability Standard MOD-031-1 and its confidentiality 
obligations under the Open Access Transmission Tariff (OATT) or other 
confidentiality or nondisclosure restrictions. ITC Companies raises a 
concern with the inclusion of transmission planners as entities from 
whom the types of data specified may be requested because, according to 
ITC Companies, many transmission planners have delegated the collection 
of data to the ISO or RTO in which they are located.

III. Discussion

    14. Pursuant to section 215(d)(2) of the FPA, the Commission 
approves Reliability Standard MOD-031-1 as just, reasonable, not unduly 
discriminatory or preferential, and in the public interest. We also 
approve the new and modified glossary definitions, implementation plan, 
associated violation risk factors and violation severity levels as well 
as the retirement of the Existing MOD C Standards. Reliability Standard 
MOD-031-1 should continue to provide planners and operators access to 
complete and accurate demand and energy data to allow such entities to 
conduct their own resource adequacy analyses to serve peak demand. As 
noted above, NERC, EEI, and ISO New England support approval of MOD-
031-1, and no commenters oppose approval. ITC Companies ``does not 
object'' to the standard and ``concurs with the Commission that MOD-
031-1 will meaningfully enhance the ability of transmission planners 
and operators to conduct resource adequacy analyses and plan for peak 
load conditions.'' \6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ ITC Comments at 2.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    15. We also find that the Reliability Standard should provide for 
consistent documentation and information sharing practices for demand 
and energy data, and promotes efficient planning practices across the 
industry and supports the identification of needed system 
reinforcements. Further, the Commission finds that Reliability Standard 
MOD-031-1 improves the Existing MOD C Standards by providing applicable 
entities the authority to collect demand and energy data, and related 
information, to support reliability assessments and also includes 
transmission planners as applicable entities that must report demand 
and energy data.
    16. Further, as discussed below, we direct NERC to (1) develop a

[[Page 9598]]

modification to Reliability Standard MOD-031-1 to clarify certain 
obligations to provide data to the Regional Entity and (2) consider the 
compliance obligations of an applicable entity upon receipt of a data 
request that seeks confidential information.

A. Demand and Energy Data Issues Raised in the NOPR

    17. As discussed above, the Commission sought comment in the NOPR 
on several questions in connection with the collection of demand and 
energy data. With regard to the responsive comments on the NOPR 
question regarding the collection of data through mechanisms other than 
data requests, the Commission accepts the explanation provided by NERC 
and other commenters that, while a planning coordinator or balancing 
authority may collect demand and energy forecast data under a tariff or 
other arrangement, the planning coordinator or balancing authority 
always retains the option to seek the necessary data through a 
Requirement R1 data request if, for example, the data are not 
forthcoming through other means.
    18. Further, the Commission raised a concern in the NOPR regarding 
whether a planning coordinator or balancing authority that receives 
data ``through alternative mechanisms'' remains obligated to provide 
such data (i.e., within the scope of Requirement R1) to a Regional 
Entity upon request, as set forth in Requirement R3. We accept NERC's 
explanation that the ``intent of Requirement R3 was to require all 
planning coordinators and balancing authorities to provide the 
necessary demand and energy data to their respective Regional Entities 
to support the [ERO]'s development of seasonal and long-term 
reliability assessments,'' although ``a strict reading'' of Requirement 
R3 ``indicates that it applies only to data collected pursuant to a 
data request issued under this Reliability Standard.'' \7\ NERC has the 
statutory responsibility to conduct periodic assessments of the 
reliability and adequacy of the Bulk-Power System, and we believe that 
it is incumbent on users, owners and operators subject to compliance 
with section 215 of the FPA to provide the necessary data to support 
such assessments.\8\ Accordingly, pursuant to section 215(d)(5) of the 
FPA and consistent with NERC's comments,\9\ we direct NERC to develop a 
modification to MOD-031-1 through the standards development process to 
clarify that planning coordinators and balancing authorities must 
provide demand and energy data upon request of a Regional Entity, as 
necessary to support NERC's development of seasonal and long-term 
reliability assessments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ NERC Comments at 2-3. See also EEI Comments at 3.
    \8\ 16 U.S.C. 824o(g).
    \9\ See NERC Comments at 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Other Issues

    19. EEI seeks Commission clarification of a ``potential conflict'' 
between a transmission provider's obligation to provide data under MOD-
031-1 and the transmission provider's confidentiality obligations under 
an OATT or other confidentiality restrictions.\10\ Under MOD-031-1, 
Requirement R2, an applicable entity must provide data requested by its 
planning coordinator or balancing authority in accordance with the 
Requirement R1 data request provision. EEI notes that, under 
Requirement R4, an entity has 45 days to respond to a written request 
for data. Further, under Requirement 4.1, if an entity does not provide 
requested data because, inter alia, ``providing the data would conflict 
with the Applicable Entity's confidentiality, regulatory or security 
requirements, the Applicable Entity shall, within 30 calendar days of 
the written request, provide a written response to the requesting 
entity specifying the data that is not being provided and on what 
basis.'' According to EEI, it is unclear ``at what point a transmission 
provider's obligation to `cooperate' with the other Party in the 
formation of a confidentiality agreement or protective order ends, and 
its obligation as an Applicable Entity to disclose the requested 
information under either Requirements R1 or R4 begins.'' \11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ See EEI Comments at 3-4 (citing Article 22.1.10 of the pro 
forma large generation interconnection agreement).
    \11\ EEI Comments at 5.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    20. Requirement R1 specifies the planning coordinator or balancing 
authority shall issue a ``data request to applicable entities in its 
area.'' Applicable entities that are subject to providing data pursuant 
to Requirement R2 are transmission planners, balancing authorities, 
load-serving entities, and distribution providers. The transmission 
providers discussed by EEI may, in fact, be registered as one or more 
of the NERC functional entities that make up the applicable entities 
list in MOD-031-1. Requirement R4 includes provisions for an applicable 
entity to follow if a conflict arises. On this basis, the Reliability 
Standard appears to be clear. However, EEI's concern that MOD-031-1 is 
not clear regarding the compliance obligations of an applicable entity 
when required to provide data to a balancing authority or planning 
coordinator pursuant to a data request under the standard may have 
merit. Further, it may be possible in some circumstances, depending on 
the terms of the confidentiality provision at play, to provide data 
pursuant to a non-disclosure agreement. Therefore, rather than 
attempting to provide the clarification requested by EEI, the 
Commission directs NERC to consider EEI's concern regarding the 
compliance obligations of an applicable entity upon receipt of a data 
request that seeks confidential information in the standard development 
process when it addresses the directive to clarify that planning 
coordinators and balancing authorities must provide demand and energy 
data upon request of a Regional Entity.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ See Order No. 693 FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,242, at P 188.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    21. ITC Companies raises a concern with the inclusion of 
transmission planners as listed entities from whom the types of data 
specified may be requested because, according to ITC Companies, many 
transmission planners have delegated the collection of data to the ISO 
or RTO in which they are located. ITC Companies requests that the 
Commission recognize that agreements governing the reporting of demand 
and energy data such as those existing between ITC's operating 
subsidiaries and the ISOs/RTOs in which each operates are common, and 
thus provide that a transmission planner having such an arrangement 
with an ISO/RTO will be in compliance with data requests it receives 
under the Requirements R1 and R4. While the language of particular 
agreements is beyond the scope of the immediate proceeding, we agree 
with ITC Companies that Requirement R1 provides the flexibility to 
collect energy data through alternative mechanisms.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \13\ See NERC Petition at 22, 23.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

IV. Information Collection Statement

    22. The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) \14\ requires each federal 
agency to seek and obtain Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approval before undertaking a collection of information directed to ten 
or more persons or contained in a rule of general applicability. OMB 
regulations require approval of certain information collection 
requirements imposed by agency rules.\15\ Upon approval of a 
collection(s) of information, OMB will

[[Page 9599]]

assign an OMB control number and an expiration date. Respondents 
subject to the filing requirements of an agency rule will not be 
penalized for failing to respond to these collections of information 
unless the collections of information display a valid OMB control 
number.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.
    \15\ See 5 CFR 1320.10.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    23. Through issuance of this Final Rule, the Commission approves 
Reliability Standard MOD-031-1. As stated above, the Existing MOD C 
Standards were approved by the Commission in Order No. 693. All 
information collection estimates associated with the collection of 
demand and energy data and subsequent retention were assessed in Order 
No. 693 and will not be repeated here. The Reliability Standard expands 
the actual data to be submitted in two areas: (1) Weather normalized 
annual peak hour actual demand for the prior calendar year if this 
demand varies due to weather-related conditions (e.g., temperature, 
humidity or wind speed); and (2) summaries detailed in Requirement R1, 
Subparts 1.5.4 and 1.5.5. The additional data and summaries will 
increase reporting and preparation time for some applicable entities. 
Most entities already normalize their actual demand data based on 
weather. However, some entities may have a one-time cost of determining 
the method to ``weather normalize'' the actual demand data. 
Accordingly, the information collection costs will consist of an annual 
cost for all applicable entities and, for a small percentage, 
additional costs will occur during the first year of implementation.
    Public Reporting Burden: Reliability Standard MOD-031-1 requires 
each ``Applicable Entity'' to provide the data requested by its 
planning coordinator or balancing authority in accordance with the data 
request issued pursuant to Requirement R1.\16\ Our estimate below 
regarding the number of respondents is based on the NERC Compliance 
Registry as of July 31, 2014. According to the NERC Compliance 
Registry, NERC has registered 478 distribution providers, 469 load-
serving entities, 179 transmission planners and 107 balancing 
authorities. However, under NERC's compliance registration program, 
entities may be registered for multiple functions, so these numbers 
incorporate some double counting. The total number of unique entities 
that may be identified as a data provider (e.g. applicable entity) in 
accordance with Reliability Standard MOD-031-1 will be approximately 
561 entities registered in the United States as a distribution 
provider, load-serving entity, transmission planner and/or balancing 
authority.\17\ The Commission estimates the annual reporting burden and 
cost as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ Requirement R1, Subpart 1.1 refers to ``Applicable 
Entities'' as the list of transmission planners, balancing 
authorities, load-serving entities and distribution providers that 
are required to provide the data.
    \17\ This estimate assumes all of the unique entities will be 
identified to provide demand and energy data.
    \18\ The estimated hourly costs (salary plus benefits) are based 
on Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) information (available at http://bls.gov/oes/current/naics3_221000.htm#17-0000) for an electrical 
engineer ($59.62/hour).
    \19\ This value represents the number of entities that have not 
already determined a method to weather normalize annual peak actual 
demand data. We estimate approximately 5 percent of the applicable 
entities fall into this category.
    \20\ DP = distribution provider, LSE = load-serving entity, TP = 
transmission planner and BA = balancing authority, are functions the 
applicable entities perform in conjunction or individually. We 
estimate the total number of unique entities performing one or more 
of these functions to be 561.

                                                                 RM14-12-000 Final Rule
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Annual number                                          Total annual burden      Cost per
                                       Number and type of    of responses    Total number   Average burden & cost   hours & total annual    respondent
                                          respondents       per respondent   of responses        per response               cost               \18\
                                     (1)..................             (2)     (1)*(2)=(3)  (4)..................  (3)*(4)=(5)..........         (5)/(1)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(One-time) Determine method to       28 \19\ (DP, LSE, TP                1              28  240 hrs. & $14,309...  6,720 hours &                 $14,309
 weather normalize annual peak hour   and/or BA) \20\.                                                              $400,646.
 actual demand.
(On-going) Develop summary in        561 (DP, LSE, TP and/               1             561  8 hrs. & $477........  4,488 hours &                     477
 accordance w/Requirement R1,         or BA).                                                                       $267,575.
 Subparts 1.5.4 and 1.5.5.
                                                           ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total..........................  .....................  ..............             589  .....................  11,208 hours &         ..............
                                                                                                                    $668,221.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Title: FERC-725L, Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-
Power System: MOD Reliability Standards.
    Action: Final rule.
    OMB Control No: 1902-0261.
    Respondents: Businesses or other for-profit institutions; not-for-
profit institutions.
    Frequency of Responses: One-time and ongoing.
    Necessity of the Information: Reliability Standard MOD-031-1 
implements the Congressional mandate of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 
to develop mandatory and enforceable Reliability Standards to better 
ensure the reliability of the nation's Bulk-Power System. Specifically, 
the purpose of the Reliability Standard is to provide authority for 
applicable entities to collect demand, energy and related data to 
support reliability studies and assessments and to enumerate the 
responsibilities and obligations of requestors and respondents of that 
data.
    Internal Review: The Commission has reviewed the requirements 
pertaining to the Reliability Standard for the Bulk-Power System and 
determined that the approved requirements are necessary to meet the 
statutory provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. These 
requirements conform to the Commission's plan for efficient

[[Page 9600]]

information collection, communication and management within the energy 
industry. The Commission has assured itself, by means of internal 
review, that there is specific, objective support for the burden 
estimates associated with the information requirements.
    Interested persons may obtain information on the reporting 
requirements by contacting: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426 [Attention: Ellen Brown, Office 
of the Executive Director, email: [email protected], Phone: (202) 
502-8663, fax: (202) 273-0873]. Comments on the requirements of this 
rule may also be sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503 
[Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission]. 
For security reasons, comments should be sent by email to OMB at 
[email protected]. Comments submitted to OMB should refer to 
FERC-725L and OMB Control No. 1902-0261.

V. Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    24. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) \21\ generally 
requires a description and analysis of final rules that will have 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \21\ 5 U.S.C. 601-612.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    25. The Small Business Administration (SBA) revised its size 
standard (effective January 22, 2014) for electric utilities from a 
standard based on megawatt hours to a standard based on the number of 
employees, including affiliates.\22\ Under SBA's new size standards, 
transmission owners and transmission operators likely come under the 
following category and associated size threshold: Electric bulk power 
transmission and control, at 500 employees.\23\ The Reliability 
Standard applies to 561 entities. Comparison of the applicable entities 
with the Commission's small business data indicates that approximately 
249 are small entities.\24\ Of these, the Commission estimates that 
approximately five percent, or twelve of these small entities expect to 
be affected by the new requirements of the proposed Reliability 
Standard. The Commission estimates that the small entities that will be 
affected by Reliability Standard MOD-031-1 will incur one-time 
compliance costs ranging up to $14,309 (i.e. the cost of determining 
the method of weather normalizing annual peak hour actual demand), plus 
the annual development of summary narratives in accordance with 
Requirement R1, Subparts 1.5.4 and 1.5.5, resulting in costs of $477.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \22\ SBA Final Rule on ``Small Business Size Standards: 
Utilities,'' 78 FR 77,343 (Dec. 23, 2013).
    \23\ 13 CFR 121.201, Sector 22, Utilities.
    \24\ The Small Business Administration sets the threshold for 
what constitutes a small business. Public utilities may fall under 
one of several different categories, each with a size threshold 
based on the company's number of employees, including affiliates, 
the parent company, and subsidiaries. The possible categories for 
the applicable entities have a size threshold ranging from 250 
employees to 1,000 employees. For the analysis in this proposed 
rule, we are using the 1,000 employee threshold for each applicable 
entity type.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    26. Accordingly, the Commission certifies that the Reliability 
Standard will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities.

VI. Environmental Analysis

    27. The Commission is required to prepare an Environmental 
Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement for any action that may 
have a significant adverse effect on the human environment.\25\ The 
Commission has categorically excluded certain actions from this 
requirement as not having a significant effect on the human 
environment. Included in the exclusion are rules that are clarifying, 
corrective, or procedural or that do not substantially change the 
effect of the regulations being amended.\26\ The actions proposed 
herein fall within this categorical exclusion in the Commission's 
regulations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \25\ Regulations Implementing the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969, Order No. 486, 52 FR 47897 (Dec. 17, 1987), FERC Stats. 
& Regs., Regulations Preambles 1986-1990 ] 30,783 (1987).
    \26\ 18 CFR 380.4(a)(2)(ii).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

VII. Document Availability

    28. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the 
Internet through the Commission's Home Page (http://www.ferc.gov) and 
in the Commission's Public Reference Room during normal business hours 
(8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First Street NE., Room 2A, 
Washington, DC 20426.
    29. From the Commission's Home Page on the Internet, this 
information is available on eLibrary. The full text of this document is 
available on eLibrary in PDF and Microsoft Word format for viewing, 
printing, and/or downloading. To access this document in eLibrary, type 
the docket number excluding the last three digits of this document in 
the docket number field.
    30. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the Commission's 
Web site during normal business hours from the Commission's Online 
Support at 202-502-6652 (toll free at 1-866-208-3676) or email at 
[email protected], or the Public Reference Room at (202) 502-
8371, TTY (202) 502-8659. Email the Public Reference Room at 
[email protected].

VIII. Effective Date and Congressional Notification

    31. These regulations are effective April 27, 2015. The Commission 
has determined, with the concurrence of the Administrator of the Office 
of Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB, that this rule is not 
``major rule'' as defined in section 351 of the Small Business 
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.

    By the Commission.

    Issued: February 19, 2015.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-03740 Filed 2-23-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P