[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 213 (Wednesday, November 4, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68312-68317]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-28086]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC16-2-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-538, FERC-740, 
FERC-729, FERC-715, FERC-592, FERC-60, FERC-61, and FERC-555A); 
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 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.
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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 4, 
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2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC16-2-
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:

[[Page 68313]]

    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-538, Gas Pipelines Certificates: Sections 7(a) Mandatory Initial 
Service

    OMB Control No.: 1902-0061.
    Abstract: Under sections 7(a), 10(a) and 16 of Natural Gas Act 
(NGA),\2\ upon application by a person or municipality authorized to 
engage in the local distribution of natural gas, the Commission may 
order a natural gas company to extend or improve its transportation 
facilities, and sell natural gas to the municipality or person and, for 
such purpose, to extend its transportation facilities to communities 
immediately adjacent to such facilities or to territories served by the 
natural gas pipeline company. The Commission uses the application data 
in order to be fully informed concerning the applicant, and the service 
the applicant is requesting.
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    \2\ 15 U.S.C. 717f-w.
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    Type of Respondent: Persons or municipalities authorized to engage 
in the local distribution of natural gas.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden for the information collection as:
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    \3\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the 
following formula: Average Burden Hours per Response * $72.00 per 
Hour = Average Cost per Response. The hourly cost figure comes from 
the FERC average salary of $149,489/year.

                                       FERC-538--Gas Pipeline Certificates: Section 7(a) Mandatory Initial Service
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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 annual     respondent
                                                                            respondent                          \3\            cost             ($)
                                                                     (1)             (2)     (1)*(2)=(3)             (4)     (3)*(4)=(5)         (5)/(1)
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Gas Pipeline Certificates...............................               1               1               1             240             240         $17,280
                                                                                                                 $17,280         $17,280
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FERC-740, Availability of e-Tag Information to Commission Staff

    OMB Control No.: 1902-0254.
    Abstract: In Order 771,\4\ the FERC-740 information collection 
(providing Commission staff access to e-Tag data) was implemented to 
provide the Commission, Market Monitoring Units (MMUs), Regional 
Transmission Organizations (RTOs), and Independent System Operators 
(ISOs) with information that allows them to perform market surveillance 
and analysis more effectively. The e-Tag information is necessary to 
understand the use of the interconnected electricity grid, particularly 
transactions occurring at interchanges. Due to the nature of the 
electricity grid, an individual transaction's impact on an interchange 
cannot be assessed adequately in all cases without information from all 
connected systems, which is included in the e-Tags. The details of the 
physical path of a transaction included in the e-Tags helps the 
Commission to monitor, in particular, interchange transactions 
effectively, detect and prevent price manipulation over interchanges, 
and ensure the efficient and orderly use of the transmission grid. For 
example, the e-Tag data allows the Commission to identify transmission 
reservations as they go from one market to another and link the market 
participants involved in that transaction.
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    \4\ Order 771 was issued in Docket No. RM11-12 (77 FR 76367, 12/
28/2012).
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    Order No. 771 provided the Commission access to e-Tags by requiring 
that Purchasing-Selling Entities \5\ (PSEs) and Balancing Authorities 
(BAs), list the Commission on the ``CC'' list of e-Tags so that the 
Commission can receive a copy of the e-Tags. The Commission accesses 
the e-Tags by contracting with a commercial vendor, OATI. In early 
2014, the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) incorporated 
the requirement that the Commission be added to the ``CC'' list on e-
Tags as part of the tagging process.\6\ Even before NAESB added the 
FERC requirement to the tagging standards, the rules behind the ``CC'' 
list requirement had already been programmed into the industry standard 
tagging software so as to make the inclusion of FERC in the ``CC'' list 
automatic. The Commission expects that PSEs and BAs will continue to 
use existing, automated procedures to create and validate the e-Tags in 
a way that provides the Commission with access to them. In the rare 
event that a new BA would need to alert e-Tag administrators that 
certain tags it generates qualify for exemption under the Commission's 
regulations (e.g., transmissions from a new Canadian BA into another 
Canadian BA), this administrative function would be expected to require 
less than an hour of effort total from both the BA and an e-Tag 
administrator to include the BA on the exemption list. New exempt BAs 
occur less frequently than every year, but for the purpose of 
estimation we will conservatively assume one appears each year creating 
an additional burden associated with the Commission's FERC-740 
requirement of $60.59.\7\
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    \5\ A Purchasing-Selling Entity is the entity that purchases or 
sells, and takes title to, energy, capacity, and Interconnected 
Operations Services. Purchasing-Selling Entities may be affiliated 
or unaffiliated merchants and may or may not own generating 
facilities. Purchasing-Selling Entities are typically E-Tag Authors.
    \6\ NAESB Electronic Tagging Functional Specifications, Version 
1.8.2.
    \7\ The estimated hourly cost (salary plus benefits) provided in 
this section is based on the figures for May 2014 posted by the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Utilities sector (available at 
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm#13-0000) assuming:
     15 minutes legal (code 23-0000), $129.87 hourly
     45 minutes information and record clerk (code 43-4199), 
$37.50 hourly.
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    Type of Respondent: Purchasing-Selling Entities and Balancing 
Authorities.

[[Page 68314]]

    Estimate of Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden (rounded) for the information collection as:

                                             FERC-740--Availability of e-Tag Information to Commission Staff
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                                                                          Annual  number                      Average      Total annual
                                                             Number of     of  responses   Total number    burden hours   burden hours &     Cost per
                        FERC-740                            respondents         per        of responses     & cost per     total annual     respondent
                                                                            respondent                       response          cost             ($)
                                                                     (1)             (2)     (1)*(2)=(3)             (4)     (3)*(4)=(5)         (5)/(1)
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Purchasing-Selling Entities (e-Tag Authors).............             369           4,404       1,625,326               0               0              $0
Balancing Authorities...................................             101          16,092       1,625,326               0               0               0
New Balancing Authority [as noted above]................               1               1               1   1 hr.; $60.59   1 hr.; $60.59           60.59
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    Total...............................................             470  ..............  ..............  ..............   1 hr.; $60.59           60.59
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FERC-729, Electric Transmission Facilities

    OMB Control No.: 1902-0238.
    Abstract: This information collection implements the Commission's 
mandates under EPAct 2005 section 1221 which authorizes the Commission 
to issue permits under FPA section 216(b) for electric transmission 
facilities and the Commission's delegated responsibility to coordinate 
all other federal authorizations under FPA section 216(h). The related 
FERC regulations seek to develop a timely review process for siting of 
proposed electric transmission facilities. The regulations provide for 
(among other things) an extensive pre-application process that will 
facilitate maximum participation from all interested entities and 
individuals to provide them with a reasonable opportunity to present 
their views and recommendations, with respect to the need for and 
impact of the facilities, early in the planning stages of the proposed 
facilities as required under FPA section 216(d).
    Additionally, FERC has the authority to issue a permit to construct 
electric transmission facilities if a state has withheld approval for 
more than a year or has conditioned its approval in such a manner that 
it will not significantly reduce transmission congestion or is not 
economically feasible.\8\ FERC envisions that, under certain 
circumstances, the Commission's review of the proposed facilities may 
take place after one year of the state's review. Under section 
50.6(e)(3) the Commission will not accept applications until one year 
after the state's review and then from applicants who can demonstrate 
that a state may withhold or condition approval of proposed facilities 
to such an extent that the facilities will not be constructed.\9\ In 
cases where FERC's jurisdiction rests on FPA section 216(b)(1)(C),\10\ 
the pre-filing process should not commence until one year after the 
relevant State applications have been filed. This will give states one 
full year to process an application without any intervening Federal 
proceedings, including both the pre-filing and application processes. 
Once that year is complete, an applicant may seek to commence FERC's 
pre-filing process. Thereafter, once the pre-filing process is 
complete, the applicant may submit its application for a construction 
permit.
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    \8\ FPA section 216(b)(1)(C).
    \9\ However, the Commission will not issue a permit authorizing 
construction of the proposed facilities until, among other things, 
it finds that the state has, in fact, withheld approval for more 
than a year or had so conditioned its approval.
    \10\ In all other instances (i.e. where the state does not have 
jurisdiction to act or otherwise to consider interstate benefits, or 
the applicant does not qualify to apply for a permit with the State 
because it does not serve end use customers in the State), the pre-
filing process may be commenced at any time.
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    Type of Respondent: Electric transmission facilities.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden for the information collection as:

                                                       FERC-729--Electric Transmission Facilities
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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 annual     respondent
                                                                            respondent                         \11\            cost             ($)
                                                                     (1)             (2)     (1)*(2)=(3)             (4)     (3)*(4)=(5)         (5)/(1)
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Electric Transmission Facilities........................               1               1               1           9,600           9,600        $691,200
                                                                                                                $691,200        $691,200
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    \11\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the 
following formula: Average Burden Hours per Response * $72.00 per 
Hour = Average Cost per Response. The hourly cost figure comes from 
the FERC average salary of $149,489/year.
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FERC-715, Annual Transmission Planning and Evaluation Report

    OMB Control No.: 1902-0171
    Abstract: Acting under FPA section 213,\12\ FERC requires each 
transmitting utility that operates integrated transmission system 
facilities rated above 100 kilovolts (kV) to submit annually:
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    \12\ 16 U.S.C. 824l.
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     Contact information for the FERC-715;
     Base case power flow data (if it does not participate in 
the development and use of regional power flow data);
     Transmission system maps and diagrams used by the 
respondent for transmission planning;

[[Page 68315]]

     A detailed description of the transmission planning 
reliability criteria used to evaluate system performance for time 
frames and planning horizons used in regional and corporate planning;
     A detailed description of the respondent's transmission 
planning assessment practices (including, but not limited to, how 
reliability criteria are applied and the steps taken in performing 
transmission planning studies); and
     A detailed evaluation of the respondent's anticipated 
system performance as measured against its stated reliability criteria 
using its stated assessment practices.
    The FERC-715 enables the Commission to use the information as part 
of their regulatory oversight functions which includes:
     The review of rates and charges;
     The disposition of jurisdictional facilities;
     The consolidation and mergers;
     The adequacy of supply and;
     Reliability of nation's transmission grid
    The FERC-715 enables the Commission to facilitate and resolve 
transmission disputes. Additionally, the Office of Electric Reliability 
(OER) uses the FERC-715 data to help protect and improve the 
reliability and security of the nation's bulk power system. OER 
oversees the development and review of mandatory reliability and 
security standards and ensures compliance with the approved standards 
by the users, owners, and operators of the bulk power system. OER also 
monitors and addresses issues concerning the nation's bulk power system 
including assessments of resource adequacy and reliability.
    Without the FERC-715 data, the Commission would be unable to 
evaluate planned projects or requests related to transmission.
    Type of Respondent: Integrated transmission system facilities rated 
at or above 100 kilovolts (kV).
    Estimate of Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden for the information collection as:

                                              FERC-715--Annual Transmission Planning and Evaluation Report
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                                                                          Annual  number                                   Total annual
                                                             Number of     of  responses   Total number   Average burden  burden hours &     Cost per
                                                            respondents         per        of responses     & cost per     total annual     respondent
                                                                            respondent                     response \13\       cost             ($)
                                                                     (1)             (2)       (1)*(2)=3             (4)     (3)*(4)=(5)         (5)/(1)
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Annual Transmission Planning and Evaluation Report......             115               1             115             160          18,400         $11,520
                                                                                                                 $11,520     $ 1,324,800
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    Total...............................................  ..............  ..............             115  ..............          18,400         $11,520
                                                                                                                             $ 1,324,800
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    \13\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the 
following formula: Average Burden Hours per Response * $72 per Hour 
= Average Cost per Response. The hourly cost figure comes from the 
FERC average salary of $149,489. Subject matter experts found that 
industry employment costs closely resemble FERC's regarding the 
FERC-715 information collection.
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FERC-592: Standards of Conduct for Transmission Provider and Marketing 
Affiliates of Interstate Pipelines

    OMB Control No.: 1902-0157
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-592 information 
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting 
requirements.
    Abstract: The Commission uses the information maintained and posted 
by the respondents to monitor the pipeline's transportation, sales, and 
storage activities for its marketing affiliate to deter undue 
discrimination by pipeline companies in favor of their marketing 
affiliates. Non-affiliated shippers and other entities (e.g. state 
commissions) also use information to determine whether they have been 
harmed by affiliate preference and to prepare evidence for proceedings 
following the filing of a complaint.

18 CFR Part 358 (Standards of Conduct)

    Respondents maintain and provide the information required by part 
358 on their internet Web sites. When the Commission requires a 
pipeline to post information on its Web site following a disclosure of 
non-public information to its marketing affiliate, non-affiliated 
shippers obtain comparable access to the non-public transportation 
information, which allows them to compete with marketing affiliates on 
a more equal basis.

18 CFR 250.16, and the FERC-592 log/format

    This form (log/format) provides the electronic formats for 
maintaining information on discounted transportation transactions and 
capacity allocation to support monitoring of activities of interstate 
pipeline marketing affiliates. Commission staff considers discounts 
given to shippers in litigated rate cases.
    Without this information collection:
     The Commission would be unable to effectively monitor 
whether pipelines are giving discriminatory preference to their 
marketing affiliates; and
     non-affiliated shippers and state commissions and others 
would be unable to determine if they have been harmed by affiliate 
preference or prepare evidence for proceedings following the filing of 
a complaint.
    Type of Respondents: Natural gas pipelines.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \14\ The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden for the information collection as:
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    \14\ 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.

[[Page 68316]]



                         FERC-592--Standards for Conduct for Transmission Providers Marketing Affiliates of Interstate Pipelines
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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 annual     respondent
                                                                            respondent                         \15\            cost             ($)
                                                                     (1)             (2)     (1)*(2)=(3)             (4)     (3)*(4)=(5)         (5)/(1)
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FERC 592 \16\...........................................              85               1              85          116.62           9,913          $8,396
                                                                                                                  $8,396        $713,736
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    \15\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the 
FERC average salary of $149,489/year (or $72.00/hour). Commission 
staff finds that the work done for this information collection is 
typically done by wage categories similar to those at FERC.
    \16\ The requirements for this collection are contained in 18 
CFR part 358 and 18 CFR part 250.16.
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FERC-60 (Annual Report of Centralized Service Companies), FERC-61 
(Narrative Description of Service Company Functions), and FERC-555A 
(Preservation of Records Companies and Service Companies Subject to 
PUHCA)

    OMB Control No.: 1902-0215.
    Abstract: On August 8, 2005, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, was 
signed into law, repealing the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 
1935 (PUHCA 1935) and enacting the Public Utility Holding Company Act 
of 2005 (PUHCA 2005). Section 1264 \17\ and section 1275 \18\ of PUHCA 
2005 supplemented FERC's existing ratemaking authority under the 
Federal Power Act (FPA) to protect customers against improper cross-
subsidization or encumbrances of public utility assets, and similarly, 
FERC's ratemaking authority under the Natural Gas Act (NGA). These 
provisions of PUHCA 2005 supplemented the FERC's broad authority under 
FPA section 301 and NGA section 8 to obtain the books and records of 
regulated companies and any person that controls or is under the 
influence of such companies if relevant to jurisdictional activities.
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    \17\ Federal Books and Records Access Provision.
    \18\ Non-Power Goods and Services Provision.
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FERC Form 60

    Form No. 60 is an annual reporting requirement under 18 CFR 366.23 
for centralized service companies. The report's function is to collect 
financial information (including balance sheet, assets, liabilities, 
billing and charges for associated and non-associated companies) from 
centralized service companies subject to the jurisdiction of the FERC. 
Unless Commission rule exempts or grants a waiver pursuant to 18 CFR 
366.3 and 366.4 to the holding company system, every centralized 
service company in a holding company system must prepare and file 
electronically with the FERC the Form No. 60, pursuant to the General 
Instructions in the form.

FERC-61

    FERC-61 is a filing requirement for service companies in holding 
company systems (including special purpose companies) that are 
currently exempt or granted a waiver of FERC's regulations and would 
not have to file FERC Form 60. Instead, those service companies are 
required to file, on an annual basis, a narrative description of the 
service company's functions during the prior calendar year (FERC-61). 
In complying, a holding company may make a single filing on behalf of 
all of its service company subsidiaries.

FERC-555A

    FERC prescribed a mandated preservation of records requirements for 
holding companies and service companies (unless otherwise exempted by 
FERC). This requires them to maintain and make available to FERC, their 
books and records. The preservation of records requirement provides for 
uniform records retention by holding companies and centralized service 
companies subject to PUHCA 2005.
    Data from the FERC Form 60, FERC-61, and FERC-555A provide a level 
of transparency that: (1) Helps protect ratepayers from pass-through of 
improper service company costs, (2) enables FERC to review and 
determine cost allocations (among holding company members) for certain 
non-power goods and services, (3) aids FERC in meeting its oversight 
and market monitoring obligations, and (4) benefits the public, both as 
ratepayers and investors. In addition, the FERC's audit staff used 
these records during compliance reviews and special analyses.
    If data from the FERC Form 60, FERC-61, and FERC-555A were not 
available, FERC would not be able to meet its statutory 
responsibilities, under EPAct 1992, EPAct of 2005, and PUHCA 2005, and 
FERC would not have all of the regulatory mechanisms necessary to 
ensure customer protection.
    Type of Respondent: Electric transmission facilities
    Estimate of Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden for the information collection as:

  FERC-60 (Annual Report of Centralized Service Companies), FERC-61 (Narrative Description of Service Company Functions), & FERC-555A (Preservation of
                                                Records Companies and Service Companies Subject to PUHCA)
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                                                                          Annual  number                                   Total annual
                                                             Number of     of  responses   Total number       Average     burden hours &     Cost per
                                                            respondents         per        of responses    burden & cost   total annual     respondent
                                                                            respondent                     per response        cost             ($)
                                                                     (1)             (2)     (1)*(2)=(3)             (4)     (3)*(4)=(5)         (5)/(1)
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FERC-60 \19\............................................              39               1              39              75           2,925          $4,280
                                                                                                                  $4,280        $166,929

[[Page 68317]]

 
FERC-61 \20\............................................             100               1             100             0.5              50           18.75
                                                                                                                  $18.75          $1,875
FERC-555A \21\..........................................             100               1             100           1,080         108,000          33,480
                                                                                                                 $33,480      $3,348,000
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    Total...............................................  ..............  ..............  ..............         1155.50         110,975          37,779
                                                                                                                 $37,779      $3,516,804
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    \19\ For the FERC-60 the $57.00 (rounded from $57.07) hourly 
cost figure comes from the average cost of an management analyst 
(Occupation Code 13-1111) and an accountant (Occupation Code 13-
2011) as posted on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Web site 
(http://www/bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm).
    \20\ For the FERC-61 the $37.50 hourly cost figure comes from 
the cost of a records clerk (Occupation Code 43-4199) as posted on 
the BLS Web site (http://www/bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm).
    \21\ For the FERC-555 the $31.00 hourly cost figure (rounded 
from $30.71) comes from the cost of a file clerk (Occupation Code 
43-4071) as posted on the BLS Web site (http://www/bls.gov/oes/
current/naics2_22.htm).
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    The total estimated annual cost burden to respondents is $3,516,262 
[$166,725 (FERC Form 60) + $1,537.00 (FERC-61) + $3,348,000 (FERC-555A) 
= $3,516,600].
    FERC Form 60: 2,925 hours * $57.07/hour = $166,929.00.
    FERC-61: 50 hours * $37.50/hour = $1,875.
    FERC-555A: \22\

    \22\ Internal analysis assumes 50% electronic and 50% paper 
storage.
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 Labor costs for paper storage: 108,000 hours * $31.00/hours = 
$3,348,000
 Record Retention/storage cost for paper storage (using an 
estimate of 6,000 ft\3\): $38,763.75
 Electronic record retention/storage cost: $2,335,500 [108,000 
hours / 2 = 54,000 * $28.00/hour \23\ = $1,512,000; electronic record 
storage cost: 54,000 hours * $15.25/year \24\ = $823,500; total 
electronic record storage: $2,335,500].
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    \23\ The Commission bases the $28/hour figure on a FERC staff 
study that included estimating public utility recordkeeping costs.
    \24\ Per entity; the Commission bases this figure on the 
estimated cost to service and to store 1 GB of data (based on the 
aggregated cost of an IBM advanced data protection server).

    Dated: October 28, 2015.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-28086 Filed 11-3-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P