[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 214 (Thursday, November 5, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68532-68534]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-28211]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC15-12-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-725); Comment 
Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of information collection 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 
currently approved information collection, FERC-725 [Certification of 
Electric Reliability Organization; Procedures for Electric Reliability 
Standards]. The Commission previously issued a Notice in the Federal 
Register (80 FR 50846, 8/21/2015) requesting public comments. The 
Commission received no comments on the FERC-725 and is making this 
notation in its submittal to OMB.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due December 7, 
2015.

ADDRESSES: Comments filed with OMB, identified by the OMB Control No. 
1902-0225 or collection number (FERC-725), should be sent via email to 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs: 
[email protected]. Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission Desk Officer. The Desk Officer may also be reached via 
telephone at 202-395-0710.
    A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Commission, in 
Docket No. IC15-12-000, 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.
    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], by telephone at (202) 502-8663, and by fax at 
(202) 273-0873.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: FERC-725, Certification of Electric Reliability 
Organization; Procedures for Electric Reliability Standards.
    OMB Control No.:1902-0225.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-725 information 
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting 
requirements.
    Abstract: The FERC-725 information collection contains the 
following information collection elements:
     Self Assessment and Electric Reliability Organization 
(ERO) Application: The Commission requires the ERO to submit to FERC a 
performance assessment report every five years. The next assessment is 
due in 2019. Each Regional Entity submits a performance assessment 
report to the

[[Page 68533]]

ERO. Submitting an application to become an ERO is also part of this 
collection.\1\
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    \1\ The Commission does not expect any new ERO applications to 
be submitted in the next five years and is not including any burden 
for this requirement in the burden estimate. FERC still seeks to 
renew the regulations pertaining to a new ERO application under this 
renewal but is expecting the burden to be zero for the foreseeable 
future. 18 CFR 39.3 contains the regulation pertaining to ERO 
applications.
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     Reliability Assessments: 18 CFR 39.11 requires the ERO to 
assess the reliability and adequacy of the Bulk-Power System in North 
America. Subsequently, the ERO must report to the Commission on its 
findings. Regional entities perform similar assessments within 
individual regions. Currently, the ERO submits to FERC three 
assessments each year: Long term, winter, and summer. In addition, NERC 
also submits various other assessments as needed.
     Reliability Standards Development: Under section 215 of 
the Federal Power Act (FPA), the ERO is charged with developing 
Reliability Standards. Regional Entities may also develop regional 
specific standards. Reliability Standards are one of the three 
principal mechanisms provided to FERC to ensure reliability on the 
Bulk-Power System.
     Reliability Compliance: Reliability Standards are 
mandatory and enforceable upon approval by FERC. In addition to the 
specific information collection requirements contained in each 
Reliability Standard (cleared under other information collections), 
there are general compliance, monitoring and enforcement information 
collection requirements imposed on applicable entities. Audits, spot 
checks, self-certifications, exception data submittals, violation 
reporting, and mitigation plan confirmation are included in this area.
     Stakeholder Survey: The ERO uses a stakeholder survey to 
solicit feedback from registered entities \2\ in preparation for its 
three year and five year self-performance assessment. The Commission 
assumes that the ERO will perform another survey prior to the 2019 
self- assessment.
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    \2\ A ``registered entity'' is an entity that is registered with 
the ERO. All Bulk-Power System owners, operators and users are 
required to register with the ERO. Registration is the basis for 
determining the Reliability Standards with which an entity must 
comply. See http://www.nerc.com/page.php?cid=3%7C25 for more 
details.
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     Other Reporting: This category refers to all other 
reporting requirements imposed on the ERO or regional entities in order 
to comply with the Commission's regulations. For example, FERC may 
require NERC to submit a special reliability assessment. This category 
is mentioned to capture these types of one-time filings required of 
NERC or the Regions.
    The Commission implements its responsibilities through 18 CFR part 
39. Without the FERC-725 information, the Commission, ERO, and Regional 
Entities will not have the data needed to determine whether sufficient 
and appropriate measures are being taken to ensure the reliability of 
the nation's electric grid.
    Type of Respondents: ERO and regional entities.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \3\ The Commission estimates the total 
Public Reporting Burden for this information collection as:
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    \3\ 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.
    \4\ In all instances below where the number of responses per 
respondent is ``1'' the Commission acknowledges that actual number 
of responses varies and cannot be estimated clearly.
    \5\ Uses the weighted hourly average wage (salary plus benefits) 
for electrical engineers and lawyers obtained from the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics (data for May 2014, posted on 4/1/2015 at http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm): $91.82/hour. The weighted 
average used the following calculation: [(0.20) * ($129.87) + (0.60) 
* ($66.45) + (0.2) * ($39.18)] = $73.68. $129.87/hour is the wage 
for lawyers. $66.45/hour is the wage for engineers. $39.17/hour is 
the wage for office and administrative support. Occupation codes are 
23-0000, 17-2071, and 43-0000 respectively.

                                    FERC-725: Certification of the ERO; Procedures for Electric Reliability Standards
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                                                                                                                                             Estimated
                                           Type of reporting                                 Number of     Total number   Average burden   total annual
          Type of respondent                  requirement         Number of  respondents   responses per         of       hours and cost    burden and
                                                                                             respondent      responses     per response        cost
                                                                 (A)....................          (B) \4\   (A) x (B) =              (D)       (C) x (D)
                                                                                                                    (C)
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Electric Reliability Organization      Self-Assessment.........  1......................               .2            .2            7,800           1,560
 (ERO) \1\.                                                                                                                 \5\ $574,704        $114,941
                                       Reliability Assessments.  .......................              5.5           5.5           15,600          85,800
                                                                                                                          \5\ $1,149,408      $6,321,744
                                       Reliability Compliance..  .......................                2             2           12,480          24,960
                                                                                                                            \5\ $919,526      $1,839,053
                                       Standards Development...  .......................                1             1           28,080          28,080
                                                                                                                          \6\ $1,865,916      $1,865,916
                                       Other Reporting.........  .......................                1             1            2,080           2,080
                                                                                                                            \7\ $270,130        $270,130
Regional Entities....................  Self-Assessment.........  8......................               .2           1.6           16,640          26,624
                                                                                                                          \6\ $1,105,728      $1,769,164
                                       Reliability Assessments.  .......................                1             8           15,600         124,800
                                                                                                                          \6\ $1,036,620      $8,292,960
                                       Reliability Compliance..  .......................                1             8           40,560         324,480
                                                                                                                          \5\ $2,988,461     $23,907,688
                                       Standards Development...  .......................                1             8            2,340          18,720
                                                                                                                            \6\ $155,493      $1,243,944
                                       Other Reporting.........  .......................                1             8            1,040           8,320
                                                                                                                            \7\ $135,065      $1,080,520
Registered Entities..................  Stakeholder Survey......  estimated 1,446........               .2           289                8           2,312
                                                                                                                                \5\ $589        $170,221
                                       Reliability Compliance..  .......................                1         1,446              400         578,400
                                                                                                                             \5\ $29,472     $42,616,512
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[[Page 68534]]

 
    Subtotals:
      ERO                                                                                                                                      * 142,480
      Regional                                                                        N/A                                                      * 502,944
      Registered                                                                                                                               * 580,712
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        Total Burden Hours...........                                                                                                        1,226,136 *
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        Total Cost...................                                                                                                        $89,492,791
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* hrs.

    Comments: Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the collection of 
information is 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 estimate of the burden and 
cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
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    \6\ Uses the hourly average wage (salary plus benefits) for 
electrical engineers obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 
(data for May 2014, posted on 4/1/2015 at http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm): $66.45/hour. Occupation code is 17-2071.
    \7\ Uses the hourly average wage (salary plus benefits) for 
lawyers obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (data for May 
2014, posted on 4/1/2015 at http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm): $129.87/hour. Occupation code is 23-0000.

    Dated: October 30, 2015.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-28211 Filed 11-4-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P