[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 15 (Monday, January 25, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4025-4026]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-01372]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Quadrennial Energy Review; Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY: Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis, Secretariat, 
Quadrennial Energy Review Task Force, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: At the direction of the President, the U.S. Department of 
Energy (DOE or Department), as the Secretariat for the Quadrennial 
Energy Review Task Force (QER Task Force), will convene a public 
meeting to introduce the topic of the second installment of the 
Quadrennial Energy Review, an integrated study of the U.S. electricity 
system from generation through end use. A mixture of panel discussions 
and a public comment period will frame multi-stakeholder discourse 
around deliberative analytical questions relating to the intersection 
of electricity and its role in promoting economic competitiveness, 
energy security, and environmental responsibility.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on February 4, 2016, beginning 
at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Written comments are welcome, especially 
following the public meeting, and should be submitted within 60 days of 
the meeting.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the United States Capitol 
Visitor Center Congressional Auditorium, in Washington, DC.
    Starting on February 4, 2016, you may submit written comments 
online at http://energy.gov/qer or by U.S. mail to the Office of Energy 
Policy and Systems Analysis, EPSA-60, QER Meeting Comments, U.S. 
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 
20585-0121.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Richards, EPSA-60, U.S. 
Department of Energy, Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis, 
1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: 
202-586-0507 Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 9, 2014, President Obama issued a 
Presidential Memorandum--Establishing a Quadrennial Energy Review. To 
accomplish this review, the Presidential Memorandum establishes a 
Quadrennial Energy Review Task Force to be co-chaired by the Director 
of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Director of the 
Domestic Policy Council. Under the Presidential Memorandum, the 
Secretary of Energy shall provide support to the Task Force, including 
support for coordination activities related to the preparation of the 
Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) Report, policy analysis and modeling, 
and stakeholder engagement.
    The Quadrennial Energy Review process itself involves robust 
engagement of federal agencies and outside stakeholders, and further 
enables the federal government to translate policy goals into a set of 
analytically based, integrated actions for proposed investments over a 
four year planning horizon. Unlike traditional federal Quadrennial 
Review processes, the QER is conducted in a multi-year installment 
series to allow for more focused analysis on particular sub-sectors of 
the energy system. The initial focus for the Quadrennial Energy Review 
was our Nation's transmission, storage and distribution infrastructures 
that link energy supplies to intermediate and end users, because these 
capital-intensive infrastructures tend to set supply and end use 
patterns, investments and practices in place for decades. On April 21, 
2015, the Quadrennial Energy Review Task Force released its first 
Quadrennial Energy Review installment report entitled, ``Energy 
Transmission, Storage, and Distribution Infrastructure''. Among the 
issues highlighted by the analysis in the first installment of the QER 
were the growing dependencies of all critical infrastructures and 
economic sectors on electricity, as well as, the increasing 
interdependence of the various energy subsectors. In response to these 
findings, and to provide an appropriate consideration of an energy 
sector undergoing significant technological and regulatory change, the 
second installment of the QER will conduct a comprehensive review of 
the nation's electricity system, from generation to end use, including 
a more comprehensive look at electricity transmission, storage, and 
distribution infrastructure covered in installment one. The electricity 
system encompasses not just physical structures, but also a range of 
actors and institutions. Under this broad framing, the second 
installment intends to consider the roles and activities of all 
relevant actors, industries, and institutions integral to continuing to 
supply reliable and affordable electricity at a time of dramatic change 
in technology development. Issues to be considered in QER analyses 
include fuel choices, distributed and centralized generation, physical 
and cyber vulnerabilities, federal, state, and local policy direction, 
expectations of residential and commercial consumers, and a review of 
existing and evolving business models for a range of entities 
throughout the system.
    Significant changes will be required to meet the transformational 
opportunities and challenges posed by our evolving electricity system. 
The Administration is seeking public input on key questions relating to 
possible federal actions that would address the challenges and take 
full advantage of the opportunities of this changing system to meet the 
Nation's objectives of reliable, affordable and clean electricity. Over 
the course of 2016, the Secretariat for the Quadrennial Energy Review 
Task Force will hold a series of public meetings to discuss and receive 
comments on the issues outlined above, and well as, others, as they 
relate to the second installment of the Quadrennial Energy Review.

[[Page 4026]]

    The Department of Energy has a broad role in energy policy 
development and the largest role in implementing the Federal 
Government's energy research and development portfolio. Many other 
executive departments and agencies also play key roles in developing 
and implementing policies governing energy resources and consumption, 
as well as, associated environmental impacts. In addition, non-Federal 
actors are crucial contributors to energy policies. Because most energy 
and related infrastructure is owned by private entities, investment by 
and engagement of, input from the private sector is necessary to 
develop and implement effective policies. State and local policies, the 
views of non-governmental, environmental, faith-based, labor, and other 
social organizations, and contributions from the academic and non-
profit sectors are also critical to the development and implementation 
of effective Federal energy policies.
    The interagency Quadrennial Energy Review Task Force, which 
includes members from all relevant executive departments and agencies, 
will develop an integrated review of energy policy that integrates all 
of these perspectives. It will build on the foundation provided in the 
Administration's Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future of March 30, 
2011, and Climate Action Plan released on June 25, 2013. The Task Force 
will offer recommendations on what additional actions it believes would 
be appropriate. These may include recommendations on additional 
executive or legislative actions to address the energy challenges and 
opportunities facing the Nation.

February 4, 2016: Quadrennial Energy Review Public Meeting

    On February 4, 2016, the DOE will hold a public meeting in 
Washington, DC on electricity from generation through end use. The 
meeting will feature facilitated panel discussions, followed by an open 
microphone session. People who would like to speak during the open 
microphone session at the public meeting should come prepared to speak 
for no more than five minutes and will be accommodated on a first-come, 
first-served basis, according to the order in which they register to 
speak on a sign-in sheet available at the meeting location, on the 
morning of the meeting.
    In advance of the meeting, DOE anticipates making publicly 
available a briefing memorandum providing useful background information 
regarding the topics under discussion at the meeting. DOE will post 
this memorandum on its Web site: http://energy.gov/qer.
    Submitting comments online. DOE will accept public comments on the 
QER from February 4, 2016, to July 1, 2016, at http://energy.gov/qer. 
Submitting comments online to the DOE Web site will require you to 
provide your name and contact information. Your contact information 
will be viewable to DOE staff only. Your first and last names, 
organization name (if any), and submitter representative name (if any), 
will be publicly viewable. Your contact information will be publicly 
viewable if you include it in the comment itself or in any documents 
attached to your comment. Any information that you do not want to be 
publicly viewable should not be included in your comment, nor in any 
document attached to your comment. Otherwise, persons viewing comments 
will see only first and last names, organization names, correspondence 
containing comments, and any documents submitted with the comments.
    Do not submit information for which disclosure is restricted by 
statute, such as trade secrets and commercial or financial information 
(hereinafter referred to as Confidential Business Information (CBI)). 
Comments submitted through the DOE Web site cannot be claimed as CBI. 
Comments received through the Web site will waive any CBI claims for 
the information submitted. For information on submitting CBI, see the 
Confidential Business Information section, below.
    If you do not want your personal contact information to be publicly 
viewable, do not include it in your comment or any accompanying 
documents. Instead, provide your contact information in a cover letter. 
Include your first and last names, email address, telephone number, and 
optional mailing address. The cover letter will not be publicly 
viewable as long as it does not include any comments.
    Include contact information each time you submit comments, data, 
documents, and other information to DOE. If you submit via mail or hand 
delivery/courier, please provide all items on a CD, if feasible, in 
which case it is not necessary to submit printed copies. No tele-
facsimiles (faxes) will be accepted.
    Comments, data, and other information submitted to DOE 
electronically should be provided in PDF (preferred), Microsoft Word or 
Excel, WordPerfect, or text (ASCII) file format. Provide documents that 
are not secured, written in English, and are free of any defects or 
viruses. Documents should not contain special characters or any form of 
encryption and, if possible, they should carry the electronic signature 
of the author.
    Confidential Business Information. Pursuant to 10 CFR 1004.11, any 
person submitting information that he or she believes to be 
confidential and exempt by law from public disclosure should submit via 
email, postal mail, or hand delivery/courier two well-marked copies: 
one copy of the document marked ``confidential'' including all the 
information believed to be confidential, and one copy of the document 
marked ``non-confidential'' with the information believed to be 
confidential deleted. Submit these documents via email or on a CD, if 
feasible. DOE will make its own determination about the confidential 
status of the information and treat it according to its determination. 
Confidential information should be submitted to the Confidential QER 
email address: [email protected].
    Factors of interest to DOE when evaluating requests to treat 
submitted information as confidential include: (1) a description of the 
items; (2) whether and why such items are customarily treated as 
confidential within the industry; (3) whether the information is 
generally known by or available from other sources; (4) whether the 
information has previously been made available to others without 
obligation concerning its confidentiality; (5) an explanation of the 
competitive injury to the submitting person which would result from 
public disclosure; (6) when such information might lose its 
confidential character due to the passage of time; and (7) why 
disclosure of the information would be contrary to the public interest. 
It is DOE's policy that all comments may be included in the public 
docket, without change and as received, including any personal 
information provided in the comments (except information deemed to be 
exempt from public disclosure).

Other Public QER Meetings

    Specific dates and locations will be announced in future Federal 
Register notices and on the DOE Web site at http://energy.gov/qer.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on January 19, 2016.
April Salas,
QER Secretariat Director, Quadrennial Energy Review Task Force, U.S. 
Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2016-01372 Filed 1-22-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P