[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 61 (Wednesday, March 30, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17690-17692]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-07170]
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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 meetings and updated meeting locations.
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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 public meetings
for 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. This document announces that the Atlanta meeting which
was originally scheduled for March 31 will now be held on May 24.
DATES: The public meetings will be held on April 15, 2016 in Boston,
Massachusetts at 9:30 a.m.; April 25, 2016 in Salt Lake City, Utah at
8:30 a.m.; May 6, 2016 in Des Moines, Iowa; May 9, 2016 in Austin,
Texas; May 10, 2016 in Los Angeles, California; and May 24, 2016 in
Atlanta, Georgia. Written comments are welcome, especially following
the public meetings, and should be submitted within 60 days of the
meetings, but no later than July 1, 2016.
ADDRESSES: The April 15, 2016, QER meeting in Boston will take place at
the Marriott Long Wharf, Salons DEFL, 296 State Street, Boston,
Massachusetts. The April 25 QER meeting in Salt Lake City will take
place at Western Electricity Coordinating Council, 155 North 400 West,
Suite 200, Salt Lake City, Utah. Additional QER meeting locations and
addresses will be announced when they are available, in Federal
Register notices and at http://energy.gov/qer">energy.gov/qer.
Between February 4, 2016 and July 1, 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)
[[Page 17691]]
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.
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.
Quadrennial Energy Review Public Meetings
This document announces that the Atlanta meeting which was
originally scheduled (81 FR 12885, March 11, 2016) for March 31 will
now be held on May 24. The DOE will hold public meetings on electricity
from generation through end use, in the following cities:
Boston, Massachusetts, April 15, 2016
Salt Lake City, Utah, April 25, 2016
Des Moines, Iowa, May 6, 2016
Austin, Texas, May 9, 2016
Los Angeles, California, May 10, 2016
Atlanta, Georgia, May 24 2016
Each 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 meetings, 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://
http://energy.gov/qer">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">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 contact information will not
be publicly viewable except for your first and last names, organization
name (if any), and submitter representative name (if any). 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
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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
telefacsimiles (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).
Issued in Washington, DC, on March 25, 2016.
April Salas,
QER Secretariat Director, Quadrennial Energy Review Task Force, U.S.
Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2016-07170 Filed 3-29-16; 8:45 am]
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