[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 145 (Thursday, July 28, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 49590-49591]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-17853]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

18 CFR Part 35

[Docket No. RM15-23-000]


Collection of Connected Entity Data From Regional Transmission 
Organizations and Independent System Operators; Withdrawal

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Withdrawal of notice of proposed rulemaking and termination of 
rulemaking proceeding.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is 
withdrawing its proposal to amend its regulations to require each 
regional transmission organization and independent system operator to 
electronically deliver to the Commission, on an ongoing basis, data 
required from its market participants that would: Identify the market 
participants by means of a common alpha-numeric identifier; list their 
``Connected Entities;'' and describe in brief the nature of the 
relationship of each Connected Entity. The Commission is also 
concurrently issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in Docket No. 
RM16-17-000, which supersedes this proposal.

DATES: The notice of proposed rulemaking published on September 29, 
2015, at 80 FR 58382, is withdrawn as of July 28, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jamie Marcos, Office of Enforcement, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington, 
DC 20426, (202) 502-6628, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    1. On September 17, 2015, the Commission issued a Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) in this proceeding.\1\ For the reasons set 
forth below, we are exercising our discretion to withdraw the NOPR and 
terminate this rulemaking proceeding. The NOPR is superseded by the new 
proposal reflected in the concurrently issued NOPR on Data Collection 
for Analytics and Surveillance and Market-Based Rate Purposes (Data 
Collection NOPR).\2\
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    \1\ Collection of Connected Entity Data from Regional 
Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators, FERC 
Stats. & Regs. ] 32,711 (2015).
    \2\ Data Collection for Analytics and Surveillance and Market-
Based Rate Purposes, 156 FERC ] 61,045 (2016).

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[[Page 49591]]

    2. In the NOPR, the Commission proposed to amend its regulations to 
require each regional transmission organization and independent system 
operator to electronically deliver to the Commission, on an ongoing 
basis, data required from its market participants that would: (i) 
Identify the market participants by means of a common alpha-numeric 
identifier; (ii) list their ``Connected Entities,'' which included 
entities that have certain ownership, employment, debt, or contractual 
relationships with the market participants; and (iii) describe in brief 
the nature of the relationship of each Connected Entity. The Commission 
proposed to collect such information to assist with its screening and 
investigative efforts to detect market manipulation. The Commission has 
since developed a new proposal, as reflected in the concurrently issued 
Data Collection NOPR, which is substantially narrower than the proposal 
in the instant NOPR, and streamlines and consolidates the collection of 
market-based rate information with new information proposed to be 
collected for analytics and surveillance purposes. Among other things, 
in the Data Collection NOPR, the Commission proposes to require market-
based rate sellers and certain market participants in Commission-
jurisdictional organized electric markets to submit certain, defined 
information about their financial and legal connections to other 
entities. While the Data Collection NOPR proposes to collect similar 
information to that which was proposed in the NOPR in this proceeding, 
this new proposal presents substantial revisions, thereby superseding 
the proposal in the instant NOPR.
    3. The Commission therefore withdraws the NOPR and terminates this 
rulemaking proceeding.

    By direction of the Commission.

    Dated: July 21, 2016.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-17853 Filed 7-27-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P