[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 158 (Tuesday, August 16, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54574-54575]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-19469]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. Ic16-14-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-604 and FERC-
923); Consolidated Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

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, 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 October 17, 
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2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC16-14-
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: 
    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-604, Cash Management Agreements

    OMB Control No.: 1902-0267.
    Abstract: Cash management or ``money pool'' programs typically 
concentrate affiliates' cash assets in joint accounts for the purpose 
of providing financial flexibility and lowering the cost of borrowing.
    In a 2001 investigation, FERC staff found that balances in cash 
management programs affecting FERC-regulated entities totaled 
approximately $16 billion. Additionally, other investigations revealed 
large transfers of funds (amounting to more than $1 billion) between 
regulated pipeline affiliates and non-regulated parents whose financial 
conditions were precarious. The Commission found that these and other 
fund transfers and the enormous (mostly unregulated) pools of money in 
cash management programs could detrimentally affect regulated rates.
    To protect customers and promote transparency, the Commission 
issued Order 634-A (2003) requiring entities to formalize in writing 
and file with the Commission their cash management agreements. At that 
time, the Commission obtained OMB clearance for this new reporting 
requirement under the FERC-555 information collection (OMB Control No. 
1902-0098). Now, the Commission includes these reporting requirements 
for cash management agreements under the FERC-604 information 
collection (OMB Control No. 1902-0267). The Commission implemented 
these reporting requirements in 18 CFR parts 141.500, 260.400, and 
357.5.
    Type of Respondent: Public utilities, natural gas companies, and 
oil pipeline companies.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden for the information collection as:

                                      FERC-604--Cash Management Agreements
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                        Annual number                    Average burden &        Total annual        Cost per
      Number of         of responses    Total number    cost per  response     burden hours  &      respondent
     respondents       per respondent   of responses            \2\           total annual cost         ($)
(1)                               (2)   (1)*(2) = (3)  (4).................  (3)*(4) = (5)......       (5) / (1)
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25...................               1              25  1.5 hrs.; $111.75...  37.5 hrs.;                   111.75
                                                                              $2,793.75.
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FERC-923, Communication of Operational Information Between Natural Gas 
Pipelines and Electric Transmission Operators
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    \2\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the 
following formula: Average Burden Hours per Response * $74.50 per 
Hour = Average Cost per Response. The Commission staff believes that 
the industry's level and skill set is comparable to FERC's with an 
average hourly cost (wages plus benefits) of $74.50.
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    OMB Control No.: 1902-0265.
    Abstract: In 2013, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC 
or Commission) revised its regulations to provide explicit authority to 
interstate natural gas pipelines and public utilities that own, 
operate, or control facilities used for the transmission of electric 
energy in interstate commerce to voluntarily share non-public, 
operational information with each other

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for the purpose of promoting reliable service and operational planning 
on either the pipeline's or public utility's system. This helps ensure 
the reliability of natural gas pipeline and public utility transmission 
service by permitting transmission operators to share the information 
with each other that they deem necessary to promote the reliability and 
integrity of their systems. FERC removed actual or perceived 
prohibitions to the information sharing and communications between 
industry entities. The communications of information are not and will 
not be submitted to FERC. Rather, the non-public information is shared 
voluntarily between industry entities. FERC does not prescribe the 
content, medium, format, or frequency for the information sharing and 
communications. Those decisions are made by the industry entities, 
depending on their needs and the situation.
    Type of Respondent: Natural gas pipelines and public utilities.
    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 * $74.50 per 
Hour = Average Cost per Response. The Commission staff believes that 
the industry's level and skill set is comparable to FERC's with an 
average hourly cost (wages plus benefits) of $74.50.
    \4\ The estimate for the number of respondents is based on the 
North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Compliance 
Registry as of July 29, 2016, minus the Transmission Operators 
within ERCOT.

                  FERC-923--Communication of Operational Information Between Natural Gas Pipelines and Electric Transmission Operators
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                                                  Annual number
                                    Number of     of responses    Total number    Average burden  & cost   Total annual  burden hours  &     Cost per
                                   respondents   per respondent   of responses       per  response \3\           total annual cost        respondent ($)
                                            (1)             (2)   (1)*(2) = (3)  (4).....................  (3)*(4) = (5)................       (5) / (1)
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Public Utility Transmission             \4\ 164              12           1,968  0.5 hrs.; $37.25........  984 hrs.; $73,308............             447
 Operator, communications.
Interstate Natural Gas                      155              12           1,860  0.5 hrs.; $37.25........  930 hrs.; $69,285............             447
 Pipelines, communications.
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    Total......................  ..............  ..............           3,828  ........................  1,914 hrs.; $142,593.........  ..............
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    Dated: August 10, 2016.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-19469 Filed 8-15-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P