[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 88 (Tuesday, May 9, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21538-21541]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-09341]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. RD17-5-000 and IC17-6-000]


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

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of revised information collection 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 revisions to the information 
collection, FERC-725E (Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Western 
Electric Coordinating Council) and will be submitting FERC-725E to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review of the information 
collection requirements.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due July 10, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket Nos. RD17-5-000 
and IC17-6-000 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], telephone at (202) 502-8663, and fax at (202) 
273-0873.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: FERC-725E, Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Western 
Electric Coordinating Council.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0246.
    Type of Request: Three-year approval of the FERC-725E information 
collection requirements, as modified by Docket No. RD17-5-000.
    Abstract: The information collected by the FERC-725E is required to 
implement the statutory provisions of section 215 of the Federal Power 
Act (FPA) (16 U.S.C. 824o). Section 215 of the FPA buttresses the 
Commission's efforts to strengthen the reliability of the interstate 
grid through the grant of new authority by providing for a system of 
mandatory Reliability Standards developed by the Electric Reliability 
Organization (ERO). Reliability Standards that the ERO proposes to the 
Commission may include Reliability Standards that are proposed to the 
ERO by a Regional Entity.\1\ A Regional Entity is an entity that has 
been approved by the Commission to enforce Reliability Standards under 
delegated authority from the ERO.\2\ On June 8, 2008, the Commission 
approved eight regional Reliability Standards submitted by the ERO that 
were proposed by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council 
(WECC).\3\
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    \1\ 16 U.S.C. 824o(e)(4).
    \2\ 16 U.S.C. 824o(a)(7) and (e)(4).
    \3\ North American Electric Reliability Corp., 119 FERC 61,260 
(2007).
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    WECC promotes bulk electric system reliability in the Western 
Interconnection. WECC is the Regional Entity responsible for compliance 
monitoring and enforcement. In addition, WECC provides an environment 
for the development of Reliability Standards and the coordination of 
the operating and planning activities of its members as set forth in 
the WECC Bylaws.
    There are several regional Reliability Standards in the WECC 
region. These regional Reliability Standards generally require entities 
to document compliance with substantive requirements, retain 
documentation, and submit reports to WECC.
    BAL-002-WECC-2a (Contingency Reserve) \4\ requires balancing 
authorities and reserve sharing groups to document compliance with the 
contingency reserve requirements described in the standard.
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    \4\ BAL-002-WECC-2 is included in the OMB-approved inventory for 
FERC-725E. On November 9, 2016, NERC and WECC submitted a joint 
petition for approval of an interpretation of BAL-002-WECC-2, to be 
designated BAL-002-WECC-2a. BAL-002-WECC-2a was approved by order in 
Docket No. RD17-3-000 on January 24, 2017. The Order determined: The 
proposed interpretation provides clarification regarding the types 
of resources that may be used to satisfy Contingency Reserve 
requirements in regional Reliability Standard BAL-002-WECC-2. BAL-
002-WECC-2a did not trigger the Paperwork Reduction Act and did not 
affect the burden estimate. BAL-002-WECC-2a is being included in 
this Notice and the Commission's submittal to OMB as part of the 
FERC-725E.
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     BAL-004-WECC-02 (Automatic Time Error Correction) requires 
balancing authorities to document that time error corrections and 
primary inadvertent interchange payback were conducted according the 
requirements in the standard.
     FAC-501-WECC-1 (Transmission Maintenance) requires 
transmission owners with certain transmission paths to have a 
transmission maintenance and inspection plan and to document 
maintenance and inspection activities according to the plan.
     IRO-006-WECC-2 (Qualified Transfer Path Unscheduled Flow 
(USF) Relief) \5\ requires balancing authorities and reliability 
coordinators document actions taken to mitigate unscheduled flow.
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    \5\ On December 20, 2013, NERC and WECC submitted a joint 
petition for approval of IRO-006-WECC-2 and retirement of IRO-006-
WECC-1. IRO-006-WECC-2 was approved by order in Docket No. RD14-9-
000 on May 13, 2014. Because the reporting burden for IRO-006-WECC-2 
did not increase for entities that operate within the Western 
Interconnection, FERC submitted the order to OMB for information 
only. The burden related to IRO-006-WECC-2 does not differ from the 
burden of IRO-006-WECC-1, which is included in the OMB-approved 
inventory. IRO-006-WECC-2 is being included in this Notice and the 
Commission's submittal to OMB as part of FERC-725E.
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     PRC-004-WECC-2 (Protection System and Remedial Action 
Scheme Misoperation) \6\ requires transmission owners, generator owners 
and transmission operators to document their analysis and/or mitigation 
due to certain misoperations on major transfer

[[Page 21539]]

paths. This standard requires that documentation be kept for six years.
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    \6\ Order No. 818, issued on November 19, 2015 in Docket Nos. 
RM15-7, RM15-12, and RM15-13, stated in part: ``NERC requested 
approval of the following Reliability Standards to incorporate the 
proposed definition of Remedial Action Scheme and eliminate use of 
the term Special Protection System: . . . PRC-004-WECC-2, . . . NERC 
did not propose any changes to the Violation Risk Factors or 
Violation Severity Levels for the modified standards.'' Revisions to 
Emergency Operations Reliability Standards; Revisions to 
Undervoltage Load Shedding Reliability Standards; Revisions to the 
Definition of ``Remedial Action Scheme'' and Related Reliability 
Standards, Order No. 818, 153 FERC ] 61,228, at P 23 n.31 (2015). In 
addition, Order No. 818 stated: ``The Commission approved the 
definition of Special Protection System (Remedial Action Scheme) in 
Order No. 693. We approve a revision to the previously approved 
definition. The revisions to the Remedial Action Scheme definition 
and related Reliability Standards are not expected to result in 
changes to the scope of systems covered by the Reliability Standards 
and other Reliability Standards that include the term Remedial 
Action Scheme. Therefore, the Commission does not expect the 
revisions to affect applicable entities' current reporting burden.'' 
Id. P 67. The change to the definition did not affect the burden of 
PRC-004-WECC-1 (which is included in the current OMB-approved 
inventory). PRC-004-WECC-2 (the current version of the standard) is 
being included in this Notice and the Commission's submittal to OMB 
as part of the FERC-725E.
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     VAR-002-WECC-2 (Automatic Voltage Regulators (AVR)) \7\ 
requires generator operators and transmission operators to provide 
quarterly reports to the compliance monitor and have evidence related 
to their synchronous generators, synchronous condensers, and automatic 
voltage regulators.
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    \7\ VAR-002-WECC-2 was approved by order in Docket No. RD15-1 on 
March 3, 2015. Regional Reliability Standard VAR-002-WECC-2 made a 
non-material or non-substantive change to the reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements associated with VAR-002-WECC-1 (currently 
included in the OMB-approved inventory). VAR-002-WECC-2 (the current 
version of the standard) is being included in this Notice and the 
Commission's submittal to OMB as part of FERC-725E.
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    The associated reporting and recordkeeping requirements included in 
the standards above are not being revised, and the Commission will be 
submitting a request to OMB to extend these requirements for three 
years. The Commission's request to OMB will also reflect the following:
     Eliminating the burden associated with regional 
Reliability Standard TOP-007-WECC-1a, which is being retired (addressed 
in Docket No. RD16-10); \8\ and
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    \8\ The Commission approved the retirement of regional 
Reliability Standard TOP-007-WECC-1a (System Operating Limits (SOL)) 
by order in Docket No. RD16-10-000 on March 10, 2017. On March 31, 
2017, the Commission issued a 60-day Notice requesting public 
comment on the effect on burden. The Notice is available at 82 FR 
16823 (April 6, 2017). Comments are due in Docket No. RD16-10-000 by 
June 5, 2017. See Docket No. RD16-10-000 for additional information 
(including the estimated annual burden reduction of 1,188 hours).
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     Implementing the regional Reliability Standard VAR-501-
WECC-3 and the retirement of regional Reliability Standard VAR-501-
WECC-2 (addressed in Docket No. RD17-5 and discussed below).
    On March 10, 2017, NERC and WECC filed a joint petition in Docket 
No. RD17-5-000 \9\ requesting Commission approval of: (a) Regional 
Reliability Standard VAR-501-WECC-3 (Power System Stabilizers), and (b) 
the retirement of then-existing regional Reliability Standard VAR-501-
WECC-2. The petition states: ``Regional Reliability Standard VAR-501-
WECC-3 establishes the performance criteria for power system 
stabilizers to help ensure the Western Interconnection is operated in a 
coordinated manner under normal and abnormal conditions.'' VAR-501-
WECC-3 was approved by order in Docket No. RD17-5-000 on April 28, 
2017. In this document, we provide estimates of the burden and cost 
related to those revisions to FERC-725E.
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    \9\ The joint petition and exhibits are posted in the 
Commission's eLibrary system in Docket No. RD17-5-000.
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    Type of Respondents: Balancing authorities, reserve sharing groups, 
transmission owners, reliability coordinators, transmission operators, 
generator operators, and generator owners.
    Estimate of Annual Burden \10\: Details follow on the changes in 
Docket No. RD17-5-000, and on the continuing burdens, which will be 
submitted to OMB for approval in a consolidated package under FERC-
725E.
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    \10\ Burden is defined 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, refer to 5 Code of Federal Regulations 1320.3.
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    Estimate of Changes to Burden Due to Docket No. RD17-5: The joint 
petition requested Commission approval of regional Reliability Standard 
VAR-501-WECC-3 and retirement of then-existing regional Reliability 
Standard VAR-501-WECC-2. The estimated effects on burden and cost \11\ 
are as follow:
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    \11\ For VAR-501-WECC-3, the hourly cost (for salary plus 
benefits) uses the figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 
three positions involved in the reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements. These figures include salary (http://bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm) and benefits (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm) and are:
     Manager: $89.07/hour
     Engineer: $64.91/hour
     File Clerk: $31.19/hour
    The hourly cost for the reporting requirements ($76.99) is an 
average of the cost of a manager and engineer. The hourly cost for 
recordkeeping requirements uses the cost of a file clerk.

                                   FERC-725E, Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Western Electric Coordinating Council, Changes in Docket No. RD17-5-000
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                                                        Annual  number
                                           Number of     of  responses   Annual  number   Average burden hrs. &  cost per      Total annual  burden hours &
                Entity                    respondents         per        of  responses             response  ($)                  total annual cost  ($)            Cost per respondent  ($)
                                             \12\         respondent
                                                   (1)             (2)  (1) * (2) = (3)  (4)..............................  (3) * (4) = (5)..................  (5) / (1) = (6)
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                                                             Retirement Of Former Standard VAR-501-WECC-2 and Associated Reductions
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Reporting Requirements (Annually)
Generator Operators...................             249               4              996  1 hr.; $76.22....................  996 hrs.; $75,915.12 (reduction).  $304.88 (reduction)
Recordkeeping Requirements (Annually)
Generator Operators...................             249               4              996  0.5 hrs.; $31.19.................  498 hrs.; $15,532.62 (reduction).  $62.38 (reduction)
Reductions (Annually).................  ..............  ..............  ...............  .................................  1,494 hrs.; $91,447.74             .................................
                                                                                                                             (reduction).
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                                                                                   New Standard VAR-501-WECC-3
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Reporting Requirements................
Generator Owners and/or Operators, in              291               3              873  1 hr.; $76.99....................  873 hrs.; $67,212.27.............  $230.97
 Year 1.
Generator Owners and/or Operators, in              291               2              582  1 hr.; $76.99....................  582 hrs.; $44,808.18.............  $153.98
 Year 2 and Ongoing.
Recordkeeping Requirements
Generator Owners and/or Operators, in              291               3              873  1 hr.; $31.19....................  873 hrs.; $27,228.87.............  $93.57
 Year 1.
Generator Owners and/or Operators, in              291               2              582  0.5 hrs.; $15.595................  291 hrs.; $9,076.29..............  $31.19
 Year 2 and Ongoing.
New Burden, in Year 1.................  ..............  ..............  ...............  .................................  1,746 hrs.; $94,441.14...........  .................................
New Burden, in Year 2 & Ongoing.......  ..............  ..............  ...............  .................................  873 hrs.; $53,884.47.............  .................................
Net Burden Change in Year 1...........  ..............  ..............  ...............  .................................  +252 hrs (increase)..............  .................................

[[Page 21540]]

 
Net Burden Change in Year 2 and         ..............  ..............  ...............  .................................  -621 hrs. (decrease).............  .................................
 Ongoing.
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    Estimate of Continuing Annual Burden for Renewal and New 
Reliability Standard VAR-501-WECC-3: \13\ The Commission estimates the 
annual public reporting burden and cost \14\ as follows for FERC-725E. 
(This information will be submitted to OMB for approval.) These 
estimates reflect:
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    \12\ The number of respondents is derived from the NERC 
Compliance Registry as of March 10, 2017.
    \13\ The Commission is also removing 36 one-time burden hours 
associated with the requirements in Docket No. RM13-13. The one-time 
burden has been completed and will now be administratively removed 
on submittal to OMB. Those hours are not included in the table.
    \14\ The hourly cost (for salary plus benefits) uses the figures 
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for three positions involved in 
the reporting and recordkeeping requirements. These figures include 
salary (http://bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm) and other 
associated benefits (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm) 
and are:
     Manager: $89.07/hour
     Engineer: $64.91/hour
     File Clerk: $31.19/hour
    The hourly cost for the reporting requirements ($76.99) is an 
average of the cost of a manager and engineer. The hourly cost for 
recordkeeping requirements uses the cost of a file clerk.
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     Reliability Standards in FERC-725E which continue and 
remain unchanged (BAL-002-WECC-2a, BAL-004-WECC-02, FAC-501-WECC-1, 
IRO-006-WECC-2, PRC-004-WECC-2, and VAR-002-WECC-2);
     Removal of burden due to the retirement of TOP-007-WECC-1a 
(discussed in Docket No. RD16-10-000)
     Additional burden due to VAR-501-WECC-3, and removal of 
burden due to the retirement of VAR-501-WECC-2 (detailed above and in 
Docket No. RD17-5-000).
    (The burdens and costs related to TOP-007-WECC-1a and VAR-501-WECC-
2 [the standards being retired] are omitted from the table below, which 
describes the new and continuing information collection requirements.)

                                                    FERC-725E, Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Western Electric Coordinating Council
                                                                    [New and Continuing Information Collection Requirements]
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                                           Number of     Annual number
                Entity                    respondents    of responses    Annual number     Average burden hrs. & cost per      Total annual  burden hours &         Cost per respondent  ($)
                                             \15\       per respondent    of responses             response  ($)                  total annual cost  ($)
                                                   (1)             (2)    (1)*(2) = (3)  (4)..............................  (3)*(4) = (5)....................  (5)/(1) = (6)
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                                                                                     Reporting Requirements
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Balancing Authorities.................              34               1               34  21 hrs., $1,616.79...............  714 hrs., $54,970.86.............  $1,616.79
Generator Operators...................             228               1              228  10 hrs., $769.90.................  2,280 hrs., $175,537.20..........  $769.90
Transmission Operators applicable to                86               4              344  10 hrs., $769.90.................  3,440 hrs., $264,845.60..........  $769.90
 standard VAR-002.
Transmission Owners that operate                     5               3               15  40 hrs., $3,079.60...............  600 hrs., $46,194.00.............  $3,079.60
 qualified transfer paths.
Reliability Coordinators..............               1               1                1  1 hr., $76.99....................  1 hr., $76.99....................  $76.99
Reserve Sharing Group.................               3               1                3  1 hr., $76.99....................  3 hrs., $230.97..................  $76.99
Generator Owners and/or Operators , in             291               3              873  1 hr.; $76.99....................  873 hrs.; $67,212.27.............  $230.97
 Year 1, per RD17-5 for VAR-501-WECC-3.
Generator Owners and/or Operators, in              291               2              582  1 hr.; $76.99....................  582 hrs.; $44,808.18.............  $153.98
 Year 2 and Ongoing, per RD17-5 for
 VAR-501-WECC-3.
    Sub-Total for Reporting             ..............  ..............  ...............  .................................  7,911 hrs.; $609,067.89..........  .................................
     Requirement in Year 1.
    Sub-Total for Reporting             ..............  ..............  ...............  .................................  7,620 hrs.; $586,663.80..........  .................................
     Requirement Burden in Year 2 &
     ongoing.
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                                                                                   Recordkeeping Requirements
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Balancing Authorities.................              34               1               34  2.1 hrs., $65.50.................  71.4 hrs., $2,226.97.............  $65.50
Balancing Authorities (IRO-006).......              34               1               34  1 hr., $31.19....................  34 hrs., $1,060.46...............  $31.19
Generator Operators...................             228               1              228  1 hr., $31.19....................  228 hrs., $7,111.32..............  $31.19
Transmission Operator (VAR-002).......              86               1               86  4 hrs., $124.76..................  344 hrs., $10,729.36.............  $124.76
Transmission Owner that operate                      5               1                5  12 hrs., $374.28.................  60 hrs., $1,871.40...............  $374.28
 qualified transfer paths.
Reliability Coordinator...............               1               1                1  1 hr.; $31.19....................  1 hr.; $31.19....................  $31.19
Generator Owners and/or Operators, in              291               3              873  1 hr.; $31.19....................  873 hrs.; $27,228.87.............  $93.57
 Year 1, per RD17-5 for VAR-501-WECC-3.

[[Page 21541]]

 
Generator Owners and/or Operators, in              291               2              582  0.5 hrs.; $15.595................  291 hrs.; $9,076.29..............  $31.19
 Year 2 and Ongoing, per RD17-5 for
 VAR-501-WECC-3.
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    Sub-Total for Recordkeeping         ..............  ..............  ...............  .................................  1,611.4 hrs.; $50,259.57.........  .................................
     Requirements in Yr. 1.
    Sub-Total for Recordkeeping         ..............  ..............  ...............  .................................  1,029.4 hrs.; $32,106.99.........  .................................
     Requirements in Yr. 2 & ongoing.
        TOTAL FOR FERC-725E, IN YR. 1.  ..............  ..............  ...............  .................................  9,522.4 hrs.; $659,327.46........  .................................
        TOTAL FOR FERC-725E, IN YR. 2   ..............  ..............  ...............  .................................  8,649.4 hrs.; $618,770.79........  .................................
         & ONGOING.
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    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.

    Dated: May 3, 2017.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-09341 Filed 5-8-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P