[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 24, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3268-3272]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-01246]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

18 CFR Part 40

[Docket No. RM17-12-000; Order No. 840]


Emergency Preparedness and Operations Reliability Standards

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approves Emergency 
Preparedness and Operations (EOP) Reliability Standards EOP-004-4 
(Event Reporting), EOP-005-3 (System Restoration from Blackstart 
Resources), EOP-006-3 (System Restoration Coordination), and EOP-008-2 
(Loss of Control Center Functionality).

DATES: This rule will become effective March 26, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

E. Nick Henery (Technical Information), Office of Electric 
Reliability, Division of Reliability Standards and Security, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 
20426, Telephone: (202) 502-8636, [email protected].
Bob Stroh (Legal Information), Office of the General Counsel, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, 
Washington, DC 20426, Telephone: (202) 502-8473, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Before Commissioners: Kevin J. McIntyre, 
Chairman; Cheryl A. LaFleur, Neil Chatterjee, Robert F. Powelson, and 
Richard Glick.
    1. Pursuant to section 215 of the Federal Power Act (FPA),\1\ the 
Commission approves Emergency Preparedness and Operations (EOP) 
Reliability Standards EOP-004-4 (Event Reporting), EOP-005-3 (System 
Restoration from Blackstart Resources), EOP-006-3 (System Restoration 
Coordination), and EOP-008-2 (Loss of Control Center Functionality), 
submitted by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation 
(NERC), the Commission-certified Electric Reliability Organization 
(ERO). The Commission also approves the associated violation risk 
factors, violation severity levels, implementation plans, and effective 
dates. In addition, the Commission approves the retirement of 
currently-effective Reliability Standards EOP-004-3, EOP-005-2, EOP-
006-2, and EOP-008-1 immediately prior to the effective dates of the 
EOP Reliability Standards.
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    \1\ 16 U.S.C. 824(o). The approved Reliability Standards are 
available on the Commission's eLibrary document retrieval system in 
Docket No. RM17-12-000 and on the NERC website, www.nerc.com.
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    2. The Commission determines that the approved EOP Reliability 
Standards will enhance reliability by: (1) Providing accurate reporting 
of events to NERC's event analysis group to analyze the impact on the 
reliability of the bulk electric system (Reliability Standard EOP-004-
4); (2) delineating the roles and responsibilities of entities that 
support system restoration from blackstart resources which generate 
power without the support of the bulk electric system (Reliability 
Standard EOP-005-3); (3) clarifying the procedures and coordination 
requirements for reliability coordinator personnel to execute system 
restoration processes (Reliability Standard EOP-006-3); and (4) 
refining the required elements of an operating plan used to continue 
reliable operations of the bulk electric system in the event that 
primary control center functionality is lost (Reliability Standard EOP-
008-2).

I. Background

A. Regulatory Background

    3. Section 215 of the FPA requires a Commission-certified ERO to 
develop mandatory and enforceable Reliability Standards that are 
subject to Commission review and approval. The Commission may approve, 
by rule or order, a proposed Reliability Standard or modification to a 
Reliability Standard if it determines that the Reliability Standard is 
just, reasonable, not unduly discriminatory or preferential and in the 
public interest.\2\ Once approved, the Reliability Standards may be 
enforced by the ERO, subject to Commission oversight, or by the 
Commission independently.\3\
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    \2\ Id. 824o(d)(2).
    \3\ Id. 824o(e).
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    4. Pursuant to section 215 of the FPA, the Commission established a 
process to select and certify an ERO,\4\ and subsequently certified 
NERC.\5\ On March 16, 2007, the Commission issued Order No. 693, 
approving 83 of the 107 Reliability Standards filed by NERC,

[[Page 3269]]

including the initial EOP Reliability Standards.\6\
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    \4\ Rules Concerning Certification of the Electric Reliability 
Organization; and Procedures for the Establishment, Approval, and 
Enforcement of Electric Reliability Standards, Order No. 672, FERC 
Stats. & Regs. ] 31,204, order on reh'g, Order No. 672-A, FERC 
Stats. & Regs. ] 31,212 (2006).
    \5\ North American Electric Reliability Corp., 116 FERC ] 
61,062, order on reh'g and compliance, 117 FERC ] 61,126 (2006), 
aff'd sub nom. Alcoa, Inc. v. FERC, 564 F.3d 1342 (D.C. Cir. 2009).
    \6\ Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System, 
Order No. 693, 72 FR 16416 (Apr. 4, 2007), FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 
31,242, at P 297, order on reh'g, Order No. 693-A, 120 FERC ] 61,053 
(2007).
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B. NERC Petition

    5. On March 27, 2017, NERC filed a petition seeking approval of the 
proposed EOP Reliability Standards and retirement of currently-
effective Reliability Standards EOP-004-3, EOP-005-2, EOP-006-2, and 
EOP-008-1. NERC indicated that the revisions were intended to: (1) 
Streamline the currently-effective EOP Reliability Standards; (2) 
remove redundancies and other unnecessary language while making the 
Reliability Standards more results-based; \7\ and (3) address the 
Commission's concern articulated in Order No. 749 regarding system 
restoration training.\8\
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    \7\ North American Electric Reliability Corp., 138 FERC ] 
61,193, at P 81 (March 2012 Order), order on reh'g and 
clarification, 139 FERC ] 61,168 (2012). The March 2012 Order 
approved a NERC process to identify requirements that could be 
removed from Reliability Standards without impacting the reliability 
of the interconnected transmission network.
    \8\ System Restoration Reliability Standards, Order No. 749, 134 
FERC ] 61,215, at PP 18, 24 (2011).
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C. Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Comments

    6. On September 20, 2017, the Commission issued a Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking proposing to approve the EOP Reliability Standards 
submitted by NERC.\9\ In the NOPR the Commission indicated that 
Reliability Standard EOP-004-4 will enhance reliability by assigning 
reporting responsibilities to appropriate entities and clarifying the 
threshold reporting for a given event. In addition, the Commission 
proposed to find that Reliability Standard EOP-004-4 promotes 
efficiency and clarity by eliminating redundant reporting of a single 
event by multiple entities. The Commission also proposed to determine 
that Reliability Standards EOP-005-3, EOP-006-3, and EOP-008-2 will 
enhance reliability by delineating the roles and responsibilities of 
entities that support system restoration from blackstart resources; 
clarifying the procedures and coordination requirements for reliability 
coordinator personnel to execute system restoration processes; and 
refining the contents of an operating plan used by reliability 
coordinators, balancing authorities, and transmission operators to 
maintain the reliability of the bulk electric system in the event that 
primary control center functionality is lost.
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    \9\ Emergency Preparedness and Operations Reliability Standards, 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 82 FR 44746 (Sept. 26, 2017), 160 
FERC ] 61,072 (2017) (NOPR).
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    7. NERC, Edison Electric Institute (EEI), and Magnum CAES, LLC 
(Magnum) filed comments in response to the NOPR either supporting or 
taking no position on the NOPR proposal. NERC and EEI request that the 
Commission adopt the NOPR proposal to approve the EOP Reliability 
Standards. Magnum states that it does not take a specific position on 
the EOP Reliability Standards but believes that they are important 
tools in maintaining grid safety and reliability.

II. Discussion

    8. Pursuant to FPA section 215(d)(2), the Commission approves 
Reliability Standards EOP-004-4, EOP-005-3, EOP-006-3, and EOP-008-2 as 
just, reasonable, not unduly discriminatory or preferential, and in the 
public interest. The Commission also approves the associated violation 
risk factors, violation severity levels, implementation plans, and 
effective dates. Further, the Commission approves the retirement of 
currently-effective Reliability Standards EOP-004-3, EOP-005-2, EOP-
006-2, and EOP-008-1 immediately prior to the effective dates of the 
approved EOP Reliability Standards.
    9. The Commission determines that Reliability Standard EOP-004-4 
will enhance reliability by assigning reporting responsibilities to 
appropriate entities and clarifying the threshold reporting for a given 
event. In addition, aligning the reportable events and thresholds, 
where appropriate, identified in Attachments 1 and 2 of the Reliability 
Standard with the Department of Energy's Form OE-417 will improve the 
quality of information received by NERC and, as a result, the quality 
of analysis that NERC produces to assess the greatest risks to the bulk 
electric system. Further, Reliability Standard EOP-004-4 promotes 
efficiency and clarity by eliminating redundant reporting of a single 
event by multiple entities. The Commission determines that Reliability 
Standards EOP-005-3, EOP-006-3, and EOP-008-2 will enhance reliability 
by delineating the roles and responsibilities of entities that support 
system restoration from blackstart resources; clarifying the procedures 
and coordination requirements for reliability coordinator personnel to 
execute system restoration processes; and refining the contents of an 
operating plan used by reliability coordinators, balancing authorities, 
and transmission operators to maintain the reliability of the BES in 
the event that primary control center functionality is lost.
    10. As discussed in the NOPR, under currently-effective Reliability 
Standard EOP-004-3, Attachment 1, reliability coordinators must report 
to NERC when they operate outside of their interconnection reliability 
operating limit (IROL) for greater than ``Tv'' (defined as 
less than or equal to 30 minutes). NERC proposed to eliminate the IROL 
violation reporting requirement in Attachment 1 of Reliability Standard 
EOP-004-4 because, according to NERC, Reliability Standard EOP-004 is 
primarily a tool for trending analysis and developing lessons learned 
and not designed to be a real-time tool. NERC stated that any real-time 
reporting to NERC or Regional Entities (i.e., contemporaneous with the 
transmission operator's notification of the IROL to the reliability 
coordinator) should be addressed in the Transmission Operations 
Reliability Standards, which deal with the real-time operations time 
horizon. NERC identified in its petition three Reliability Standards 
that, NERC asserted, require the reporting of such information.\10\ 
However, in the NOPR, the Commission indicated that it did not appear 
that these Reliability Standards require the reporting of IROL 
Tv exceedance information; instead, the Commission observed 
that currently NERC voluntarily shares IROL Tv exceedance 
information, collected pursuant to Reliability Standard EOP-004-3, with 
Commission staff so that Commission staff can monitor the transmission 
system and identify reliability trends.\11\ In the NOPR, the Commission 
stated that it understands that NERC will continue to receive IROL 
Tv exceedance information and share it with Commission staff 
even after the retirement of Reliability Standard EOP-004-3. NERC did 
not dispute or otherwise take issue with the Commission's understanding 
in NERC's comments.\12\ The Commission approves the retirement of 
currently-effective Reliability Standard EOP-004-3.
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    \10\ NERC cited Reliability Standards TOP-001-3 (Transmission 
Operations) and TOP-007-0 (Reporting System Operating Limit (SOL) 
and IROL Violations), and Reliability Standard IRO-009-2 
(Reliability Coordinator Actions to Operate within IROLs).
    \11\ NOPR, 160 FERC ] 61,072 at P 15.
    \12\ None of the commenters disagreed with the Commission's 
understanding regarding IROL Tv exceedance information 
sharing.

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[[Page 3270]]

III. Information Collection Statement

    11. The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) \13\ requires each federal 
agency to seek and obtain Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approval before undertaking a collection of information directed to ten 
or more persons, or contained in a rule of general applicability. The 
OMB regulations require that OMB approve certain reporting and 
recordkeeping (collections of information) imposed by an agency.\14\ 
Upon approval of a collection(s) of information, OMB will assign an OMB 
control number and expiration date. Respondents subject to the filing 
requirements of this rule will not be penalized for failing to respond 
to these collections of information unless the collections of 
information display a valid OMB control number.
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    \13\ 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.
    \14\ 5 CFR 1320.11.
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    12. In this Final Rule the Commission is approving the following 
Reliability Standards: EOP-004-4 (Event Reporting), EOP-005-3 (System 
Restoration from Blackstart Resources), EOP-006-3 (System Restoration 
Coordination), and EOP-008-2 (Loss of Control Center Functionality), 
associated with information collections FERC-725A and FERC-725S. The 
Commission also approves the associated violation risk factors, 
violation severity levels, implementation plans, and effective dates.
    13. Public Reporting Burden: The changes reflected in these 
Reliability Standards are not expected to result in a net increase in 
the annual record-keeping and reporting requirements on applicable 
entities (GO, DP, RC, TO, TOP, and GOP).\15\ Our estimate in the tables 
below regarding the number of respondents is based on the NERC 
Compliance Registry as of September 15, 2017. Reliability Standards 
EOP-004-4, EOP-005-3, EOP-006-3, and EOP-008-2 will replace the 
paperwork burden approved in FERC-725A (OMB Control. No. 1902-0244) and 
be added to FERC-725S. That burden reflects an increase in total burden 
hours and cost based on adjustments in the number of entities and cost 
per hour applicable under the EOP Reliability Standards approved in 
this Final Rule. However, analysis comparing both previous burden 
approved in FERC-725A and burden for FERC-725S show an increase in 
total burden but no increase in burden hours per response.
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    \15\ Generator Operator (GOP); Generator Owner (GO); 
Transmission Operators (TOP); Transmission Owners (TO); Reliability 
Coordinator (RC); Distribution Provider (DP).
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    14. The first table for FERC-725A addresses the burden reduction 
for a total of 59,591.5 hours and $3,744,990 (55,929.5 hours and 
$3,595,708 from reporting requirement; and 3,662 hours and $149,282 
from record keeping). The second table: (a) Moves burden from the old 
version in the Reliability Standards approved in FERC-725A to FERC-
725S; (b) shows no net change in burden per entity between the new and 
old versions of the Reliability Standards; and (c) updates applicable 
entities and cost per hour figure.
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    \16\ In the burden table, reporting requirements (engineering) 
is abbreviated as ``Eng.'' and record keeping is abbreviated as 
``R.K.''
    \17\ The estimates for cost per hour are based on 2015 wage 
figures. The table uses 2015 wage figures because 2015 wage figures 
were used when the requirements listed in the table were 
implemented. The wage figures were derived as follows:
    $64.29/hour, the average salary plus benefits per electrical 
engineer, Occupation Code 17-2071 (from Bureau of Labor Statistics 
at https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm)
    $37.75/hour, the average salary plus benefits for information 
and record clerks, Occupation Code 43-4071 (from Bureau of Labor 
Statistics at https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm)
    The results of calculations are rounded to the nearest dollar in 
the burden table.

                                           Reductions to FERC-725A, From the Final Rule in Docket No. RM17-12
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                                                      Annual
                                                    number of
 Reliability standard and associated   Number of    responses    Total number   Average burden and cost  Total annual burden and    Cost per respondent
             requirement              respondents      per       of responses      per response \16\      total annual cost \17\            ($)
                                                    respondent
                                              (1)          (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4)....................  (3) * (4) = (5)........  (5) / (1)
                                                                           (3)
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                                                                        EOP-008-2
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One-time Review and Revision of Plan          215            1             215  20 hrs. (Eng.);          4,300 hrs. (Eng.);       ($1,286) (Eng.)
 (affected entities).                                                            ($1,286) (Reduction).    ($276,447) (Reduction).  (Reduction).
Updating, Approving, and Maintaining          215            1             215  6 hrs. (Eng.); ($386) 2  1,290 hrs. (Eng.);       ($386) (Eng.); ($76)
 Records (affected entities).                                                    hrs. (R.K.); ($76)       ($82,934) 430 hrs.       (R.K.) (Reduction).
                                                                                 (Reduction).             (R.K.); ($16,233)
                                                                                                          (Reduction).
One-time Contracting (affected                 27            1              27  120 hrs. (Eng.)          3,240 hrs. ($208,300)    ($7,715) (Eng.)
 entities).                                                                      ($7,715) (Reduction).    (Eng.) (Reduction).      (Reduction).
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                                                                  EOP-005-3 & EOP-006-3
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RC Data Retention...................           26            2              52  8 hrs. (R.K.) ($514)     416 hrs. (R.K.);         ($514) (R.K.)
                                                                                 (Reduction).             ($26,745) (Reduction).   (Reduction).
TOP Reporting Data..................          176            1             176  116 hrs. (Eng.);         20,416 hrs. (Eng.);      ($7,458) (Eng.);
                                                                                 ($7,458) 16 hrs.         ($1,312,545) 2,816       ($604) (R.K.)
                                                                                 (R.K.); ($604)           hrs. (R.K.);             (Reduction).
                                                                                 (Reduction).             ($106,304).
GOP Testing.........................          230            1             230  80 hrs. (Eng.);          18,400 hrs. (Eng.);      ($5,143) (Eng.)
                                                                                 ($5,143) (Reduction).    ($1,182,936)             (Reduction).
                                                                                                          (Reduction).
TO and DP Training..................          678            1             678  8 hrs. (Eng.); ($514)    5,424 hrs. (Eng.);       ($514) (Eng.)
                                                                                 (Reduction).             ($348,709) (Reduction).  (Reduction).
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                                                                        EOP-004-4
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One-Time Review and Revision of Plan        1,400            1           1,400  2 hrs. (Eng.); ($129)    2,800 hrs. (Eng.)        ($129) (Reduction).
 (affected entities).                                                            (Reduction).             ($180,012) (Reduction).
Reporting Events (affected entities)          350            1             350  0.17 hrs. (Eng.); ($11)  59.5 hrs. (Eng.);        ($11) (Reduction).
                                                                                 (Reduction).             ($3,825) (Reduction).
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[[Page 3271]]

 
    Total, Reductions to FERC-725A..  ...........  ...........           3,343  .......................  59,591.5 hrs;            ......................
                                                                   (Reduction)                            ($3,744,990) (Eng.)
                                                                                                          55,929.5 hrs.;
                                                                                                          ($3,595,708); (R.K.)
                                                                                                          3,662 hrs.; ($149,282)
                                                                                                          (Reduction).
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    In the table below Reliability Standards EOP-004-4, EOP-005-3, EOP-
006-3, and EOP-008-2 will result in paperwork burden being added to 
FERC-725S (OMB Control No. 1902-0270). These Reliability Standards will 
replace previous versions whose paperwork burden was previously 
approved in FERC-725A (OMB Control. No. 1902-0244). The burden being 
added to FERC-725S reflects an increase from the previous versions of 
the Reliability Standards in total burden hours and cost based on 
adjustments in the one additional entities and changes to hourly cost.
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    \18\ In the burden table, reporting requirement (engineering) is 
abbreviated as ``Eng.'' and record keeping is abbreviated as 
``R.K.''
    \19\ The estimates for cost per hour are based on May 2016 wage 
figures and derived as follows:
    $68.12/hour, the average salary plus benefits per electric 
engineer, Occupation Code 17-2071, (from Bureau of Labor Statistics 
at https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm)
    $39.14/hour, the average salary plus benefits per information 
and record clerks Occupation Code 43-4071, (from Bureau of Labor 
Statistics at https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm)
    The results of calculations are rounded to the nearest dollar 
within the burden table.

                                            FERC-725S, Modifications Due to Final Rule in Docket No. RM17-12
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                                                      Annual
                                                    number of
 Reliability standard and associated   Number of    responses    Total number   Average burden and cost  Total annual burden and    Cost per respondent
             requirement              respondents      per       of responses      per response \18\      total annual cost \19\            ($)
                                                    respondent
                                              (1)          (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4)....................  (3) * (4) = (5)........  (5) / (1)
                                                                           (3)
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                                                                        EOP-008-2
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One-time Review in Year 1...........          216            1             216  20 hrs. (Eng.); $1,362.  4,320 hrs. (Eng.);       $1,362 (Eng.).
                                                                                                          $294,192.
Updating, Approving, and Maintaining          216            1             216  6 hrs. (Eng.); $409 2    1728 hrs., $105,092      $487 ($409 (Eng.); $78
 Records.                                                                        hrs. (R.K.); $78.        (1,296 hrs. (Eng.);      (R.K.)).
                                                                                                          $88,244 (R.K.); 432
                                                                                                          hrs; $16,848).
One-time Contracting in Year 1......           27            1              27  120 hrs. (Eng.) $8174..  3,240 hrs. $220,698      $8174 (Eng.).
                                                                                                          (Eng.).
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                                                                  EOP-005-3 & EOP-006-3
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RC Data Retention...................           11            2              22  8 hrs. (R.K.) $313.....  176 hrs. (R.K.); $6,886  $626 (R.K.).
TOP Reporting Data..................          177            1             177  132 hrs., $8528 (116     23,364 hrs., $1,209,456  $8528 ($7,902 (Eng.);
                                                                                 hrs. (Eng.); $7,902 16   (20,532 hrs. (Eng.);     $626 (R.K.).
                                                                                 hrs. (R.K.); $626).      $1,398,654 2,832 hrs.
                                                                                                          (R.K.); $110,802).
GOP Testing.........................          264            1             264  80 hrs. (Eng.); $5450..  21,120 hrs. (Eng.);      $5,450 (Eng.).
                                                                                                          $1,438,800.
TO and DP Training..................          524            1             524  8 hrs. (Eng.); $545....  4,192 hrs. (Eng.);       $545 (Eng.).
                                                                                                          $285,580.
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                                                                        EOP-004-4
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One-Time Review and Revision in Year        1,475            1           1,475  2 hrs. (Eng.); $136....  2,950 hrs. (Eng.)        $136 (Eng.).
 1 (affected entities).                                                                                   $200,600.
Reporting Events (affected entities)          368            1             368  0.17 hrs. (Eng.); $12..  63 hrs. (Eng.); $4,416.  $12 (Eng.).
                                     -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Year 1....................  ...........  ...........           3,289  .......................  61,090 hrs.; $4,036,100  ......................
                                                                                                          ((Eng.) 57,650 hrs.,
                                                                                                          $3,901,204; (R.K) 3440
                                                                                                          hrs., $134,896).
                                     -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Year 2....................  ...........  ...........           1,571  .......................  50,643 hrs., $3,350,230  ......................
                                     -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Year 3....................  ...........  ...........           1,571  .......................  50,643 hrs., $3,350,230  ......................
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    In the table above, we indicate the annual total burden for years 
1, 2 and 3 for FERC-725S (OMB Control No. 1902-0270). The average 
annual burden for years 1, 2, and 3 is (61,090 hours + 50,643 hours + 
50,643/3 = 54,125. The average annual cost is $3,578,853.

[[Page 3272]]

    Title: FERC-725A, Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-
Power System and FERC-725S Mandatory Reliability Standards: Emergency 
Preparedness and Operations (EOP).
    Action: Revision to existing collections.
    OMB Control Nos.: 1902-0244 (FERC-725A); 1902-0270 (FERC-725S).
    Respondents: Businesses or other for-profit institutions; not-for-
profit institutions.
    Frequency of Responses: One-Time and Annually.
    Necessity of the Information: Reliability Standards EOP-008-1, EOP-
005-3, EOP-006-3, and EOP-004-4 provide accurate reporting of events to 
NERC's event analysis group to analyze the impact on the reliability of 
the bulk electric system (Reliability Standard EOP-004-4); delineate 
the roles and responsibilities of entities that support system 
restoration from blackstart resources (Reliability Standard EOP-005-3); 
clarify the procedures and coordination requirements for reliability 
coordinator personnel to execute system restoration processes 
(Reliability Standard EOP-006-3); and, refine the required elements of 
an operating plan used to continue reliable operations of the bulk 
electric system if that primary control functionality is lost 
(Reliability Standard EOP-008-2). These Reliability Standards 
modifications are designed to eliminate redundant reporting of a single 
event by multiple entities, assign reporting requirements to 
appropriate entities, and clarify the threshold reporting for a given 
event.
    Internal Review: The Commission reviewed the revised Reliability 
Standards and made a determination that its action is necessary to 
implement section 215 of the FPA. The Commission has assured itself, by 
means of its internal review, that there is specific, objective support 
for the burden estimates associated with the information requirements.
    15. Interested persons may obtain information on the reporting 
requirements by contacting the following: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426 [Attention: Ellen 
Brown, Office of the Executive Director, email: [email protected], 
phone: (202) 502-8663, fax: (202) 273-0873].
    For submitting comments concerning the collection(s) of information 
and the associated burden estimate(s), please send your comments to the 
Commission and to the Office of Management and Budget, Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Washington, DC 20503 [Attention: 
Desk Officer for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, phone: (202) 
395-0710, fax: (202) 395-7285]. For security reasons, comments to OMB 
should be submitted by email to: [email protected]. Comments 
submitted to OMB should include 1902-0244 and 1902-0270 and Docket 
Number RM17-12-000.

IV. Environmental Analysis

    16. The Commission is required to prepare an Environmental 
Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement for any action that may 
have a significant adverse effect on the human environment.\20\ The 
Commission has categorically excluded certain actions from this 
requirement as not having a significant effect on the human 
environment. Included in the exclusion are rules that are clarifying, 
corrective, or procedural or that do not substantially change the 
effect of the regulations being amended.\21\ The actions taken here 
fall within this categorical exclusion in the Commission's regulations.
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    \20\ Regulations Implementing the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969, Order No. 486, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 30,783 (1987).
    \21\ 18 CFR 380.4(a)(2)(ii).
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V. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    17. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) \22\ generally 
requires a description and analysis of Final Rule that will have 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
The RFA does not mandate any particular outcome in a rulemaking. It 
only requires consideration of alternatives that are less burdensome to 
small entities and an agency explanation of why alternatives were 
rejected.
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    \22\ 5 U.S.C. 601-612.
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    18. In this Final Rule, the Commission estimates a one-time cost of 
compliance for administering the changes in the approved Reliability 
Standards versus their prior versions but no ongoing net burden change. 
The total average annual burden and cost to industry over years 1, 2 
and 3 is 54,125 hours and $3,578,853. Therefore, the average annual 
cost per entity is $16,569. Comparison of the applicable entities with 
the Commission's small business data indicates that approximately 45 
(or 21 percent) of applicable entities are small entities. Accordingly, 
the Commission certifies that the Final Rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

VI. Effective Date and Congressional Notification

    19. These regulations are effective March 26, 2018. The Commission 
has determined, with the concurrence of the Administrator of the Office 
of Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB, that this rule is not a 
``major rule'' as defined in section 351 of the Small Business 
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.

VII. Document Availability

    20. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the 
internet through the Commission's Home Page (http://www.ferc.gov) and 
in the Commission's Public Reference Room during normal business hours 
(8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First Street NE, Room 2A, 
Washington, DC 20426.
    21. From the Commission's Home Page on the internet, this 
information is available on eLibrary. The full text of this document is 
available on eLibrary in PDF and Microsoft Word format for viewing, 
printing, and/or downloading. To access this document in eLibrary, type 
the docket number of this document, excluding the last three digits, in 
the docket number field.
    22. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the Commission's 
website during normal business hours from the Commission's Online 
Support at (202) 502-6652 (toll free at 1-866-208-3676) or email at 
[email protected], or the Public Reference Room at (202) 502-
8371, TTY (202) 502-8659. Email the Public Reference Room at 
[email protected].

VIII. Effective Date and Congressional Notification

    23. These regulations are effective March 26, 2018. The Commission 
has determined, with the concurrence of the Administrator of the Office 
of Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB, that this rule is not a 
``major rule'' as defined in section 351 of the Small Business 
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. The Commission will submit 
the Final Rule to both houses of Congress and to the General 
Accountability Office.

    By the Commission.

    Issued: January 18, 2018.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-01246 Filed 1-23-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P