[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 21, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7469-7470]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03458]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC18-1-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-598); Comment 
Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of 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 the currently approved 
information collection, FERC-598 (Self-Certification for Entities 
Seeking Exempt Wholesale Generator Status or Foreign Utility Company 
Status) and submitting the information collection to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review. Any interested person may file 
comments directly with OMB and should address a copy of those comments 
to the Commission as explained below. The Commission published a Notice 
in the Federal Register in Docket No. IC18-1-000 on December 11, 2017 
requesting public comments. FERC received no comments in response to 
the Notice and is indicating that in its submittal to the OMB.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due March 23, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: Comments filed with OMB, identified by OMB Control No. 1902-
0166, should be sent via email to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs: [email protected]. Attention: Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission Desk Officer. The Desk Officer may also be 
reached via telephone at 202-395-0710.
    A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Commission, in 
Docket No. IC18-1, by either of the following methods:
     eFiling at Commission's website: 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-598, Self-Certification for Entities Seeking Exempt 
Wholesale Generator Status or Foreign Utility Company Status.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0166.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-598 information 
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting 
requirements.
    Abstract: The Commission uses the data in the FERC-598 information 
collection to implement the statutory provisions of Title XII, subtitle 
F of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005).\1\
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    \1\ Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law 109-58, 119 Stat. 594, 
972 et seq. (2005) (codified at 42 U.S.C. 16451 et seq.).
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    EPAct 2005 repealed the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 
(PUHCA 1935),\2\ and adopted in its place the Public Utility Holding 
Company Act of 2005 (PUHCA 2005).\3\ While providing for the 
Commission's regulation of holding companies, PUHCA 2005 also provided 
an exemption from such regulation for those holding companies that are 
subject to Commission regulation as holding companies solely due to 
their holding exempt wholesale generators (EWG) and foreign utility 
companies (FUCO).\4\ To carry out this statutory directive, the 
Commission amended its

[[Page 7470]]

regulations (in Order No. 667) \5\ to, among other things, add 
procedures for not only defining what entities would qualify as EWGs 
and FUCOs, but also the self-certification by entities seeking EWG and 
FUCO status, coupled with the self-certification of the exemption of 
their holding companies, in turn, from Commission regulation.\6\ This 
self-certification for EWGs and FUCOs is similar to the process 
available to entities that seek qualifying facility status.\7\
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    \2\ Id. Sec.  1263, 119 Stat. 594, 974.
    \3\ Id. Sec.  1261, 119 Stat. 594, 972.
    \4\ Id. Sec.  1266(a), 119 Stat. 594, 975 (codified at 42 U.S.C. 
16454(a)).
    \5\ Repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 and 
Enactment of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005, 70 FR 
75592, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,197 (2005), order on rehearing, 
Order 667-A, 71 FR 28446, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,213 (2006), order 
on rehearing, Order 667-B, 71 FR 42750, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,244 
(2006), order on rehearing, Order 667-C, 118 FERC ] 61,133 (2007).
    \6\ 18 CFR 366.1, 366.3(a), 366.4, 366.7.
    \7\ 18 CFR 292.207.
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    An EWG is defined as ``any person engaged directly, or indirectly 
through one or more affiliates . . . and exclusively in the business of 
owning or operating, or both owning and operating, all or part of one 
or more eligible facilities and selling electric energy at wholesale.'' 
\8\ A FUCO is defined as ``any company that owns or operates facilities 
that are not located in any state and that are used for the generation, 
transmission, or distribution of electric energy for sale or the 
distribution at retail of natural or manufactured gas for heat, light, 
or power, if such company: (1) Derives no part of its income, directly 
or indirectly, from the generation, transmission, or distribution of 
electric energy for sale or the distribution at retail of natural or 
manufactured gas for heat, light, or power, within the United States; 
and (2) [n]either the company nor any of its subsidiary companies is a 
public-utility company operating in the United States.'' \9\
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    \8\ 18 CFR 366.1.
    \9\ Id.
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    An EWG, FUCO, or its representative seeking to self-certify its 
status as an EWG or FUCO must file with the Commission a notice of 
self-certification (FERC-598) demonstrating that it satisfies the 
definition of EWG or FUCO. In the case of EWGs, the person filing a 
notice of self-certification must also file a copy of the notice of 
self-certification with the state regulatory authority of the state in 
which the facility is located and that person must also represent to 
the Commission in its submission that it has filed a copy of the notice 
with the appropriate state regulatory authority.\10\
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    \10\ 18 CFR 366.7.
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    Submission of the information collected by FERC-598 is necessary 
for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities under section 
1266(a) of EPAct 2005.\11\ The Commission implements its 
responsibilities through the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 
18, Part 366. These filing requirements are mandatory for entities 
seeking to self-certify their EWG or FUCO status, in order to, in turn, 
exempt their holding companies from Commission regulation.
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    \11\ 42 U.S.C. 16454(a).
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    Type of Respondents: EWGs and FUCOs.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \12\ The Commission estimates the total 
annual burden and cost \13\ for this information collection as follows.
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    \12\ ``Burden'' is 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 Title 5 Code of Federal Regulations 
1320.3.
    \13\ Subject matter experts found that industry employment costs 
(for salary plus benefits) for the FERC-598 information collection 
closely resemble the Commission's. FERC's 2017 average annual salary 
plus benefits per FTE (full-time equivalent) is $158,754 (or $76.50 
per hour).

                                                                        FERC-598
                      [Self-certification for entities seeking exempt wholesale generator status or foreign utility company status]
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                                            Annual number                                                                                  Average cost
  Number of respondents (EWGs and FUCOs)     of responses   Total number of   Average burden hrs. & cost    Total annual burden hours &   per respondent
                                            per respondent     responses           ($) per response              total annual cost             ($)
(1)                                                   (2)   (1) * (2) = (3)  (4).........................  (3) * (4) = (5).............       (5) / (1)
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147......................................               1              147   6 hrs.; $459................  882 hrs.; $67,473...........            $459
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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: February 13, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-03458 Filed 2-20-18; 8:45 am]
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