[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 216 (Wednesday, November 7, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55714-55715]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-24331]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC19-4-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-714); Comment 
Request Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION: Comment request.

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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-714 (Annual Electric Balancing Authority 
Area and Planning Area Report) to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review of the information collection requirements.

DATES:  Comments on the collections of information are due by January 
7, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC19-4-
000) 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], by telephone at (202) 502-8663, and by fax at 
(202) 273-0873.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: FERC-714, Annual Electric Balancing Authority Area and 
Planning Area Report.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0140.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-714 information 
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting 
requirements.
    Abstract: The Commission uses the FERC-714 data to analyze power 
system operations. These analyses estimate the effect of changes in 
power system operations resulting from the installation of a new 
generating unit or plant, transmission facilities, energy transfers 
between systems, and/or new points of interconnections. The FERC-714 
data assists in providing a broad picture of interconnected balancing 
authority area operations including comprehensive information of 
balancing authority area generation, actual and scheduled inter-
balancing authority area power transfers, and net energy for load, 
summer and winter generation peaks and system lambda. The Commission 
also uses the data to prepare status reports on the electric utility 
industry including a review of inter-balancing authority area bulk 
power trade information.
    The Commission uses the collected data from planning areas to 
monitor forecasted demands by electric utilities with fundamental 
demand responsibilities and to develop hourly demand characteristics.
    Type of Respondent: Electric utility balancing authorities and 
planning areas in the United States.
    Estimate of Annual Burden \1\: The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden and cost \2\ (rounded) for the information 
collection as follows:
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    \1\ 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 CFR 1320.3.
    \2\ The hourly cost (for salary plus benefits) uses the figures 
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2017, for the listed 
reporting requirements. These figures include salary (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm) and benefits http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm) and are:
     Management (Code 11-0000), $94.28/hr.
     Computer and mathematical (Code 15-0000), $63.25/hr.
     Electrical Engineers (Code 17-2071), $66.90/hr.
     Economist (Code 19-3011), $71.98/hr.
     Computer and Information Systems Managers (Code 11-
3021), $96.51/hr.
     Accountants and Auditors (Code 13-2011), $56.59/hr.
     Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers 
(Code 11-3071), $75.34/hr.
     Power Distributors and Dispatchers (Code 51-8012), 
$53.48/hr.
    The average hourly cost (wages plus benefits) for the above 
wages is $72.29/hour (rounded $72.00).

[[Page 55715]]



                                                                        FERC-714
                                           [Annual Electric Balancing Authority Area and Planning Area Report]
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                                                            Annual number of                       Average burden      Total annual
                  Number of respondents                      responses per     Total number of      and cost per     burden hours and       Cost per
                                                               respondent         responses           response      total annual cost    respondent ($)
(1)                                                                      (2)    (1) * (2) = (3)                (4)    (3) * (4) = (5)          (5) / (1)
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177......................................................                  1                177                 87             15,399          $6,264.00
                                                                                                         $6,264.00      $1,108,728.00
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    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.

    Dated: November 1, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-24331 Filed 11-6-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P