[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 247 (Thursday, December 27, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66697-66698]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-28052]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC19-13-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-715); Comment 
Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

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-715 (Annual Transmission Planning and 
Evaluation Report).

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due February 25, 
2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC19-13-
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], telephone at (202) 502-8663, and fax at (202) 
273-0873.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: FERC-715, Annual Transmission Planning and Evaluation 
Report.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0171.
    Abstract: Acting under FPA section 213,\1\ FERC requires each 
transmitting utility that operates integrated transmission system 
facilities rated above 100 kilovolts (kV) to submit annually:
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    \1\ 16 U.S.C. 824l.
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     Contact information for the FERC-715;
     Base case power flow data (if it does not participate in 
the development and use of regional power flow data);
     Transmission system maps and diagrams used by the 
respondent for transmission planning;
     A detailed description of the transmission planning 
reliability criteria used to evaluate system performance for time 
frames and planning horizons used in regional and corporate planning;
     A detailed description of the respondent's transmission 
planning assessment practices (including, but not limited to, how 
reliability criteria are applied and the steps taken in performing 
transmission planning studies); and
     A detailed evaluation of the respondent's anticipated 
system performance as measured against its stated reliability criteria 
using its stated assessment practices.
    The FERC-715 enables the Commission to use the information as part 
of their regulatory oversight functions which includes:
     The review of rates and charges;
     The disposition of jurisdictional facilities;
     The consolidation and mergers;
     The adequacy of supply and;
     Reliability of the nation's transmission grid.
    The FERC-715 enables the Commission to facilitate and resolve 
transmission disputes. Additionally, the Office of Electric Reliability 
(OER) uses the FERC-715 data to help protect and improve the 
reliability and security of the nation's bulk power system. OER 
oversees the development and review of mandatory reliability and 
security standards and ensures compliance with

[[Page 66698]]

the approved standards by the users, owners, and operators of the bulk 
power system. OER also monitors and addresses issues concerning the 
nation's bulk power system including assessments of resource adequacy 
and reliability.
    Without the FERC-715 data, the Commission would be unable to 
evaluate planned projects or requests related to transmission.
    Type of Respondent: Integrated transmission system facilities rated 
at or above 100 kilovolts (kV).
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \2\ The Commission estimates the total 
annual burden and cost \3\ for this information collection as follows.
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    \2\ ``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.
    \3\ 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), $88.61/hr.
    --Power Distributors and Dispatchers (Code 51-8012), $56.74/hr.
    --We are using the average hourly cost (for wages plus benefits, 
for these categories) of $74.36/hour.
    \4\ In 2018, FERC had 111 direct filings (responses) from 
entities. However there were 239 total respondents if Transmitting 
Utilities that have their filing submitted by a designated reporting 
agent, such as a regional entity, are counted independently.

                                              FERC-715, Annual Transmission Planning and Evaluation Report
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                                                        Annual number                                              Total annual burden
                                         Number of       of responses   Total number of   Average burden & cost   hours & total annual       Cost per
                                        respondents     per respondent     responses          per response                cost             respondent $
                                                 (1)              (2)   (1) * (2) = (3)  (4)...................  (3) * (4) = (5).......       (5) / (1)
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Annual Transmission Planning and                 111                1              111   160 hrs.; $11,897.60..  17,760 hrs.;                $11,897.60
 Evaluation Report \4\                                                                                            $1,320,633.60.
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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: December 19, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-28052 Filed 12-26-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P