[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]
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