[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 50 (Thursday, March 14, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9317-9319]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-04678]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. IC19-16-000]
Commission Information Collection Activities; 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
[[Page 9318]]
(Commission or FERC) is soliciting public comment on the currently
approved information collection, FERC-556 (Certification of Qualifying
Facility (QF) Status for a Small Power Production or Cogeneration
Facility).
DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due May 13, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC19-16-
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-556, Certification of Qualifying Facility (QF) Status
for a Small Power Production or Cogeneration Facility.
OMB Control No.: 1902-0075.
Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-556 information
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting
requirements.
Abstract: Form No. 556 is required to implement sections 201 and
210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 \1\ (PURPA).
FERC is authorized, under those sections, to encourage cogeneration and
small power production and to prescribe such rules as necessary in
order to carry out the statutory directives.
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\1\ 16 U.S.C. 796, 824a-3.
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A primary statutory objective is efficient use of energy resources
and facilities by electric utilities. One means of achieving this goal
is to encourage production of electric power by cogeneration facilities
which make use of reject heat associated with commercial or industrial
processes, and by small power production facilities which use other
wastes and renewable resources. PURPA encourages the development of
small power production facilities and cogeneration facilities that meet
certain technical and corporate criteria through establishment of
various regulatory benefits. Facilities that meet these criteria are
called Qualifying Facilities (QFs).
FERC's regulations in 18 CFR part 292, as relevant here, specify:
(a) The certification procedures which must be followed by owners or
operators of small power production and cogeneration facilities; (b)
the criteria which must be met; (c) the information which must be
submitted to FERC in order to obtain qualifying status; and (d) the
PURPA benefits which are available to QFs to encourage small power
production and cogeneration.
18 CFR part 292 also exempts QFs from certain corporate,
accounting, reporting, and rate regulation requirements of the Federal
Power Act,\2\ certain state laws, and the Public Utility Holding
Company Act of 2005.\3\
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\2\ 16 U.S.C. 791, et seq.
\3\ 42 U.S.C. 16, 451-63.
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Type of Respondents: Facilities that are self-certifying their
status as a cogenerator or small power producer or that are submitting
an application for FERC certification of their status as a cogenerator
or small power producer.
Estimate of Annual Burden: \4\ The Commission estimates the burden
and cost for this information collection as follows:
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\4\ ``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.
[[Page 9319]]
FERC-556--Certification of Qualifying Facility Status for a Small Power Production or Cogeneration Facility
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Total annual
Number of Annual number Total number Average burden burden hours & Cost per
Facility type Filing type respondents of responses of responses hours & cost per total annual respondent ($)
per respondent response \5\ cost (rounded) (rounded)
(1) (2) (1) * (2) = (4) (3) * (4) = (5) (5) / (1)
(3)
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Cogeneration Facility > 1 MW Self- 63 1.25 78.75 1.5 hrs; $118.5.... 118.125 hrs; $148
\6\. certification. $9,332.
Cogeneration Facility > 1 MW.. Application for 1 1.25 1.25 50 hrs; $3,950..... 62.5 hrs; $4,938 4,938
FERC
certification.
Small Power Production Self- 2,698 1.25 3,372.5 1.5 hrs; $118.5.... 5,058.75 hrs; 148
Facility > 1 MW. certification. $399,641.
Small Power Production Application for 0 1.25 0 50 hrs; $3,950..... 0 hrs; $0....... 0
Facility > 1 MW. FERC
certification.
Cogeneration and Small Power Self- 692 1.25 865 1.5 hrs; $118.5.... 1,297.5 hrs; 148
Production Facility <= 1 MW certification. $102,503.
(Self-Certification) \7\.
Total..................... ................. 3,454 .............. 4,317.5 ................... 6,536.875 hrs; ..............
$516,413.13.
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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.
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\5\ The Commission staff believes that industry is similarly
situated in terms of wages and benefits. Therefore, cost estimates
are based on FERC's 2018 average annual wage (and benefits) for a
full-time employee of $164,820 (or $79.00/hour).
\6\ MW = megawatt.
\7\ Not required to file.
Dated: March 7, 2019.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-04678 Filed 3-13-19; 8:45 am]
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