[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 71 (Friday, April 12, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14935-14936]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-07288]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC19-7-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-915); 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-915 (Public Utility Market-Based Rate 
Authorization Holders--Records Retention Requirements) 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. On February 20, 2019, the Commission published a 
Notice in the Federal Register in Docket No. IC19-7-000 requesting 
public comments. The Commission received no public comments and is 
noting that in the related submittal to OMB.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due May 13, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Comments filed with OMB, identified by OMB Control No. 1902-
0250, should be sent via email to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs: [email protected]. Attention: Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission Desk Officer.
    A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Commission, in 
Docket No. IC19-7-000, 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-915, Public Utility Market-Based Rate Authorization 
Holders--Records Retention Requirements.
    OMB Control No. 1902-0250.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-915 information 
collection requirements with no changes to the current record retention 
requirements.
    Abstract: In accordance with the Federal Power Act, the Department 
of Energy Organization Act (DOE Act), and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 
(EPAct 2005), the Commission regulates the transmission and wholesale 
sales of electricity in interstate commerce, monitors and investigates 
energy markets, uses civil penalties and other means against energy 
organizations and individuals who violate FERC rules in the energy 
markets, administers accounting and financial reporting regulations, 
and oversees conduct of regulated companies.
    The Commission imposes the FERC-915 record retention requirements, 
in 18 CFR 35.41(d), on applicable sellers to retain, for a period of 
five years, all data and information upon which they bill the prices 
charged for ``electric energy or electric energy products it sold 
pursuant to Seller's market-based rate tariff, and the prices it 
reported for use in price indices.''
    The record retention period of five years is necessary due to the 
importance of records related to any investigation of possible 
wrongdoing and related to assuring compliance with the codes of conduct 
and the integrity of the market. The requirement is necessary to ensure 
consistency with the rule prohibiting market manipulation (adopted in 
Order No. 670) and the generally applicable five-year statute of 
limitations where the Commission seeks civil penalties for violations 
of the anti-manipulation rules or other rules, regulations, or orders 
to which the price data may be relevant.
    Type of Respondent: Public Utility Market-Based Rate Authorization 
Holders.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \1\ The Commission estimates the annual 
public

[[Page 14936]]

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 estimated hourly cost (for wages plus benefits) provided 
in this section are based on the figures posted by the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics (BLS) for the Utilities section available (at 
https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm) and benefits 
information (for December 2017, issued March 20, 2018, at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm). The hourly estimates for 
salary plus benefits are:
     File Clerk (Occupation code: 43-4071), $33.39 an hour. We are 
rounding the hourly cost to $33.00.

                            FERC-915, Public Utility Market-Based Rate Authorization Holders--Records Retention Requirements
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                                                  Annual number
      FERC requirement            Number of       of responses    Total number  of   Average burden  & cost     Total annual  burden    Annual cost  per
                                 respondents     per respondent       responses           per  response             hours  & cost        respondent ($)
                                           (1)               (2)   (1) * (2) = (3)  (4).....................  (3) * (4) = (5).........         (5) / (1)
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FERC-915....................             2,510                 1             2,510  1 hr.; $33.00...........  2,510 hrs.; $82,830.....            $33.00
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    Total...................  ................  ................             2,510  ........................  2,510 hrs.; $82, 830....  ................
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    In addition, there are records storage costs. For all respondents, 
we estimate a total of 65,000 cu. ft. of records in off-site storage. 
Based on an approximate storage cost of $0.24 per cubic foot, we 
estimate total annual storage cost to be $15,600.00 (or $6.22 annually 
per respondent). The total annual cost for all respondents (burden cost 
plus off-site storage) is $98,430.00 (or $82,830 + $15,600); the 
average total annual cost per respondent is $39.22 ($6.22 + $33.00).
    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: April 8, 2019.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-07288 Filed 4-11-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P