[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 99 (Wednesday, May 22, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23557-23559]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-10599]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. Ic19-16-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (Ferc-556); Comment 
Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy.

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-556 (Certification of Qualifying Facility 
(QF) Status for a Small Power Production or Cogeneration Facility) 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 March 14, 2019, the Commission 
published a Notice in the Federal Register in Docket No. IC19-16-000 
requesting public comments. The Commission received no public comments, 
as stated in the related submittal to OMB.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due June 21, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Comments filed with OMB, identified by OMB Control No. 1902-
0075, 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. IC19-16-000, 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.

[[Page 23558]]

    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 and 
recordkeeping 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.

                       FERC-556--Certification of Qualifying Facility Status for a Small Power Production or Cogeneration Facility
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                                                               Annual
                                                             number of                 Average burden hours                                    Cost per
        Facility type           Filing type     Number of    responses   Total number   & cost per response    Total annual burden hours &    respondent
                                               respondents      per      of responses           \5\            total annual cost (rounded)       ($)
                                                             respondent                                                                       (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.; $9,332..........         $148
 \6\.                          certification.
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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.; $399,641.......          148
 Facility >1 MW.               certification.
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.; $102,503........          148
 Production Facility <=1 MW    certification.
 (Self-Certification) \7\.
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    Total...................  ...............        3,454  ...........       4,317.5  ....................  6,536.875 hrs.; $516,413.13...  ...........
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    The estimated burden in the Paperwork Reduction Act Notice on page 
1 of the FERC Form 556 will be corrected to provide the current burden 
estimates (shown above). It will read ``[t]he estimated burden for 
completing the FERC Form No. 556, including gathering and reporting 
information, is as follows: 1.5 hours for self-certification of a small 
power production facility, 1.5 hours for self-certifications of a 
cogeneration facility, 50 hours for an application for Commission 
certification of a small power production facility, and 50 hours for an 
application for Commission certification of a cogeneration facility.'' 
The reporting requirements are not changing.
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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.
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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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    Dated: May 15, 2019.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-10599 Filed 5-21-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P