[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 218 (Tuesday, November 12, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61050-61051]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24565]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC19-40-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-516a); 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-516A (Standardization of Small Generator 
Interconnection Agreements and Procedures) 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 September 4, 2019, the Commission published a Notice in the 
Federal Register (84 FR 46506) in Docket No. IC19-40-000 requesting 
public comments. The Commission received no public comments.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due December 12, 
2019.

ADDRESSES: Comments filed with OMB, identified by OMB Control No. 1902-
0203, 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. IC19-40-000, 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-516A, Standardization of Small Generator 
Interconnection Agreements and Procedures.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0203.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-516A information 
collection requirements with no changes to the current requirements.
    Abstract: Under Sections 205 and 206 of the Federal Power Act 
(FPA), the Commission is charged with ensuring just and reasonable 
electric transmission rates and charges as well as ensuring that 
jurisdictional providers do not subject any person to any undue 
prejudice or disadvantage.
    The lack of consistent and readily accessible terms and conditions 
for connecting resources to the grid led to a large number of disputes 
between jurisdictional transmission providers and small generators in 
the late 1990s and early 2000s. In response, the Commission directed 
transmission providers to include Commission-approved, standard, pro-
forma interconnection procedures (small generator interconnection 
procedures or SGIP) and a single uniformly applicable interconnection 
agreement (small generator interconnection agreement or SGIA) in their 
open-access transmission tariffs (OATTs). The requirement to create and 
file these documents was instituted in August 2005 by Commission Order 
No. 2006 and is codified in 18 CFR 35.28(f). This requirement set and 
maintained a standard in OATTs for consistent consideration and 
processing of interconnection requests by transmission providers.
    Since the issuance of Order No. 2006, many aspects of the energy 
industry have changed including the growth of small generator 
interconnection requests and the growth in solar photovoltaic (PV) 
installations. These changes have been driven, in part, by state 
renewable energy goals and policies. For example, approximately 3,300 
MW of grid-connected PV capacity were installed in the U.S. in 2012, 
compared to 79 MW in 2005, the year Order No. 2006 was issued.
    In February 2012, pursuant to Sections 205 and 206 of the FPA and 
Rule 207 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedures,\1\ and 
noting that the Commission encouraged stakeholders to submit proposed 
revisions to the regulations set forth in Order No. 2006, the Solar 
Energy Industries Association (SEIA) filed a Petition to Initiate 
Rulemaking (Petition).\2\ The Petition requested the Commission revise 
the pro forma SGIA and SGIP set forth in Order No. 2006. SEIA asserted 
that the pro forma SGIP and SGIA as applied to small solar generation 
were no longer just and reasonable, had become unduly discriminatory, 
and presented unreasonable barriers to market entry. SEIA noted that 
its Petition would apply exclusively to solar electric generation due 
to its unique characteristics.
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    \1\ 18 CFR 385.207.
    \2\ SEIA Petition at 4 (citing Order No. 2006, FERC Stats. & 
Regs. 31,180 at P 118). Docket No. RM12-10-000, https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/opennat.asp?fileID=12895647.
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    In 2012 the Commission issued a Notice of Petition for Rulemaking 
in Docket No. RM12-10-000 and began a public process to explore SEIA's

[[Page 61051]]

Petition through the Commission's formal notice and comment process as 
well as technical conferences.
    In November 2013, the Commission issued Order No. 792 to amend the 
pro forma Small Generator Interconnection Procedures and pro forma 
Small Generator Interconnection Agreement. Order No. 792:
    (1) Incorporated provisions that provided an Interconnection 
Customer with the option of requesting from the Transmission Provider a 
pre-application report providing existing information about system 
conditions at a possible Point of Interconnection;
    (2) revised the 2 megawatt (MW) threshold for participation in the 
Fast Track Process included in section 2 of the pro forma SGIP;
    (3) revised the customer options meeting and the supplemental 
review following failure of the Fast Track screens so that the 
supplemental review is performed at the discretion of the 
Interconnection Customer and includes minimum load and other screens to 
determine if a Small Generating Facility may be interconnected safely 
and reliably;
    (4) revised the pro forma SGIP Facilities Study Agreement to allow 
the Interconnection Customer the opportunity to provide written 
comments to the Transmission Provider on the upgrades required for 
interconnection;
    (5) revised the pro forma SGIP and the pro forma SGIA to 
specifically include energy storage devices; and
    (6) clarified certain sections of the pro forma SGIP and the pro 
forma SGIA.
    With these modifications, the Commission concluded that the package 
of reforms adopted in Order No. 792 would reduce the time and cost to 
process small generator interconnection requests for Interconnection 
Customers and Transmission Providers, maintain reliability, increase 
energy supply, and remove barriers to the development of new energy 
resources.
    Type of Respondents: Jurisdictional transmission service providers.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \3\ The Commission estimates the 
following burden and cost.\4\
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    \3\ 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 Part 1320.
    \4\ The hourly estimates for wages plus benefits are derived 
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (at http://bls.gov/oes/current/naics3_221000.htm and http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm). 
For wages plus benefits, we are using $84.38 per hour, which is the 
average for an attorney (occupation code 23-0000, $142.86/hour), an 
electrical engineer (occupation code 17-2071, $68.17/hour), and 
administrative staff (occupation code 43-0000, $42.11/hour).

                                                                        FERC-516A
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                                   Number of     Annual number   Total number                                Total annual burden  hours &      Cost per
       Requirements \5\           respondents    of responses    of responses     Average burden & cost         total  annual cost ($)        respondent
                                   annually     per respondent     (rounded)         ($) per response                  (rounded)                 ($)
                                           (1)             (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4)......................  (3) * (4) = (5).................    (5) / (1)
                                                                           (3)
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Maintenance of Documents--                  46               1              46  1 hr.; $84.38............  46 hrs.; $3,881.................       $84.38
 Transmission Providers.
Filing of Agreements--                      95               1              95  25 hrs.; $2,109.50.......  2,375 hrs.; $200,403............     2,109.50
 Transmission Providers.
Pre-Application Report--                   800               1             800  1 hr.; $84.38............  800 hrs.; $67,504...............        84.38
 Interconnection Customers \6\.
Pre-Application Report--                   142            5.63             800  2.5 hrs.; $210.95........  2,000 hrs.; $168,760............     1,188.45
 Transmission Providers.
Supplemental Review--                      500               1             500  0.5 hr.; $42.19..........  250 hrs.; $21,095...............        42.19
 Interconnection Customers.
Supplemental Review--                      142            3.52             500  20 hrs.; $1,687.60.......  10,000 hrs.; $843,800...........     5,942.25
 Transmission Providers.
Review of Required Upgrades--              250               1             250  1 hr.; $84.38............  250 hrs.; $21,095...............        84.38
 Interconnection Customers.
Review of Required Upgrades--              142            1.76             250  2 hrs.; $168.76..........  500 hrs.; $42,190...............       297.11
 Transmission Providers.
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    Total.....................  ..............  ..............           3,241  .........................  16,221 hrs.; $1,368,728.........  ...........
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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\ All requirements for transmission providers are mandatory. 
All requirements for interconnection customers are voluntary.
    \6\ We assume each request for a pre-application report 
corresponds with one Interconnection Customer.

    Dated: November 5, 2019.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-24565 Filed 11-8-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P