[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10670-10671]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03698]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. Ic20-6-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (Ferc-725a(1b); 
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-725A(1B), (Mandatory Reliability Standards 
for the Bulk Power System)

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due April 27, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC20-6-
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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: FERC-725A(1B), (Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk 
Power System).
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0292.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-725A(1B) 
information collection requirements with no changes to the current 
reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
    Abstract: The FERC-725A(1B) Under section 215 of the Federal Power 
Act (FPA),1the Commission proposes to approve Reliability Standards 
TOP-010-1 (Real-time Reliability Monitoring and Analysis Capabilities) 
submitted by North American Electric Corporation (NERC). In this order, 
the Reliability Standards build on monitoring, real-time assessments 
and support effective situational awareness. The Reliability Standards 
accomplish this by requiring applicable entities to: (1) Provide 
notification to operators of real-time monitoring alarm failures; (2) 
provide operators with indications of the quality of information being 
provided by their monitoring and analysis capabilities; and (3) address 
deficiencies in the quality of information being provided by their 
monitoring and analysis capabilities. FERC-725A(1B) address situational 
awareness objectives by providing for operator awareness when key 
alarming tools are not performing as intended. These collections will 
improve real-time situational awareness capabilities and enhance 
reliable operations by requiring reliability coordinators, transmission 
operators, and balancing authorities to provide operators with an 
improved awareness of system conditions analysis capabilities, 
including alarm availability, so that operators may take appropriate 
steps to ensure reliability. These functions include planning, 
operations, data sharing, monitoring, and analysis.
    Type of Respondent: Balancing Authority (BA),Transmission 
Operations (TOP) and Reliability Coordinators (RC).
    Estimate of Annual Burden:\1\ The Commission estimates the total 
annual burden and cost \2\ for this information collection in the table 
below.
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    \1\ ``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.
    \2\ Costs (for wages and benefits) are based on wage figures 
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for May 2019 (at https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm) and benefits information (at 
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm).
    \3\ Our estimates are based on the NERC Compliance Registry 
Summary of Entities and Functions as of January 31, 2019, which 
indicates there are registered as BA and TOP.
    \4\ The number of respondents is the number of entities in which 
a change in burden from the current standards to the proposed 
exists, not the total number of entities from the current or 
proposed standards that are applicable.
    \5\ The estimated hourly costs (salary plus benefits) are based 
on Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) information, as of May 2019 (at 
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm, with updated benefits 
information for March 2019 at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm), for an electrical engineer (code 17-2071, $68.17/
hour), and for information and record clerks record keeper (code 43-
4199, $40.84/hour). The hourly figure for engineers is used for 
reporting; the hourly figure for information and record clerks is 
used for document retention.

                                          FERC-725A(1B), Changes Due to TOP-010-1 in Docket No. IC20-6-000 \3\
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                                                       Number of     Annual number                   Average burden &     Total annual
             Entity                Requirements &     respondents    of responses    Total number        cost per        burden hours &      Cost per
                                       period             \4\       per respondent   of responses      response \5\    total annual cost  respondent ($)
                                 .................             (1)             (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4)..............  (3) * (4) = (5)..       (5) / (1)
                                                                                               (3)
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BA \6\.........................  Year 1                         98               1              98  70 hrs.;           6,860 hrs.;             $4,494.00
                                  Implementation                                                     $4,494.00.         $440,412.00.
                                  (one-time
                                  reporting).
                                 Starting in Year               98               1              98  42 hrs.;           4,116 hrs.;             $2,696.40
                                  2 (annual                                                          $2,696.40.         $264,247.20.
                                  reporting).
TOP \7\........................  Year 1                        169               1             169  70 hrs.;           11,830 hrs.;            $4,494.00
                                  Implementation                                                     $4,494.00.         $759,486.00.
                                  (one-time
                                  reporting).

[[Page 10671]]

 
                                 Starting in Year              169               1             169  40 hrs.;           6,760 hrs.;             $2,568.00
                                  2 (annual                                                          $2,568.00.         $433,992.00.
                                  reporting).
BA/TOP.........................  Annual Record                 267               1             267  2 hrs.; $75.38...  534 hrs.;                  $75.38
                                  Retention.                                                                            $20,126.46.
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    Total Burden Hours Per Year  .................  ..............  ..............  ..............  .................  19,224 hrs.
                                                                                                                        $1,220,024.46
                                                                                                                        (Year 1); 11,410
                                                                                                                        hrs. $718,365.66
                                                                                                                        per year,
                                                                                                                        (starting in
                                                                                                                        Year 2).
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Averaging One-Time Burden  and Responses for FERC-725A(1B), Changes Due 
to TOP-010-1 in Docket No. IC20-6-000 Over Years 1-3
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    \6\ Balancing Authority (BA). The following Requirements and 
associated measures apply to balancing authorities: Requirement R1: 
A revised data specification and writing the required operating 
process/operating procedure; and Requirement R2: Quality monitoring 
logs and the data errors and corrective action logs.
    \7\ Transmission Operations (TOP). The following Requirements 
and associated measures apply to transmission operators: Requirement 
R1: A revised data specification and writing the required operating 
process/operating procedure; and Requirement R3: Alarm process 
monitor performance logs to maintain performance logs and corrective 
action plans.
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--Year 1 has 19,224 hrs. of burden and record retention
--Years 2 and 3 have on-going annual burden and record retention of 
11,410 hrs.

    For purposes of this OMB clearance, the 19,224 one-time burden 
hours will be averaged over Years 1-3. After Year 3, the one-time 
burden hours will then be removed from the inventory. The estimated 
additional burden due to this Order is 14,014 [consisting of (19,224 
+11,410 + 11,410) / 3].
    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: February 19, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-03698 Filed 2-24-20; 8:45 am]
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