[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 148 (Friday, July 31, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46080-46082]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16679]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. RD20-7-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-725G); Comment 
Request; Revision

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of revision 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 proposed changes to the 
information collection FERC-725G (Mandatory Reliability Standards for 
the Bulk-Power System: PRC Reliability Standards) and will be 
submitting the information collection to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due September 29, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted to the Commission, in Docket 
No. RD20-7-000, by one of the following methods:
     eFiling at Commission's Website: http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp.
     U.S. Postal Service Mail: Persons unable to file 
electronically may mail similar pleadings to the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.
     Effective 7/1/2020, delivery of filings other than by 
eFiling or the U.S. Postal Service should be delivered to Health and 
Human Services, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
    Instructions: All submissions must be formatted and filed in 
accordance with submission guidelines at http://www.ferc.gov. For user 
assistance, contact FERC Online Support by email at 
[email protected], or by phone at: (866) 208-3676 (toll-free).
    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], and telephone at (202) 502-8663.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: FERC-725G, Mandatory Reliability 
Standards for the Bulk-Power System: PRC Reliability Standards.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0252.
    Type of Request: Revisions to FERC-725G information collection 
requirements, as discussed in Docket No. RD20-7.\1\
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    \1\ Note that Docket No. RD20-4 is pending and proposes changes 
to FERC-725G. Those proposed changes in Docket No. RD20-4 are 
separate and not addressed in this notice.
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    Abstract: The proposed Reliability Standard PRC-024-3 improves upon 
Reliability Standard PRC-024-2 by clarifying the voltage and frequency 
protection settings requirements, so that generating resources 
including inverter-based resources (IBR) continue to

[[Page 46081]]

support grid stability during defined system voltage and frequency 
excursions. The proposed Reliability Standard PRC-024-3 includes 
modifications to the applicability including two new facilities: 
generator step-up transformer (GSU)/main power transformer (MPT for 
IBR) and unit auxiliary transformer (UAT).
    On August 8, 2005, Congress enacted into law the Electricity 
Modernization Act of 2005, which is Title XII, Subtitle A, of the 
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005).\2\ EPAct 2005 added a new 
section 215 to the FPA, which required a Commission-certified Electric 
Reliability Organization (ERO) to develop mandatory and enforceable 
Reliability Standards, which are subject to Commission review and 
approval. Once approved, the Reliability Standard may be enforced by 
the ERO subject to Commission oversight, or the Commission can 
independently enforce Reliability Standards.\3\
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    \2\ Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law 109-58, Title XII, 
Subtitle A, 119 Stat. 594, 941 (codified at 16 U.S.C. 824o).
    \3\ 16 U.S.C. 824o(e)(3).
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    On February 3, 2006, the Commission issued Order No. 672, 
implementing section 215 of the FPA.\4\ Pursuant to Order No. 672, the 
Commission certified one organization, North American Electric 
Reliability Corporation (NERC), as the ERO.\5\ The Reliability 
Standards developed by the ERO and approved by the Commission apply to 
users, owners and operators of the Bulk-Power System as set forth in 
each Reliability Standard.
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    \4\ Rules Concerning Certification of the Electric Reliability 
Organization; and Procedures for the Establishment, Approval, and 
Enforcement of Electric Reliability Standards, Order No. 672, FERC 
Stats. & Regs. 31,204, order on reh'g, Order No. 672-A, FERC Stats. 
& Regs. 31,212 (2006).
    \5\ North American Electric Reliability Corp., 116 FERC 61,062, 
order on reh'g and compliance, 117 FERC 61,126 (2006), order on 
compliance, 118 FERC 61,190, order on reh'g, 119 FERC 61,046 (2007), 
aff'd sub nom. Alcoa Inc. v. FERC, 564 F.3d 1342 (DC Cir. 2009).
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    On March 20, 2020, North American Electric Reliability Corporation 
(NERC) submitted for approval proposed Reliability Standard PRC-024-3 
(Frequency and Voltage Protection Settings for Generating Resources.), 
as well as the proposed implementation plan, Violation Risk Factors, 
and Violation Severity Levels. NERC asserts that PRC-024-3 improves 
upon currently effective Reliability Standard PRC-024-2 by clarifying 
the voltage and frequency protection settings requirements so that 
generating resources including inverter-based resources (IBR) continue 
to support grid stability during defined system voltage and frequency 
excursions.
    NERC's filed petition was noticed on March 26, 2020, with 
interventions, comments and protests due on or before April 20, 2020. 
This due date was extended to May 1, 2020, due to the COVID-19 
pandemic. One motion to intervene and comment was filed by California 
Independent System Operator supporting approval of proposed Reliability 
Standard PRC-024-3 under Docket No. RD20-7.
    Reliability Standard PRC-024-3 was approved by FERC on 7/9/2020 in 
a Delegated Letter Order (DLO).\6\
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    \6\ The DLO is posted in eLibrary at https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/OpenNat.asp?fileID=15579259.
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    Type of Respondent: Generator Owner.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \7\ Our estimate of the number of 
respondents affected is based on the NERC Compliance Registry as of 
June 1, 2020.\8\ According to the Compliance Registry, NERC has 
registered 975 generator owners within the United States.
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    \7\ 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. See 5 
CFR 1320 for additional information on the definition of information 
collection burden.
    \8\ NERC Compliance Registry (June 1, 2020), available at 
https://www.nerc.com/pa/comp/Registration%20and%20Certification%20DL/NERC_Compliance_Registry_Matrix_Excel.xlsx.
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    The burden estimates reflect the standards and the number of 
affected entities.
    Estimates for the additional average annual burden and cost \9\ due 
to Docket No. RD20-7-000 follow.
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    \9\ The hourly cost estimates are based on wage data from the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics for May 2019 (at https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm) and benefits data for Dec. 2019 (issued March 
2020, at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm). The hourly 
costs (for wages and benefits) are for: Electrical Engineer 
(Occupation code 17-2071), $70.91; Manager (Occupation code 11-
0000), $97.15; and Information and Record Clerk (Occupation code 43-
4199), $41.03.

                                FERC-725G, Modifications Due to Docket No. RD20-7
                 [& PRC-024-3 (Generator Frequency and Voltage Protective Relay Settings)] \10\
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                                                  Number of                      Average burden    Total annual
                                  Number of        annual      Total number of    hours & cost    burden hours &
           Function              respondents    responses per       annual          ($) per        total annual
                                                 respondent       responses         response        cost  ($)
                                          (1)             (2)  (1) x (2) = (3)  (4)............  (3) x (4) = (5)
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Develop coordination and             975 (GO)               1  975 (one-time).  8 hrs.; $669.36  7,800 hrs. (one-
 relay settings procedures                                                                        time);
 (one-time implementation in                                                                      $652,626.00.
 Year 1) \11\.
Implement Relay Settings (one-       975 (GO)               1  975 (one-time).  8 hrs.; $561.52  7,800 hrs. (one-
 time implementation in Year                                                                      time);
 1)\12\.                                                                                          $547,482.00.
Evidence Retention (ongoing,         975 (GO)               1  975............  1 hr.; $41.03..  975 hrs.;
 starting in Year 1)\13\.                                                                         $40,004.25.
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    Total....................  ..............  ..............  ...............  ...............  16,575 hrs.;
                                                                                                  $1,240,112.25.
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    \10\ The Generator Owners will have one-time burden (e.g., to 
develop setting procedures, a coordination process, and a process 
for implementing relay settings) as well as ongoing records 
retention requirements. The one-time burden is in Year 1; annual 
ongoing burden starts in Year 1.
    \11\ The hourly cost (for wages plus benefits) assumes equal 
amounts of time spent by the Electrical Engineer and Manager. The 
average hourly cost is $83.67 (($70.19 + $97.15)/2).
    \12\ The hourly cost (for wages plus benefits) is $70.19 for the 
Electrical Engineer.
    \13\ The hourly cost (for wages plus benefits) is $41.03 for the 
Information and Record Clerk.
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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.


[[Page 46082]]


    Dated: July 27, 2020.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-16679 Filed 7-30-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P