[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 216 (Friday, November 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71063-71064]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24687]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

 Energy Information Administration


Agency Information Collection Extension

AGENCY: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Department 
of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: EIA submitted an information collection request for extension 
as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The information 
collection requests a three-year extension of Form OE-417 Electric 
Emergency Incident and Disturbance Report, OMB Control Number 1901-
0288. Form OE-417 collects information for DOE to monitor electric 
emergency incidents and disturbances in the United States (including 
all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin 
Islands, and the U.S. Territories). The information collected allows 
DOE to conduct post-incident reviews examining significant 
interruptions of electric power or threats to the national electric 
system.

DATES: Comments on this information collection must be received no 
later than December 7, 2020. Written comments and recommendations for 
the information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication 
of this notice to https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this 
particular information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day 
Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Tarduogno, U.S. Department of 
Energy, [email protected], 202-586-2892. The forms and 
instructions are available online at: https://www.oe.netl.doe.gov/oe417.aspx.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This information collection request contains
    (1) OMB No.: 1901-0288;
    (2) Information Collection Request Title: Electric Emergency 
Incident and Disturbance Report;
    (3) Type of Request: Three-year extension with changes;
    (4) Purpose: DOE uses Form OE-417 Electric Emergency Incident and 
Disturbance Report to monitor electric emergency incidents and 
disturbances in the United States (including all 50 States, the 
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the U.S. 
Territories) and to investigate significant interruptions of electric 
power or threats to the electric system reliability. Form OE-417 also 
enables DOE to meet the Department's national security responsibilities 
as the coordinating agency for Emergency Support Function (ESF) #12--
Energy, under the National Response Framework, and the Sector-Specific 
Agency for the energy sector, pursuant to Presidential Policy Directive 
21--Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience, Presidential 
Policy Directive 41--United States Cyber Incident Coordination, and the 
Fixing Americas Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, Public Law 114-94. 
The information may also be shared with other non-regulatory federal 
agencies assisting in emergency response and recovery operations, or 
investigating the causes of an incident or disturbance to the national 
electric system. Public summaries are published on Form OE-417 web page 
at https://www.oe.netl.doe.gov/oe417.aspx on a monthly basis to keep 
the public informed.
    (4a) Changes to Information Collection: DOE is changing the form 
number from Form OE-417 to Form DOE-417. The other changes to Form OE-
417 align the reporting requirements with the recently approved North 
American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) CIP-008-6 Reliability 
Standard, which established new definitions for a Cyber Security 
Incident and a Reportable Cyber Security Incident. CIP-008-6 also 
expanded the reporting requirements; including expanding the applicable 
systems to report on and adding new reporting requirements for 
attempted compromises of high and medium impact BES cyber systems and 
their associated electronic access control or monitoring systems. The 
continued alignment between Form OE-417 and NERC reporting requirements 
helps minimize confusion among industry stakeholders about where and 
how to file reports and enable industry stakeholders to train personnel 
to report using a single form. By incorporating the requirements 
established by NERC CIP-008-6 Reliability Standard in Form OE-417, 
entities may only be required to submit Form OE-417. This change 
reduces the reporting burden for the electric power industry. 
Additional changes to Form OE-417 clarify reporting criteria and allow 
respondents to select potentially applicable exceptions under the 
Freedom of Information Act. While submitters may mark information as 
potentially exempt, whether information is or is not exempt as part of 
a FOIA response will be determined by the Department at the time of 
processing the FOIA request. See DOE's FOIA regulations at 10 CFR part 
1004 for more information. Three changes were made to the form and one 
addition was made to the directions based on comments received during 
the 60-day public comment period. A summary of these and other changes 
to Form OE-417 is provided below:
     Changed the lettering or name of the form from ``Form OE-
417'' to ``Form DOE-417''
     Added new reporting requirements from the North American 
Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) CIP-008-6 Standard to reduce 
the combined burden on respondents reporting to NERC and DOE and 
streamline responses. It is expected that for NERC reporting entities 
registered in the United States; NERC will accept use of Form OE-417 to 
meet the submittal requirements that will be established by CIP-008-6 
to the Department of Homeland Security and the Electricity Information 
Sharing and Analysis Center
     Updated the ``Response Due'' criteria with new line 
numbers and added the following:

[[Page 71064]]

    [cir] If criterion 2 is met, also submit the Cyber Attributes on 
line T in Schedule 2.''
    [cir] ``By the end of the next calendar day after a determination, 
submit Schedule 1 and lines N--S and the Cyber Attributes on line T in 
Schedule 2 as an Attempted Cyber Compromise if criterion 14 is met.''
    [cir] ``If multiple criterion are met by an incident, Schedule 1 
and any additionally required information (as noted above), must be 
submitted within timeframe established by the criteria with the 
shortest reporting timeline.''
    [cir] ``For criterion 14 only, updates can be submitted within 7 
calendar days of a determination of new or changed attribute 
information.''
     Renumbered reporting criteria due to the new reporting 
requirements.
     To align with reporting requirements established by the 
NERC CIP-008-06 standard:
    [cir] Reworded Criteria 2 to ``Reportable Cyber Security Incident''
    [cir] Added new Criteria 3 ``Cyber event that is not a Reportable 
Cyber Security Incident that causes interruptions of electrical system 
operations.''
     To align with reporting requirements established by the 
NERC CIP-008-06 standard
    [cir] Added ``Attempted Cyber Compromise'' Alert Type to be filed 
within 1-Day
    [cir] Added corresponding criteria ``Cyber Security Incident that 
was an attempt to compromise a High or Medium Impact Bulk Electric 
System Cyber System or their associated Electronic Access Control or 
Monitoring Systems''
     Updated Line Numbers throughout Schedule 1 and Schedule 2
     Added self-identified FOIA Exemption criteria for 
respondents to identify whether the respondent considers the 
information in Schedule 1 Lines C & D may be exempt FOIA due to the 
following:
    [cir] ``Privileged or confidential information, e.g., trade 
secrets, commercial, or financial information''
    [cir] ``Critical Electric Infrastructure Information''
    [cir] ``Other information exempt from FOIA''
     Added self-identified FOIA Exemption criteria for 
respondents to identify whether information in Schedule 2 may be exempt 
FOIA due to the following:
    [cir] ``Privileged or confidential information, e.g., trade 
secrets, commercial, or financial information''
    [cir] ``Critical Electric Infrastructure Information''
    [cir] ``Other information exempt from FOIA''
     Added the following to the direction to the Narrative 
Section ``Cyber Attributes: For cyber events, including attempted cyber 
compromises, provide the following attributes (at a minimum): (1) The 
functional impact, (2) the attack vector used, and (3) the level of 
intrusion that was achieved or attempted.''
     Added the DHS CISA Central or their successor(s) to Line 
W.
     Added ``For respondents that have reporting requirements 
under EOP-004, criteria 6, 7, and 15-26 satisfy the EOP-004 reporting 
if shared with NERC by DOE. For respondents that have reporting 
requirements under CIP-008, criteria 2 and 14 satisfy the CIP-008 
reporting if shared with the E-ISAC and DHS CISA Central by DOE. For 
DOE to share the form, the appropriate boxes must be selected under 
Schedule 2, line W. If a particular incident meets both EOP-004 and 
CIP-008 requirements, then the respondent can file separate DOE-417 
reports, if they only want certain information to be shared by DOE with 
NERC, the E-ISAC, and DHS CISA Central. DOE will share all of the 
information provided on the form with the entities selected in Schedule 
2, line W'' to the instructions.
    (5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,514.
    (6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 250.
    (7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 5,455.
    (8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: 
$437,164 (5,455 burden hours times $80.14 per hour). EIA estimates that 
respondents will have no additional costs associated with the survey 
other than the burden hours.
    Comments are invited on whether or not: (a) The proposed collection 
of information is necessary for the proper performance of agency 
functions, including whether the information will have a practical 
utility; (b) EIA's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used, is accurate; (c) EIA can improve the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information it will collect; and (d) EIA can minimize 
the burden of the collection of information on respondents, such as 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Statutory Authority: 15 U.S.C. 772(b), 764(b); 764(a); and 790a and 
42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq. and the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act 
of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2601, Public Law 93-275).
    Signing Authority: This document of the Department of Energy was 
signed on October 22, 2020, by Nicholas Andersen, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary, Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency 
Response, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of Energy. 
That document with the original signature and date is maintained by 
DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance with 
requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DOE 
Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit 
the document in electronic format for publication, as an official 
document of the Department of Energy. This administrative process in no 
way alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the 
Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on November 3, 2020.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2020-24687 Filed 11-5-20; 8:45 am]
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