[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 240 (Monday, December 14, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80778-80779]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27434]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC21-9-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-725U); 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 a renewal of currently approved 
information collection, FERC-725U (Mandatory Reliability Standards: 
Reliability Standard CIP-014-2).

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due February 12, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC21-9-
000) by one of the following methods:
     eFiling at Commission's website: http://www.ferc.gov
     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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Brown may be reached by email at 
[email protected] or telephone at (202) 502-8663.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: FERC-725U (Mandatory Reliability 
Standards: Reliability Standard CIP-014)
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0274.
    Type of Request: Three-year approval of the FERC-725U information 
collection requirements, with no changes to the reporting or 
recordkeeping requirements.
    Abstract: On August 8, 2005, The Electricity Modernization Act of 
2005, which is Title XII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005), 
was enacted into law. EPAct 2005 added a new section 215 to the Federal 
Power Act (FPA), which requires a Commission-certified Electric 
Reliability Organization (ERO) to develop mandatory and enforceable 
Reliability Standards, subject to Commission review and approval. Once 
approved, the Reliability Standards may be enforced by the ERO, subject 
to Commission oversight, or by the Commission independently. Section 
215 of the FPA requires a Commission-certified ERO to develop mandatory 
and enforceable Reliability Standards, subject to Commission review and 
approval. Once approved, the Reliability Standards may be enforced by 
the ERO subject to Commission oversight or by the Commission 
independently. In 2006, the Commission certified NERC (now called the 
North American Electric Reliability Corporation) as the ERO pursuant to 
section 215 of the FPA. Reliability Standard CIP-014-2 requires 
applicable transmission owners and transmission operators to identify 
and protect transmission stations and transmission substations, and 
their associated primary control centers that if rendered inoperable or 
damaged resulting from a physical attack could result in widespread 
instability, uncontrolled separation, or cascading within an 
Interconnection.
    In terms of information collection requirements, an applicable 
entity must create or maintain documentation showing compliance, when 
appropriate, with each requirement of the Reliability Standard. This 
Reliability Standard CIP-014-2 has six requirements. Transmission 
owners and transmission operators must keep data or evidence to show 
compliance with the standard for three years unless directed by its 
Compliance Enforcement Authority. If a responsible entity is found non-
compliant, it must keep information related to the non-compliance until 
mitigation is complete and approved, or for three years, whichever is 
longer.
    Type of Respondents: Intrastate natural gas and Hinshaw pipelines
    Estimate of Annual Burden \1\and Cost \2\: The Commission estimates 
the total Public Reporting Burden for the FERC-725U information 
collection as:
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    \1\ 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. For 
further explanation of what is included in the information 
collection burden, refer to 5 CFR 1320.3.
    \2\ Commission staff estimates that the industry's skill set and 
cost (for wages and benefits) for FERC-725U are approximately the 
same as the Commission's average cost. The FERC 2020 average salary 
plus benefits for one FERC full-time equivalent (FTE) is $172,329/
year (or $83.00/hour).

[[Page 80779]]



                                                                        FERC-725U
                                             [Mandatory Reliability Standards: Reliability Standard CIP-014]
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                                                       Annual  number                                                                         Average
                                          Number of     of  responses   Total  number  Average  burden  hours &   Total  annual  burden    annual  cost
                                         respondents         per        of  responses      cost per  response     hours &  total  annual        per
                                             \3\         respondent                                                        cost             respondent
                                                  (1)             (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4).....................  (3) * (4) = (5)........       (5) / (1)
                                                                                  (3)
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Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping...             336               1             336  32.71 hrs.; $2,714.93...  10,991 hrs.; $912,253..       $2,714,93
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    Total FERC-725U..................             336               1             336  32.71 hrs.; $2,714.93...  10,991 hrs.; $912,253..       $2,714.93
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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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    \3\ The total number of transmission owners and operators equals 
336, this represents the unique US entities taken from October 2, 
2020 NERC Compliance registry information.

    Dated: December 8, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-27434 Filed 12-11-20; 8:45 am]
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