[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 249 (Tuesday, December 29, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 85629-85631]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-28716]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. IC20-23-000 and RD20-9-000]


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

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of revised 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 renewal with revisions of 
currently approved FERC-

[[Page 85630]]

725R (Mandatory Reliability Standards: BAL Reliability Standards). The 
Commission is submitting FERC-725R with revisions 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.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due January 28, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments on FERC-725R, as revised, to OMB 
through www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, Attention: Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission Desk Officer. Please identify the OMB control 
number (1902-0268) in the subject line. Your comments should be sent 
within 30 days of publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
    Please submit copies of your comments to the Commission (identified 
by Docket Nos. IC20-23-000 and RD20-9-000) 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 July 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

    OMB submissions must be formatted and filed in accordance with 
submission guidelines at www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain; Using the 
search function under the ``Currently Under Review field,'' select 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; click ``submit'' and select 
``comment'' to the right of the subject collection.
    FERC 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] and telephone at (202) 502-8663.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: FERC-725R, Mandatory Reliability Standards: BAL Reliability 
Standards.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0268.
    Type of Request: Three-year request for renewal with revisions of 
the FERC-725R information collection (IC) requirements.
    Abstract: 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).\1\ 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, 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 may independently enforce Reliability Standards.\2\
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    \1\ Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law 109-58, Title XII, 
Subtitle A, 119 Stat. 594, 941 (codified at 16 U.S.C. 824o).
    \2\ 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.\3\ Pursuant to Order No. 672, the 
Commission certified one organization, the North American Electric 
Reliability Corporation (NERC), as the ERO.\4\ 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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    \3\ 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).
    \4\ 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 
(D.C. Cir. 2009).
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Information Collection Components Not Affected by Docket No. RD20-9-000

    On August 28, the Commission published a notice that it is seeking 
renewal of FERC-725R (85 FR 53358). The Commission invited public 
comments, but received none. At present, FERC-725R includes the 
following nation-wide Reliability Standards that would not be affected 
by Docket No. RD20-9-000: \5\
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    \5\ There are also regional BAL Reliability Standards. They are 
not included in FERC-725R and are not discussed here. The regional 
BAL Reliability Standards are covered under other OMB Control Nos.
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     BAL-001-2,\6\ Real Power Balancing Control Performance. 
Reliability Standard BAL-001-2 is designed to ensure that applicable 
entities balance generation and load by maintaining system frequency 
within narrow bounds around a scheduled value, and it improves 
reliability by adding a frequency component to the measurement of a 
Balancing Authority's Area Control Error (ACE).\7\
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    \6\ It was approved in Docket No. RM14-10.
    \7\ Area Control Error is the ``instantaneous difference between 
a Balancing Authority's net actual and scheduled interchange, taking 
into accounts the effects of Frequency Bias, correction for meter 
error, and Automatic Time Error Correction (ATEC), if operating in 
the ATEC mode. ATEC is only applicable to Balancing Authorities in 
the Western Interconnection.'' NERC Glossary.
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     BAL-002-3,\8\ Disturbance Control Standard--Contingency 
Reserve for Recovery from a Balancing Contingency Event. This standard 
ensures that a responsible entity, either a balancing authority or 
reserve sharing group, is able to recover from system contingencies by 
deploying adequate reserves to return their Area Control Error to 
defined values and replacing the capacity and energy lost due to 
generation or transmission equipment outages.
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    \8\ It was approved in Docket No. RD18-7.
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     BAL-005-1,\9\ Balancing Authority Control. This standard 
establishes requirements for acquiring data necessary to calculate 
Reporting Area Control Error (Reporting ACE). The standard also 
specifies a minimum periodicity, accuracy, and availability requirement 
for acquisition of the data and for providing the information to the 
System Operator. It requires balancing authorities to maintain minimum 
levels of annual availability of 99.5% for each balancing authority 
system for calculating Reporting ACE.
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    \9\ It was approved in Docket No. RM16-13.
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Information Collection Components Affected by Docket No. RD20-9-000

    On December 19, 2019, NERC submitted a petition seeking Commission 
approval for proposed Reliability Standard BAL-003-2. On May 20, 2020, 
the Commission noticed the petition in Docket No. RD20-9-000. 
Interventions, comments, and protests were due on or before June 29, 
2020. None were received. The Commission approved Reliability Standard 
BAL-003-2 on July 15, 2020 in a Delegated Letter Order (DLO).\10\
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    \10\ The DLO is posted in eLibrary at http://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/OpenNat.asp?fileID=15585069.
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    On August 26, 2020, the Commission published a notice of revision 
of FERC-725R in Docket No. RD20-9-000 (85 FR

[[Page 85631]]

52584). The Commission received no comments in response to the notice 
of revision. The Commission now seeks renewal of FERC-725R with the 
revisions that the Commission has approved in Docket No. RD20-9-000.
    Type of Respondent: Balancing Authorities, Response Sharing Group, 
and Frequency Response Sharing Group.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \11\ Our estimate of the number of 
respondents affected is based on the NERC Compliance Registry as of 
July 17, 2020.\12\ According to the Compliance Registry, NERC has 
registered 97 Balancing Authorities (BA), 11 Response Sharing Groups 
(RSG), and 1 Frequency Response Sharing Group (FRSG) within the United 
States, as noted. The burden estimates reflect the number of affected 
entities for each standard. Estimates for the average annual burden and 
cost \13\ follow.
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    \11\ ``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 5 CFR 1320.3.
    \12\ NERC Compliance Registry (July 17, 2020), available at 
https://www.nerc.com/pa/comp/Registration%20and%20Certification%20DL/NERC_Compliance_Registry_Matrix_Excel.xlsx.
    \13\ 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). For 
reporting requirements, the estimated hourly cost is $70.19, based 
on the wages and benefits for Occupation Code 17-2071 (Electrical 
Engineer). For recordkeeping requirements, the estimated hourly cost 
is $41.03, based on the wages and benefits for Occupation Code 43-
4199 (Information and Record Clerk).

                                         FERC-725R, as Revised by RD20-9
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                                                  Number of                                        Total annual
                                Number & type      annual       Total number    Average burden    burden hours &
           Function            of respondents   responses per     of annual    hours & cost ($)    total annual
                                                 respondent       responses      per response        cost ($)
                                          (1)             (2)     (1) x (2) =  (4).............  (3) x (4) = (5)
                                                                          (3)
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                                                    BAL-001-2
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BA Reporting Requirements....              97               1              97  8 hrs.; $561.52.  776 hrs.;
                                                                                                  $54,467.44.
BA Recordkeeping Requirements              97               1              97  4 hrs.; $164.12.  388 hrs.;
                                                                                                  $15,919.64.
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                                                    BAL-002-3
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BA & RSG Reporting                        108               1             108  8 hrs.; $561.52.  864 hrs.;
 Requirements.                                                                                    $60,644.16.
BA & RSG Recordkeeping                    108               1             108  4 hrs.; $164.12.  432 hrs.;
 Requirements.                                                                                    $17,724.96.
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                                BAL-003-2 (as approved in Docket No. RD20-9-000)
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BA & FRSG Reporting                        98              28           2,744  8 hrs.; $561.52.  21,952 hrs.;
 Requirements.                                                                                    $1,540,810.88.
BA & FRSG Recordkeeping                    98               1              98  2 hrs.; $82.06..  196 hrs.;
 Requirements.                                                                                    $8,041.88.
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                                                    BAL-005-1
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BA Reporting Requirements....              97               1              97  1 hr.; $70.19...  97 hrs.;
                                                                                                  $6,808.43.
BA Recordkeeping Requirements              97               1              97  1 hr.; $41.03...  97 hrs.;
                                                                                                  $3,979.91.
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    Sub-Total for Reporting    ..............  ..............  ..............  ................  23,689 hrs.;
     Requirements.                                                                                $1,662,730.91.
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    Sub-Total for              ..............  ..............  ..............  ................  1,113 hrs.;
     Recordkeeping                                                                                $45,666.39.
     Requirements.
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        Total for Ferc-725R    ..............  ..............  ..............  ................  24,802 hrs.;
         (rounded).                                                                               $1,708,397.30.
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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 collr.ection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.

    Dated: December 21, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-28716 Filed 12-28-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P