[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 99 (Monday, May 23, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31224-31225]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-11012]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration


Agency Information Collection Proposed Extension

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: EIA invites public comment on the proposed three-year 
extension, with changes, to the Electric Power & Renewable Electricity 
Surveys (EPRES) as required under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 
EPRES consists of nine surveys, including annual, monthly and one daily 
survey. These surveys collect data from entities involved in the 
production, transmission, delivery, and sale of electricity, and in 
maintaining the reliable operation of the power system. The data 
collected are the primary source of information on the nation's 
electric power system. The renewable energy survey collects information 
on the manufacture, shipment, import, and export of photovoltaic cells 
and modules, and is the primary national source of information on these 
topics.

DATES: EIA must receive all comments on this proposed information 
collection no later than July 22, 2022. If you anticipate any 
difficulties in submitting your comments by the deadline, contact the 
person listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice as soon as 
possible.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments to Sara Hoff, Office of Energy 
Production, Conversion & Delivery, U.S. Energy Information 
Administration, Forrestal Building, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 
Independence Ave. SW, EI-23, Washington, DC 20585. Submission via email 
to [email protected] is recommended.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara Hoff, (202) 586-1242 email: 
[email protected]. The forms and instructions are available on 
EIA's website at https://www.eia.gov/survey/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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.
    This information collection request contains:
    (1) OMB No.: 1905-0129.
    (2) Information Collection Request Title: Electric Power & 
Renewable Electricity Surveys.
    (3) Type of Request: Three-year extension with changes.
    (4) Purpose: EIA's EPRES consists of the following nine surveys:
    Form EIA-63B Photovoltaic Module Shipments Report tracks 
photovoltaic module manufacturing, shipments, technology types, 
revenue, and related information.
    Form EIA-860 Annual Electric Generator Report collects data on 
existing and planned electric generation plants, and associated 
equipment including generators, boilers, cooling systems, and 
environmental control systems. Data are collected from all existing 
units and from planned units scheduled for initial commercial operation 
within ten years of the specified reporting period (depending on the 
type of power plant).
    Form EIA-860M Monthly Update to the Annual Electric Generator 
Report collects data on the status of proposed new generators scheduled 
to begin commercial operation within the future 12-month period; and 
existing generators that have proposed modifications that are scheduled 
for completion within one month. The information is needed to ensure a 
complete and accurate inventory of the nation's generating fleet, for 
such purposes as reliability and environmental analysis.
    Form EIA-861 Annual Electric Power Industry Report collects annual 
information on the retail sale, distribution, transmission, and 
generation of electric energy in the United States and its territories. 
The data include related activities such as energy efficiency and 
demand response programs. In combination with Form EIA-861S short form 
and the monthly Form EIA-861M, this annual survey provides coverage of 
sales to ultimate customers of electric power and related activities.
    Form EIA-861S Annual Electric Power Industry Report (Short Form) 
collects a limited set of information annually from small companies 
involved in the retail sale of electricity. A complete set of annual 
data are collected from large companies on Form EIA-861. The small 
utilities that currently report on Form EIA-861S are required to 
complete Form EIA-861 once every eight years to provide updated 
information for the statistical estimation of uncollected data.
    Form EIA-861M Monthly Electric Power Industry Report collects 
monthly information from a sample of electric utilities, energy service 
providers, and distribution companies that sell or deliver electric 
power to end users. Data included on this form includes sales and 
revenue for end-use sectors--residential, commercial, industrial, and 
transportation. This survey is the monthly complement to the annual 
data collection from the universe of respondents that report on Form 
EIA-861 and Form EIA-861S.
    Form EIA-923 Power Plant Operations Report collects information 
from electric power plants in the United States on electric power 
generation, energy source consumption, end of reporting period fossil 
fuel stocks, as well as the quality and cost of fossil fuel receipts.
    Form EIA-930 Balancing Authority Operations Report collects a

[[Page 31225]]

comprehensive set of the current day's system demand data on an hourly 
basis and the prior day's basic hourly electric system operating data 
on a daily basis. The data provide a basic measure of the current 
status of electric systems in the United States and can be used to 
compare actual system demand with the day-ahead forecast thereby 
providing a measure of the accuracy of the forecasting used to commit 
resources. In addition, the data can be used to address smart grid 
related issues such as integrating wind and solar generation, improving 
the coordination of natural gas and electric short-term operations and 
expanding the use of demand response, storage, and electric vehicles in 
electric systems operations.
    (4a) Proposed Changes to Information Collection:

Form EIA-860 Annual Electric Generator Report

    EIA proposes to add battery storage questions for proposed 
applications, including planned design attributes, energy storage 
capacity, and use case. For energy storage applications that are 
operationally connected to renewable technologies, EIA proposes to add 
a question that identifies the related plants and generators.
    EIA also proposes to add `bifacial' as a solar photovoltaic 
technology option.

Form EIA-861 Annual Electric Power Industry Report

    EIA proposes to expand questions about battery storage on the net 
metering and non net-metered distributed generators schedules. EIA is 
dropping two questions on net metering `storage' and adding six 
questions pertaining to batteries.
    For non net-metered EIA is dropping one `storage' question and 
adding two questions about batteries. EIA is proposing to add one 
question about Photovoltaic generators.

Form EIA-861M Monthly Electric Power Industry Report

    EIA proposes to expand questions about battery storage on the net 
metering and non net-metered distributed generators schedules. EIA is 
dropping two questions on net metering `storage' and adding six 
questions pertaining to batteries.
    For non net-metered EIA is dropping one `storage' question and 
adding two questions about batteries. EIA is proposing to add one 
question about Photovoltaic generators.

Form EIA-930 Hourly and Daily Balancing Authority Operations Report

    EIA proposes to improve the EIA-930 by adding an information 
technology security requirement and limiting reported values to 
integers. EIA also proposes adding demand response and energy storage 
to the list of options for which net generation is to be reported.

Form EIA-930A Annual Balancing Authority Generator Inventory Report

    EIA proposes to improve the ability to reconcile Form EIA-930 data 
with data reported on Form EIA-860 and Form EIA-923 by collecting the 
plants and generators used by each balancing authority.
    (5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 21,488:
    Form EIA-63B has 57 respondents;
    Form EIA-860 has 5,716 respondents;
    Form EIA-860M has 478 respondents;
    Form EIA-861 has 1,735 respondents;
    Form EIA-861S has 1,692 respondents;
    Form EIA-861M has 650 respondents;
    Form EIA-923 has 10,997 respondents;
    Form EIA-930 has 63 respondents;
    Pretesting methodology consists of 100 respondents.
    (6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 84,881.
    (7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 198,781 hours.
    (8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: 
$16,574,360 (198,781 burden hours times $83.38 per hour). EIA estimates 
that there are no additional costs to respondents associated with the 
surveys other than the costs associated with the burden hours since the 
information is maintained during normal course of business.
    Statutory Authority: 15 U.S.C. 772(b) and 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on May 18, 2022.
Samson A. Adeshiyan,
Director, Office of Statistical Methods & Research, U.S. Energy 
Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 2022-11012 Filed 5-20-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P