[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 116 (Thursday, June 16, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36313-36314]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13000]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC21-38-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-920, Electric 
Quarterly Report); Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

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 (PRA), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission 
or FERC) is soliciting public comment on the currently approved 
information collection, FERC-920 (Electric Quarterly Report (EQR)), 
which will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for a review of the information collection requirements. The Commission 
published a 60-day notice on September 24, 2021 (86 FR 53048) and 
received no comments.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due July 18, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments on FERC-920 to OMB through 
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission Desk Officer. Please identify the OMB control number (1902-
0255) 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 (identified by Docket No. 
IC21-38-000) to the Commission as noted below. Electronic filing 
through https://www.ferc.gov is preferred.
     Electronic filing: Documents must be filed in acceptable 
native applications and print-to-PDF, but not in scanned or picture 
format.
     For those unable to file electronically, comments may be 
filed by USPS mail or by hand (including courier) delivery.
    [cir] Mail via U.S. Postal Service only addressed to: Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First 
Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.
    [cir] Hand (including courier) delivery to: Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 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-920, Electric Quarterly Reports (EQR).
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0255.
    Type of Respondent: Public utilities, and non-public utilities with 
more than a de minimis market presence.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-920 information 
collection with no changes to the current reporting requirements.\1\
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    \1\ The activities in the instant Docket No. IC21-38-000 are 
separate from, and do not address, the activities in Technical 
Conference on Reassessment of the Electric Quarterly Report 
Requirements, Docket No. AD21-8-000 (technical conferences designed 
to provide a forum for Commission staff, filers, and data users to 
discuss potential changes to the current EQR data fields).
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    Abstract: The Commission originally set forth the EQR filing 
requirements in Order No. 2001 (Docket No. RM01-8-000) which required 
public utilities to electronically file EQRs summarizing transaction 
information for short-term and long-term cost-based sales and market-
based rate sales and the contractual terms and conditions in their 
agreements for all jurisdictional services.\2\ The Commission 
established

[[Page 36314]]

the EQR reporting requirements to help ensure the collection of 
information needed to perform its regulatory functions over 
transmission and sales, while making data more useful to the public and 
allowing public utilities to better fulfill their responsibility under 
Federal Power Act (FPA) section 205(c) \3\ to have rates on file in a 
convenient form and place. As noted in Order No. 2001, the EQR data is 
designed to ``provide greater price transparency, promote competition, 
enhance confidence in the fairness of the markets, and provide a better 
means to detect and discourage discriminatory practices.''
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    \2\ Revised Public Utility Filing Requirements, Order No. 2001, 
67 FR 31043 (May 8, 2002), FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,127, reh'g 
denied, Order No. 2001-A, 100 FERC ] 61,074, reh'g denied, Order No. 
2001-B, 100 FERC ] 61,342, order directing filing, Order No. 2001-C, 
101 FERC ] 61,314 (2002), order directing filing, Order No. 2001-D, 
102 FERC ] 61,334, order refining filing requirements, Order No. 
2001-E, 105 FERC ] 61,352 (2003), order on clarification, Order No. 
2001-F, 106 FERC ] 61,060 (2004), order revising filing 
requirements, Order No. 2001-G, 72 FR 56735 (Oct. 4, 2007), 120 FERC 
] 61,270, order on reh'g and clarification, Order No. 2001-H, 73 FR 
1876 (Jan. 10, 2008), 121 FERC ] 61,289 (2007), order revising 
filing requirements, Order No. 2001-I, 73 FR 65526 (Nov. 4, 2008), 
125 FERC ] 61,103 (2008).
    \3\ 16 U.S.C. 824d(c).
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    Since issuing Order No. 2001, the Commission has provided guidance 
and refined the reporting requirements, as necessary, to reflect 
changes in the Commission's rules and regulations.\4\ The Commission 
also adopted an Electric Quarterly Report Data Dictionary, which 
provides the definitions of certain terms and values used in filing EQR 
data.\5\
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    \4\ See, e.g., Revised Public Utility Filing Requirements for 
Electric Quarterly Reports, 124 FERC ] 61,244 (2008) (providing 
guidance on the filing of information on transmission capacity 
reassignments in EQRs).
    \5\ Order No. 2001-G, 120 FERC ] 61,270 (2007). See the Data 
Dictionary at https://www.ferc.gov/sites/default/files/2020-11/Data_Dictionary_V3_5_Clean.pdf.
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    To increase transparency broadly across all wholesale markets 
subject to the Commission's jurisdiction, the Commission issued Order 
No. 768 in 2012.\6\ Order No. 768 required market participants that are 
excluded from the Commission's jurisdiction under FPA section 205 (non-
public utilities) and have more than a de minimis market presence to 
file EQRs with the Commission.\7\ In addition, Order No. 768 revised 
the EQR filing requirements to build upon the Commission's prior 
improvements to the reporting requirements and further enhance the 
goals of providing greater price transparency, promoting competition, 
instilling confidence in the fairness of the markets, and providing a 
better means to detect and discourage anti-competitive, discriminatory, 
and manipulative practices.
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    \6\ Order No. 768, 77 FR 61896 (Oct. 11, 2012), FERC Stats. & 
Regs. ] 31,336 (2012).
    \7\ 18 CFR 35.10b(b) provides that the term ``de minimis market 
presence'' means ``any non-public utility that makes 4,000,000 
megawatt hours or less of annual wholesale sales, based on the 
average annual sales for resale over the preceding three years as 
published by the Energy Information Administration's Form 861.''
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    EQR information allows the public to assess supply and demand 
fundamentals and to price interstate wholesale market transactions. 
This, in turn, results in greater market confidence, lower transaction 
costs, and ultimately supports competitive markets. In addition, the 
data filed in the EQR strengthens the Commission's ability to exercise 
its wholesale electric rate and electric power transmission oversight 
and enforcement responsibilities in accordance with the Federal Power 
Act. Without this information, the Commission would lack some of the 
data it needs to support its regulatory function over transmission and 
sales.
    Estimate of Annual Burden and Cost: \8\ The Commission estimates 
the annual public reporting burden \9\ and cost (rounded) for the 
information collection \10\ as:
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    \8\ The cost is based on FERC's 2021 Commission-wide average 
salary cost (wages plus benefits) of $87.00/hour. The Commission 
staff believes the FERC FTE (full-time equivalent) average cost for 
wages plus benefits is representative of the corresponding cost for 
the industry respondents.
    \9\ 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.
    \10\ The current OMB-approved inventory for FERC-920 includes a 
separate Information Collection (IC) labelled ``Adding time zone 
(Order issued 6/18/2020), implementation & ongoing burden averaged 
over Years 1-3.'' It covers 34 responses and 193 burden hours. The 
stand-alone IC and the related figures (averaged over three years) 
are being consolidated into the the overall estimates for the EQR.

                                                        FERC-920--Electric Quartely Report (EQR)
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                                                                    Average annual                     Average annual    Total average
                                                       Number of       number of     Total number of    burden hrs. &    annual burden       Cost per
                   Requirements                       respondents    responses per      responses         cost per       hours & total    respondent ($)
                                                                      respondent                          response        annual cost
                                                                 1               2    (1) * (2) = (3)               4    (3) * (4) = (5)       (5) / (1)
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Electric Quarterly Report.........................           2,929               4             11,716            18.1            212,060          $6,300
                                                                                                               $1,575        $18,452,700
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    Total.........................................  ..............  ..............  .................  ..............            212,060           6,300
                                                                                                                             $18,452,700
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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 estimates 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.

    Dated: June 10, 2022.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-13000 Filed 6-15-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P