[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 134 (Thursday, July 14, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42168-42169]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15053]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC22-20-000]


Commission Information Collection Activity (FERC-740); Comment 
Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of information collection and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 currently approved 
information collection, FERC-740 (Availability of E-Tag Information to 
Commission Staff).

DATES: Comments on the collections of information are due September 12, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit your comments (identified by Docket No. IC22-
20-000) on FERC-740 by one of the following methods: 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: Deliver to: Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852.
    Instructions: All submissions must be formatted and filed in 
accordance with submission guidelines at: https://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 https://www.ferc.gov.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: FERC-740, Availability of E-Tag Information to Commission 
Staff.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0254.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-740 information 
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting 
requirements.
    Abstract: This collection of information is authorized by 18 CFR 
366.2(d), which requires Commission access, on a non-public and view-
only basis, to information that is located on ``electronic tags,'' also 
known as ``e-Tags.'' Each e-Tag consists of an electronic record of a 
transaction to transfer energy from a generation source to a Balancing 
Authority (BA). Each BA operates a portion of the grid, balancing 
supply and demand and assuring compliance with federal reliability 
standards. E-Tag ``authors'' are typically Purchasing-Selling Entities 
(PSEs). A PSE purchases or sells energy, capacity, and Interconnected 
Operations Services.
    Transmission system operators, which are among the addressees of e-
Tags, use e-Tags to ascertain the transactions affecting their local 
systems, and to prevent damage to the power grid. Commission access to 
e-Tags helps the Commission detect and prevent market manipulation and 
anti-competitive behavior, and monitor the efficiency of markets. Both 
transmission system operators and the Commission need the e-Tag 
information to understand the use of the interconnected electricity 
grid, particularly transactions occurring at interchanges. Due to the 
nature of the electric grid, an individual transaction's impact on an 
interchange cannot be assessed adequately in all cases without 
information from all connected systems, which is included in the e-
Tags.
    The inclusion of the Commission is completely automatic and is part 
of the normal business requirement. Thus, the time, effort, and 
financial resources necessary to comply with this collection of 
information are ``usual and customary'' within the meaning of the OMB 
regulation at 5 CFR 1320.3 (b)(2) (excluding such activities from the 
definition of ``burden''). In view of these circumstances, FERC is 
including only a ``placeholder'' burden of one hour to account for the 
rare event where a new BA qualifies for exemption under the 
Commission's regulations (e.g., transmissions from a new non-U.S. BA 
into another non-U.S. BA using a path that does not go through a U.S. 
BA). In that case, this administrative function would be expected to 
require at most an hour of effort total from both the BA and e-Tag 
administrator to include the BA on the exemption list. New exempt BAs 
are not common--years may pass between them--but for the purpose of 
estimation, we will conservatively assume one appears each year 
creating

[[Page 42169]]

a burden and cost associated with the Commission's FERC-740 of one hour 
and $36.90.
    Type of Respondents: Purchasing-Selling Entities and Balancing 
Authorities.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \1\ The Commission estimates the burden 
and cost for FERC-740 as follows based on the distinct e-Tags submitted 
to the Commission in 2021 (the most recent full year available).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ ``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 part 1320.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       B Annual number of                              D Average burden &   E Total annual burden
      A Number of  respondents       responses (E-tags) per     C Total number of      cost per  response    hours & total annual        F Cost per
                                            respondent              responses                 \2\                    cost             respondent  ($)
                                                             (Column A x Column B).                         (Column C x Column D)  (Column E / Column A)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
435 PSE/BAs........................  3,403 E-Tags..........  1,480,305 E-Tags......  Automatic, so 0        Automatic, so 0        Automatic, so 0
                                                                                      burden and cost.       burden and cost.       burden and cost.
1 E-Tag administrator..............  1 response to add new   1 response to add new   1 hr.; $36.90........  1 hr.; $36.90........  $36.90.
                                      non-jurisdictional      non-jurisdictional
                                      Balancing Authority.    Balancing Authority.
                                    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals.........................  3,404.................  1,480,306.............  1 hr.; $36.90........  1 hr.; $36.90........  $36.90.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ The estimated hourly cost (wages plus benefits) provided in 
this section is based on the figures for June 2022 posted by the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Utilities sector (available at 
https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm), assuming:
    --15 minutes legal (code 23-0000), at $73.09/hour median hourly 
wage.
    --45 minutes information and record clerk (code 43-4199), at 
$24.84/hour median hourly wage.
    --$36.90 = (15 minutes / 60 minutes) * $73.09/hour median hourly 
wage for legal + (45 minutes / 60 minutes) * $24.84/hour median 
hourly wage for information and record clerk.

    Dated: July 8, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-15053 Filed 7-13-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P