[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 193 (Thursday, October 6, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60677-60678]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21763]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC22-27-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-915) Comment 
Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

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 the currently approved 
information collection FERC-915 (Public Utility Market-Based Rate 
Authorization Holders--Records Retention Requirements).

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due December 5, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit your comments (identified by Docket No. IC22-
27-000) by one of the following methods:

[[Page 60678]]

    Electronic filing through http://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: Addressed to: Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission,12225 Wilkins 
Avenue, Rockville, MD 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], telephone at (202) 502-8663.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: FERC-915, Public Utility Market-Based Rate Authorization 
Holders--Records Retention Requirements.
    OMB Control No. 1902-0250.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-915 information 
collection requirements with no changes to the current record retention 
requirements.
    Abstract: In accordance with the Federal Power Act, the Department 
of Energy Organization Act (DOE Act), and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 
(EPAct 2005), the Commission regulates the transmission and wholesale 
sales of electricity in interstate commerce, monitors and investigates 
energy markets, uses civil penalties and other means against energy 
organizations and individuals who violate FERC rules in the energy 
markets, administers accounting and financial reporting regulations, 
and oversees conduct of regulated companies.
    The Commission imposes the FERC-915 record retention requirements, 
in 18 CFR 35.41(d), on applicable sellers to retain, for a period of 
five years, all data and information upon which they bill the prices 
charged for ``electric energy or electric energy products sold pursuant 
to Seller's market-based rate tariff, and the prices it reported for 
use in price indices.''
    The record retention period of five years is necessary due to the 
importance of records related to any investigation of possible 
wrongdoing and related to assuring compliance with the codes of conduct 
and the integrity of the market. The requirement is necessary to ensure 
consistency with the rule prohibiting market manipulation (adopted in 
Order No. 670 \1\) and the generally applicable statute of limitations 
where the Commission seeks civil penalties for violations of the Anti-
Manipulation Rules or other rules, regulations, or orders to which the 
price data may be relevant.
    Type of Respondent: Sellers, as that term is defined in 18 CFR 
35.36
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \2\ The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden and cost \3\ (rounded) for the information 
collection as follows:

                            FERC--915, Public Utility Market-Based Rate Authorization Holders--Records Retention Requirements
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                                                 Annual  number                                                                            Annual  cost
                                    Number of     of  responses   Total  number of   Average  burden & cost   Total annual  burden hours        per
        FERC requirement           respondents         per           responses            per response                  & cost              respondent
                                                   respondent                                                                                   ($)
                                            (1)             (2)    (1) * (2) = (3)  (4)....................  (3) * (4) = (5)............       (5) / (1)
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FERC-915.......................           2,510               1              2,510  1 hr.; $34.00..........  2,510 hrs.; $85,340........          $34.00
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    Total......................  ..............  ..............              2,510  .......................  2,510 hrs.; $85,340........  ..............
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    In addition, there are records storage costs. For all respondents, 
we estimate a total of 65,000 cu. ft. of records in off-site storage. 
Based on an approximate storage cost of $0.24 per cubic foot, we 
estimate total annual storage cost to be $15,600.00 (or $6.22 annually 
per respondent). The total annual cost for all respondents (burden cost 
plus off-site storage) is $100,940.00 (or $85,340 + $15,600); the 
average total annual cost per respondent is $40.22 ($6.22 + $34.00).\4\
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    \1\ Prohibition of Energy Market Manipulation, Order No. 670, 71 
FR 4244 (Jan. 26, 2006), FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,202 (2006).
    \2\ 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.
    \3\ The estimated hourly cost (for wages plus benefits) provided 
in this section are based on the figures posted by the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics (BLS) for the Utilities section available (at 
https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm) and benefits 
information (for June 2022, issued March 2022, at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm).
    The hourly estimates for salary plus benefits are:
     File Clerk (Occupation code: 43-4071), $34.38 an hour. We are 
rounding the hourly cost to $34.00.
    \4\ Given that the Commission has found (1) that Sellers use 
standard computer-based methods to store the retained information 
automatically on electronic media and (2) that storage space needed 
costs pennies per Gigabyte, estimating burden and storage assuming 
use of traditional paper records provides an extreme boundary on the 
estimated costs.
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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.

    Dated: September 30, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-21763 Filed 10-5-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P