[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1373-1374]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00265]


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

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC23-2-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-923); Comment 
Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

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 requirements and burden of 
the information collection FERC-923 (Communication of Operational 
Information between Natural Gas Pipelines and Electric Transmission 
Operators), described below, which will be submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The Commission published a 60-
day notice on October 27, 2022 in the Federal Register and received no 
comments.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due February 9, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments on FERC-923 (identified by Docket No. 
IC23-2-000) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) through 
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission Desk Officer. Please identify the OMB Control Number 1902-
0265 (Mandatory Reliability Standard: Transmission Vegetation 
Management) 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. 
IC23-2-000 and FERC-923) 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:
    [ssquf] Mail via U.S. Postal Service only, addressed to: Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First 
Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.
    [ssquf] Hand (including courier) delivery to: Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852.
    Please reference the specific collection number(s) (FERC-923) and/
or title(s) (Communication of Operational Information between Natural 
Gas Pipelines and Electric Transmission Operators) in your comments.
    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: 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] and telephone at (202) 502-8663.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: FERC-923, Communication of Operational Information between 
Natural Gas Pipelines and Electric Transmission Operators.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0265.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the information collection 
requirements described below with no changes to the current reporting 
requirements.
    Abstract: In 2013, the Commission revised its regulations to 
provide explicit authority to interstate natural gas pipelines and 
public utilities that own, operate, or control facilities used for the 
transmission of electric energy in interstate commerce to voluntarily 
share non-public, operational information with each other for the 
purpose of promoting reliable service and operational planning on 
either the pipeline's or public utility's system. This helped ensure 
the reliability of natural gas pipeline and public utility transmission 
services by permitting transmission operators to share with each other 
the information that they deem necessary to promote the reliability and 
integrity of their systems. FERC removed actual or perceived 
prohibitions to the information sharing and communications between 
industry entities. The information shared is not submitted to FERC. 
Rather, the non-public information is shared voluntarily between 
industry entities. FERC does not prescribe the content, medium, format, 
or frequency for the information sharing and communications. Those 
decisions are made by the industry entities, depending on their needs 
and the situation.
    Type of Respondent: Natural gas pipelines and public utilities.

[[Page 1374]]

    Estimate of Annual Burden: \1\ The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden and cost \2\ for FERC-923 as:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 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. See 5 
CFR 1320 for additional information on the definition of information 
collection burden.
    \2\ Commission staff estimates that the industry's skill set 
(wages and benefits) for FERC-923 is comparable to the Commission's 
skill set. The FERC 2022 average salary plus benefits for one FERC 
full-time equivalent (FTE) is $188,992 year (or $91 per hour 
[rounded]).

                  FERC-923--Communication of Operational Information Between Natural Gas Pipelines and Electric Transmission Operators
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Annual  number                                              Total annual burden
                                          Number of     of  responses   Total number     Average burden hrs. &     hrs. & total annual       Cost per
                                         respondents   per respondent   of responses    cost ($) per  response           cost ($)         respondent ($)
                                                  (1)             (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4).....................  (3) * (4) = (5)........       (5) / (1)
                                                                                  (3)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Public Utility Transmission Operator,         \3\ 155              12           1,860  0.5 hrs.; $45.50........  930 hrs.; $84,630......             546
 communications.
Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines,             \4\ 191              12           2,292  0.5 hrs.; $45.50........  1,146 hrs.; $104,286...             546
 communications.
                                      ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total............................  ..............  ..............           4,152  ........................  2,076 hrs.; $188,916...  ..............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

    \3\ The estimate for the number of respondents is based on the 
North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Compliance 
Registry as of October 12, 2022, minus the Transmission Operators 
within ERCOT.
    \4\ The estimate is based on the number of respondents to the 
2021 FERC Forms 2 and 2A (Major and Non-major Natural Gas Pipeline 
Annual Reports).

    Dated: January 4, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-00265 Filed 1-9-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P