[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31502-31504]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10511]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. RD23-1-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-725S); Comment 
Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy.

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 requirements and burden of 
the information collection FERC 725S--Mandatory Reliability Standards: 
Emergency Preparedness and Operations (EOP) Reliability Standards.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due June 16, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments on FERC-725S (identified by Docket No. 
RD23-1-000) 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-
0270 (Mandatory Reliability Standards: Emergency Preparedness and 
Operations (EOP) Reliability Standards) 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. 
RD23-1-000 and FERC-725S) 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-725S) and/
or title(s) (Mandatory Reliability Standards: Emergency Preparedness 
and Operations (EOP) Reliability Standards) 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.

[[Page 31503]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: FERC-725S (Mandatory Reliability Standards: Emergency 
Preparedness and Operations (EOP) Reliability Standards).
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0270.
    Type of Request: Revision of the FERC-725S information collection 
requirements with changes to the current reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.
    Abstract: On March 10, 2023 the Commission published an order in 
Docket No. RD23-1-000 that approved Extreme Cold Weather Reliability 
Standards EOP-011-3 and EOP-12-1, which were submitted by the North 
American Electric Corporation (NERC).\1\ The order included a 60-day 
notice in the Federal Register and received no comments. The order 
modifies the FERC-725S Information Collection and directed NERC to 
modify Reliability Standard EOP-012-1.
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    \1\ 88 FR 14994.
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    The collection is currently approved by OMB and contains 
Reliability Standards EOP-010-1, EOP-011-1, EOP-004-4, EOP-005-3, EOP-
006-3, EOP-008-2 (Table 1). In the order, Docket No. RD23-1-000, the 
Commission proposes to replace the current OMB approved Reliability 
Standard EOP-011-1 \2\ with Reliability Standard EOP-011-3 (Table 2) 
and add a new information collection line item for Reliability Standard 
EOP-012-1 (Table 3).
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    \2\ The currently OMB approved FERC-725S includes the burden 
related to Reliability Standard EOP-011-1. Reliability Standard EOP-
011-1 was superseded by Reliability Standard EOP-011-2, which was 
approved by the Commission in Docket No. RD21-5-000 (issued August 
24, 2021). Reliability Standard EOP-011-3, as noted in Docket No. 
RD23-1-000, will supersede Reliability Standard EOP-011-2; thus, the 
burdens resulting from Reliability Standard EOP-011-3 will be 
reflected in the FERC-725S information collection.
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    The Reliability Standard EOP-011-3 modifications transfer 
Requirements R7 and R8 to Reliability Standard EOP-012-1, as described 
below. For Reliability Standard EOP-011-3, transmission operators and 
to a much lesser extent, balancing authorities, still have a one-time 
cost to modify existing operating plans based on revisions to 
Reliability Standard EOP-011-3 (Requirements R1 and R2) and to mitigate 
operating emergencies related to cold weather conditions. Additionally, 
reliability coordinators will need to review the modified operating 
plans of the transmission operators. In year three and ongoing, the 
transmission operator and reliability coordinator estimates are lower 
to reflect lower paperwork burden for upkeep and review of the 
operating plans for emergencies based on the modified Reliability 
Standard EOP-011-3 to ensure that the new requirements are in place and 
that applicable entities are following those plans.
    The new Reliability Standard EOP-012-1, which is applicable to 
1,107 generator owners and 981 generator operators, contains several 
new requirements and two requirements from Reliability Standard EOP-
011-2 that have been moved to Reliability Standard EOP-012-1. In year 
three and ongoing, the estimates are lower to reflect that the 
implementation plan(s) to mitigate the reliability effects of extreme 
cold weather conditions on generating units are in place and that 
entities are familiar with the EOP-012-1 requirements.
    Type of Respondent: Balancing Authority (BA),Transmission 
Operations (TOP) and Reliability Coordinators (RC).
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \3\ The Commission estimates the total 
annual burden and cost for this information collection in the table 
below.
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    \3\ ``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 title 5 Code of Federal Regulations 1320.3.
    \4\ Burden hours per response may also include any methods for 
improvement not limited to trainings, drills, simulations, testing, 
etc.
    \5\ TOP=Transmission Operator, BA=Balancing Authority, 
GO=Generator Owner, GOP=Generator Operator and RC=Reliability 
Coordinator.

                                           Table 1--Current Costs and Burden Related to FERC-725S (1902-0270)
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                                                       Annual number                                                                           Cost per
  Reliability standard and associated     Number of     of responses    Total number   Average burden & cost per    Total annual burden &     respondent
              requirement                respondents   per respondent   of responses            response              total annual cost          ($)
                                                 (1)              (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4)......................  (3) * (4) = (5)..........    (5) / (1)
                                                                                  (3)
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EOP-010-1..............................          181                1             181  20 hrs; $1,660...........  3,620 hrs; $300,460......        1,660
EOP-011-1..............................           12                1              12  1,500 hrs.; $124,500.....  18,000 hrs.; $1,494,000..      124,500
EOP-004-4, EOP-005-3, EOP-006-3, EOP-            280                1             280  250.58 \4\ hrs; $20,798..  70,162.4 hrs; $5,234,440.       20,798
 008-2.
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    Total EOP..........................          473  ...............  ..............  .........................  91,782 hrs; $7,028,900...  ...........
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                      Table 2--Proposed Changes Due to Final Rule in Docket No. RD23-1-000
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                                                  Number of
    Reliability standard &      Type \5\ and       annual       Total number    Average number     Total burden
         requirement              number of    responses  per   of responses    of burden hours       hours
                                   entity          entity                      per response \6\
                               (1)...........             (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4).............  (3) * (4) = (5)
                                                                          (3)
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                            FERC-725S--Proposed estimates due to RD23-1 for EOP-011-3
                                   One Time Estimate--Years 1 and 2 EOP-011-3
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EOP-011-3....................  168 (TOP).....               1             168  60 hrs;           10,080 hrs;
                                                                                $3,893.40.        $654,091.2.
EOP-011-3 \7\................  98 (BA).......               1              98  6 hrs; $389.34..  588 hrs;
                                                                                                  $38,155.32.
EOP-011-3 \8\................  12 (RC).......               1              12  28 hrs;           336 hrs;
                                                                                $1,816.92.        $21,803.04.
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    Sub-total of EOP-011-3     ..............  ..............             278  ................  11,004 hrs;
     (One time).                                                                                  $714,049.56.
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                                   Ongoing Estimate--Year 3 ongoing EOP-011-3
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EOP-011-3 \9\................  168 (TOP).....               1             168  10 hrs; $648.90.  1,680 hrs;
                                                                                                  $109,015.20.
EOP-011-3 \10\...............  98 (BA).......               1              98  10 hrs; $648.90.  980 hrs;
                                                                                                  $63,592.20.

[[Page 31504]]

 
EOP-011-3 \11\...............  12 (RC).......               1              12  14 hrs; $908.46.  168 hrs;
                                                                                                  $10,901.52.
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    Sub-Total of EOP-011-3     ..............  ..............             278  ................  2,828;
     (ongoing).                                                                                   $183,508.92.
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    Sub-Total of ongoing       ..............  ..............           92.67  ................  942.67 hrs.
     burden averaged over                                           (rounded)                     (rounded);
     three years.                                                                                 $61,169.64.
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        Proposed Total Burden  ..............  ..............          370.67  ................  11,946.67 hrs;
         Estimate of EOP-011-                                                                     $775,219.42
         3.                                                                                       (rounded).
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               Table 3--Proposed Changes Due to Final Rule in Docket No. RD23-1-000 for EOP-012-1
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                                                  Number of                     Average number
    Reliability standard &        Type and         annual       Total number    of burden hours    Total burden
         requirement              number of    responses  per   of responses     per response         hours
                                   entity          entity                            \12\
                               (1)...........             (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4).............  (3) * (4) = (5)
                                                                          (3)
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                                                    FERC-725S
                                   One Time Estimate--Years 1 and 2 EOP-012-1
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EOP-012-1 \13\...............  1,107 (GO)....               1           1,107  150 hrs.;         166,050 hrs;
                                                                                $9,733.50.        $10,774,984.50
                                                                                                  .
EOP-012-1....................  981 (GOP).....               1             981  10 hrs; $648.90.  9,810 hrs;
                                                                                                  $636,570.90.
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    Sub-Total for EOP-012-1    ..............  ..............           2,088  160 hrs;          175,860 hrs;
     (one-time).                                                                $10,382.40.       $11,411,555.40
                                                                                                  .
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                                   Ongoing Estimate--Year 3 ongoing EOP-012-1
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EOP-012-1....................  1,107 (GO)....               1           1,107  40 hrs;           40,680 hrs;
                                                                                $2,595.60.        $2,639,725.20.
EOP-012-1....................  981 (GOP).....               1             981  10 hrs; $648.90.  9,810 hrs; $
                                                                                                  636,570.90.
    Sub-Total for EOP-012-1    ..............  ..............           2,088  50 hrs; $         50,490 hrs; $
     (ongoing).                                                                 3,244.50.         3,276,296.10.
                              ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Sub-Total of ongoing       ..............  ..............             696  ................  16,830 hrs;
     burden averaged over                                                                         $1,092,098.70.
     three years.
                              ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Proposed Total Burden  ..............  ..............           2,784  ................  192,690 hrs;
         Estimate of EOP-012-                                                                     $12,503,654.10
         1.                                                                                       .
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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.
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    \6\ The estimated hourly cost (salary plus benefits) is a 
combination based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as of 
2022, for 75% of the average of an Electrical Engineer (17-2071)--
$77.02, mechanical engineers (17-2141)--$67.79. $77.02 + $67.79/2 = 
72.405 x .75 = 54.303 ($54.30-rounded) ($54.30/hour) and 25% of an 
Information and Record Clerk (43-4199) $42.35 x .25% = 10.5875 
($10.59 rounded) ($10.59/hour), for a total ($54.30 + $10.59 = 
$64.89/hour).
    \7\ Reduce the estimate for balancing authorities from EOP-011-2 
down from previous 60 hours to 6 hours for EOP-011-3.
    \8\ Reduce the estimate for reliability coordinators from EOP-
011-2 down from previous 40 hours to 28 hours for EOP-011-3.
    \9\ Reduce the estimate for transmission operators from EOP-011-
2 down from previous 50 hours to 10 hours for EOP-011-3.
    \10\ Reduce the estimate for balancing authorities from EOP-011-
2 down from previous 50 hours to 10 hours for EOP-011-3.
    \11\ Reduce the estimate for reliability coordinators from EOP-
011-2 down from previous 20 hours to 14 hours for EOP-011-3.
    \12\ The estimated hourly cost (salary plus benefits) is a 
combination based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as of 
2022, for 75% of the average of an Electrical Engineer (17-2071)--
$77.02, mechanical engineers (17-2141)--$67.79. $77.02 + $67.79/2 = 
72.405 x .75 = 54.303 ($54.30-rounded) ($54.30/hour) and 25% percent 
of an Information and Record Clerk (43-4199) $42.35 x .25% = 10.5875 
($10.59 rounded) ($10.59/hour), for a total ($54.30 + $10.59 = 
$64.89/hour).
    \13\ The estimates for the generator owner and generator 
operator are being moved from the current EOP-011-2 to the new EOP-
012-1.

    Dated: May 11, 2023.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-10511 Filed 5-16-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P