[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 7, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38116-38119]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09827]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. RD24-1-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-725S and FERC 
725A); Comment Request; Revision & Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of information collection revision and extension 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

[[Page 38117]]

public comment on the requirements and burden of the information 
collection FERC-725S--Mandatory Reliability Standards: Emergency 
Preparedness and Operations (EOP) Reliability Standards and FERC-725A--
Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System. No comments 
were received in response to the 60-day notice published on February 
22, 2024.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due June 6, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments on FERC-725S and/or FERC-725A 
(identified by Docket No. RD24-1-000) 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) or 
OMB Control Number 1902-0244 (Mandatory Reliability Standards for the 
Bulk-Power System) 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. 
RD24-1-000, FERC-725S, and/or FERC-725A) 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-725A and/
or FERC-725S) and/or title(s) (Mandatory Reliability Standards: 
Emergency Preparedness and Operations [EOP]) Reliability Standards) or 
(Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System) 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/ferc-online/overview. 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/ferc-online/overview.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean Sonneman may be reached by email 
at [email protected], telephone at (202) 502-6362.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: FERC-725S (Mandatory Reliability Standards: Emergency 
Preparedness and Operations (EOP) Reliability Standards)); FERC-725A 
(Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System).
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0270 & 1902-0244.
    Type of Request: Revision and Extension to Existing Collections of 
Information in FERC-725S and FERC-725A.
    Abstract: On February 15, 2024, the Commission published an order 
in Docket No. RD24-1-000 that approved Extreme Cold Weather Reliability 
Standards EOP-011-4 and TOP-002-5, 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 or protests. 
The order modifies the FERC 725S and FERC 725A Information Collections 
and both information collections are currently OMB approved.
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    \1\ 88 FR 76201.
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    The EOP Reliability Standards are currently located in the FERC-
725S (OMB Control No. 1902-0270) collection. The collection is 
currently approved by OMB and contains Reliability Standards EOP-010-1, 
EOP-011-2, EOP-004-4, EOP-005-3, EOP-006-3, EOP-008-2, and EOP-012-1. 
There is one Reliability Standard that is being updated within the 
FERC-725S due to the revisions in Docket No. RD24-1-000: Reliability 
Standard EOP-011-4. The currently approved Reliability Standard is EOP-
011-3, which is being replaced by Reliability Standard EOP-011-4 (table 
1).
    The TOP Reliability Standards are currently located in FERC-725A 
(OMB Control No. 1902-0270) collection. This collection is currently 
approved by OMB and contains Reliability Standards TOP-001-4, TOP-002-
4, TOP-003-4, FAC-008-5, FAC003-2, and ``Mandatory Reliability 
Standards'' recordkeeping and reporting. There are six information 
collections within the FERC-725A that will remain unchanged from the 
revisions in Docket No. RD24-1-000. These six collections include the 
Reliability Standards: TOP-001-4, TOP-003-4, FAC-008-5, FAC-003-2, and 
``Mandatory Reliability Standards'' recordkeeping and reporting. There 
is one Reliability Standard being updated within the FERC-725A due to 
revisions in Docket No. RD24-1-000: Reliability Standard TOP-002-4, 
which is being replaced by Reliability Standard TOP-002-5 (table 2).
    Types of Respondents: Balancing Authority (BA), Transmission 
Operations (TOP), Reliability Coordinators (RC), UFLS-Only Distribution 
Providers (DP), Distribution Providers (DP), and Transmission Owners 
(TO).
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \2\ The Commission based its paperwork 
burden estimates on the NERC compliance registry as of December 15, 
2023. The Commission estimates the total annual burden and cost for 
this information collection in the tables below.
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    \2\ ``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 CFR1320.3.

[[Page 38118]]



                                  Table 1--Proposed Changes to FERC 725S Due to Modifications in Docket No. RD24-1-000
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                                                                  Number of
                                       Type \3\ and number of      annual                                    Average number of
 Reliability standard & requirement            entity           responses per  Total number of responses     burden hours per       Total burden hours
                                                                   entity                                      response \4\
                                      (1)....................             (2)  (1) * (2) = (3)..........  (4)...................  (3) * (4) = (5)
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                                                FERC-725S--Proposed estimates due to RD24-1 for EOP-011-4
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                                                      One Time Estimate--Years 1 and 2 in EOP-011-4
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EOP-011-4...........................  165 (TOP)..............               1  165......................  40 hrs. $3,031.60.....  6,600 hrs.
                                                                                                                                   $500,214.00.
EOP-011-4...........................  98 (BA)................               1  98.......................  20 hrs. $1,515.80.....  1,960 hrs.
                                                                                                                                   $148,548.40.
EOP-011-4...........................  12 (RC)................               1  12.......................  20 hrs. $1,515.80.....  240 hrs. $18,189.60.
EOP-011-4...........................  72 (UFLS-Only DP)......               1  72.......................  40 hrs. $3,031.60.....  2,880 hrs.
                                                                                                                                   $218,275.20.
EOP-011-4...........................  300 (DP)...............               1  300......................  40 hrs. $3,031.60.....  12,000 hrs.
                                                                                                                                   $909,480.00.
EOP-011-4...........................  324 (TO)...............               1  324......................  40 hrs. $3,031.60.....  12,960 hrs.
                                                                                                                                   $982,238.40.
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    Sub-Total of EOP-011-4 (One       .......................  ..............  971......................  ......................  36,640 hrs.
     time).                                                                                                                        $2,776,945.60.
Annualized One-Time Costs (average    .......................  ..............  323.67 (rounded).........  ......................  12,213 hrs. (rounded)
 cost per year is calculated by the                                                                                                $925,623.27.
 sub-total divided by 3).
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                                                       Ongoing Estimate--Year 3 ongoing EOP-011-4
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EOP-011-4...........................  165(TOP)...............               1  165......................  20 hrs. $1,515.80.....  3,300 hrs.
                                                                                                                                   $250,107.00.
EOP-011-4...........................  98 (BA)................               1  98.......................  4 hrs. $303.16........  392 hrs. $29,709.68.
EOP-011-4...........................  12 (RC)................               1  12.......................  4 hrs. $303.16........  48 hrs. $3,637.92.
EOP-011-4...........................  72 (UFLS-Only DP)......               1  72.......................  10 hrs. $757.90.......  720 hrs. $54,568.80.
EOP-011-4...........................  300 (DP)...............               1  300......................  10 hrs. $757.90.......  3,000 hrs.
                                                                                                                                   $227,370.00.
EOP-011-4...........................  324 (TO)...............               1  324......................  10 hrs. $757.90.......  3,240 hrs.
                                                                                                                                   $245,559.60.
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    Sub-Total of EOP-011-4 (ongoing)  .......................  ..............  971......................  ......................  10,700 hrs.
                                                                                                                                   $810,953.00.
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    Sub-Total of ongoing burden       .......................  ..............  323.67 (rounded).........  ......................  3,566.67 hrs.
     averaged over three years.                                                                                                    (rounded)
                                                                                                                                   $270,317.92.
Proposed Total Annual Burden          .......................  ..............  647.34...................  ......................  15,779.67 hrs.
 Estimate of EOP-011-4 (one-time                                                                                                   $1,195,941.19
 plus ongoing).                                                                                                                    (rounded).
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                                  Table 2--Proposed Changes to FERC 725A Due to Modifications in Docket No. RD24-1-000
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                                                                Annual number
                                       Type \5\ and number of     of annual                                Average burden & cost    Total annual burden
         Requirement change                 respondents         responses per  Total number of responses     per response \6\      hours & total annual
                                                                 respondent                                                                cost
                                      (1)....................             (2)  (1) * (2) = (3)..........  (4)...................  (3) * (4) = (5)
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                                                       FERC-725A--Proposed estimates due to RD24-1
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                                                      One Time Estimate--Years 1 and 2 in TOP-002-5
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TOP-002-5...........................  98 (BA)................               1  98.......................  40 hrs. $3,031.60.....  3,920 hrs.
                                                                                                                                   $297,096.80.
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                                                       Ongoing Estimate--Year 3 ongoing TOP-002-5
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TOP-002-5...........................  98 (BA)................               1  98.......................  20 hrs. $1,515.80.....  1,960 hrs.
                                                                                                                                   $148,548.40.
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    Sub-Total of One-Time estimate    .......................  ..............  98.......................  40 hrs. $3,031.60.....  3,920 hrs. $297,096.80
     for years 1 and 2.
                                     -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Sub-Total for Ongoing estimate    .......................  ..............  98.......................  20 hrs. $1,515.80.....  1,960 hrs.
     of year 3 and beyond.                                                                                                         $148,548.40.
Annualized one-time Total burden for  .......................  ..............  32.67 (rounded)..........  13.33 hrs. (rounded)    1,306.67 hrs.
 years 1 and 2 (one-time sub-total                                                                         $1,010.28.              $99,032.52 (rounded).
 divided by 3).
Annualized ongoing total burden for   .......................  ..............  32.67 (rounded)..........  6.67 hrs. $505.52       653.33 hrs. $49,515.88
 years 3 and beyond (ongoing sub-                                                                          (rounded).              (rounded).
 total divided by 3).
Annualized Total Burden Estimate of   .......................  ..............  65.34....................  20 hrs. $1,515.80.....  1,960 hrs. 148,548.40.
 TOP-002-5.
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    \3\ TOP = Transmission Operator, BA = Balancing Authority, RC = 
Reliability Coordinator, UFLS-Only DP = Underfrequency Load Shed-
Only Distribution Provider, DP = Distribution Provider, and TO = 
Transmission Owner.
    \4\ The estimated hourly cost (salary plus benefits) is a 
combination based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as of 
2023, for 75% of the average of an Electrical Engineer (17-2071)-
$77.29, mechanical engineers (17-2141)-$87.38. $77.29 + $87.38/2 = 
82.335 x .75 = 54.303 ($61.75 rounded) ($61.75/hour) and 25% of an 
Information and Record Clerk (43-4199) $56.14 x .25% = 14.035 
($14.04 rounded) ($14.04/hour), for a total ($61.75 + $14.04 = 
$75.79/hour).
    \5\ BA = Balancing Authority.
    \6\ The estimated hourly cost (salary plus benefits) is a 
combination based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as of 
2023, for 75% of the average of an Electrical Engineer (17-2071)-
$77.29, mechanical engineers (17-2141)-$87.38. $77.29 + $87.38/2 = 
82.335 x .75 = 54.303 ($61.75 rounded) ($61.75/hour) and 25% of an 
Information and Record Clerk (43-4199) $56.14 x .25% = 14.035 
($14.04 rounded) ($14.04/hour), for a total ($61.75 + $14.04 = 
$75.79/hour).

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[[Page 38119]]

    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 
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other forms of information technology.

Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-09827 Filed 5-6-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P