[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 4 (Tuesday, January 7, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1120-1121]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00083]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. IC25-3-000]
Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-725); Comment
Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.
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 725, Certification of Electric Reliability
Organization; Procedures for Electric Reliability Standards. There were
no changes made to the reporting requirements for this information
collection.
DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due March 10,
2025.
ADDRESSES: You may submit copies of your comments (identified by Docket
No. IC25-3-000) 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, not in scanned or picture format.
For those unable to file electronically, comments may be
filed by USPS mail or by other delivery methods:
[cir] Mail via U.S. Postal Service Only: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE,
Washington, DC 20426.
[cir] All other delivery services: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, Office of the Secretary, 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: Kayla Williams may be reached by email
at [email protected], telephone at (202) 502-6468.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: FERC-725, Certification of Electric Reliability
Organization; Procedures for Electric Reliability Standards.
OMB Control No.: 1902-0225.
Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-725 information
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
Abstract: The FERC-725 contains the following information
collection elements:
Self-Assessment and ERO (Electric Reliability Organization)
Application: The Commission requires the ERO to submit to FERC a
performance assessment report every five years. The next assessment is
due in 2025. Each Regional Entity submits a performance assessment
report to the ERO.
Submitting an application to become the ERO is also part of this
collection.\1\
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\1\ The Commission does not expect any new ERO applications to
be submitted in the next five years and is not including any burden
for this requirement in the burden estimate. FERC still seeks to
renew the regulations pertaining to a new ERO application under this
renewal but is expecting the burden to be zero for the foreseeable
future. 18 CFR 39.3 contains the regulation pertaining to ERO
applications.
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Reliability Assessments: 18 CFR 39.11 requires the ERO to assess
the reliability and adequacy of the Bulk-Power System in North America.
Subsequently, the ERO must report to the Commission on its findings.
Regional entities perform similar assessments within individual
regions. Currently the ERO submits to FERC three assessments each year:
long term, winter, and summer. In addition, the North American Electric
Reliability Corporation (NERC, the Commission-approved ERO) also
submits various other assessments as needed.
Reliability Standards Development: Under section 215 of the Federal
Power Act (FPA),\2\ the ERO is charged with developing Reliability
Standards. Regional Entities may also develop regional specific
standards and have standard experts on staff to work with entities
below the regional level.
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\2\ 16 U.S.C. 824o.
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Reliability Compliance: Reliability Standards are mandatory and
enforceable upon approval by the Commission. In addition to the
specific information collection requirements contained in each standard
(cleared under other information collections), there are general
compliance, monitoring and enforcement information collection
requirements imposed on applicable entities. Audits, spot checks, self-
certifications, exception data submittals, violation reporting, and
mitigation plan confirmation are included in this area.
Stakeholder Survey: The ERO uses a stakeholder survey to solicit
feedback from registered entities \3\ in preparation for its five-year
self-performance assessment. The Commission assumes that the ERO will
perform another survey prior to the 2025 self-assessment.
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\3\ A ``registered entity'' is an entity that is registered with
the ERO. All Bulk-Power System owners, operators and users are
required to register with the ERO. Registration is the basis for
determining the Reliability Standards with which an entity must
comply. See http://www.nerc.com/page.php?cid=3%7C25 for more
details.
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Other Reporting: This category refers to all other reporting
requirements imposed on the ERO or regional entities in order to comply
with the Commission's regulations. For example, FERC may require NERC
to submit a special reliability assessment or inquiry. This category
captures these types of
[[Page 1121]]
one-time filings required of NERC or the Regions.
The Commission implements its responsibilities through 18 CFR part
39.
Type of Respondent: Electric Reliability Organization, Regional
entities, and registered entities.
Estimate of Annual Burden: \4\ The Commission estimates the total
annual burden and cost \5\ for this information collection in the table
below. For hourly cost (for wages and benefits), we estimate that 70%
of the time is spent by Electrical Engineers (code 17-2071, at $79.31/
hr.), 10% of the time is spent by Legal (code 23-0000, at $162.66/hr.),
and 20% by Information and Record Clerk (code 43-4199, at $44.74/hr.).
Therefore, we use the weighted hourly cost (for wages and benefits) of
$80.73(rounded) {or [(0.70) * ($79.13/hr.)] + [(0.10) * $162.66/hr.] +
[(0.20) * $44.74/hr.]{time} .
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\4\ ``Burden'' is the total time, effort, or financial resources
expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or
provide information to or for a Federal agency. For further
explanation of what is included in the information collection
burden, refer to 5 CFR 1320.3.
\5\ Costs (for wages and benefits) are based on wage figures
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for May 2024 (at https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm) and benefits information (at
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm).
FERC-725, Certification of Electric Reliability Organization; Procedures for Electric Reliability Standards
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Annual number
Type of reporting Number of of responses Total number Average burden hours Estimated total
Type of respondent requirement respondents per of responses & cost ($) per annual burden hours &
\6\ respondent \7\ response (rounded) cost ($) (rounded)
(A) (B) (A) x (B) = (D).................. (C) x (D)
(C)
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Electric Reliability Organization Self-Assessment...... 1 .2 .2 4,160 hrs.; $335,837. 832 hrs.; $67,167.
(ERO).
Reliability 4 4 10,400 hrs.; $839,592 41,600 hrs.;
Assessments. $3,358,368.
Reliability 2 2 18,720 hrs.; 37,440 hrs.;
Compliance. $1,511,266. $3,022,531.
Standards Development 1 1 24,960 hrs.; 24,960 hrs.;
$2,015,021. $2,015,021.
Other Reporting...... 1 1 4,160 hrs.; $335,836. 4,160 hrs.; $335,836.
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ERO, Sub-Total................. ..................... .............. .............. .............. ..................... 108,992 hrs.;
$8,798,924.
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Regional Entities.................. Self-Assessment...... 6 .2 1.2 4,160 hrs.; $335,836. 4,992 hrs.; $403,004.
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Reliability 1 6 12,480 hrs.; 74,880 hrs.;
Assessments. $1,007,510. $6,045,062.
Reliability 1 6 47,840 hrs.; 287,040 hrs.;
Compliance. $3,862,123. $23,172,739.
Standards Development 1 6 1,560 hrs.; $125,938. 9,360 hrs.; $755,632.
Other Reporting...... 1 6 1,040 hrs.; $83,959.. 6,240 hrs.; $503,755.
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Regional Entities, Sub-Total... ..................... .............. .............. .............. ..................... 382,512 hrs.;
$30,880,194.
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Registered Entities................ Stakeholder Survey... 3,735 .2 747 8 hrs.; $646......... 5,976 hrs.; $482,442.
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Reliability 1 3,735 180 hrs.; $14,531.... 672,300 hrs.;
Compliance. $54,274,779.
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Registered Entities, Sub-Total. ..................... .............. .............. .............. ..................... 678,276 hrs.;
$54,757,221.
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Total Burden Hrs. and Cost. ..................... .............. .............. .............. ..................... 1,169,870 hrs.;
$94,436,339.
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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\ Estimated number of respondents is taken from the November
20, 2024, NERC Compliance Registration tables. NERC is the only ERO
and there are six regional entities (MRO, WECC, RF, SERC, NPCC and
Texas RE). The estimated 3,735 represents the number of only US
unique entities.
\7\ In instances where the number of responses per respondent is
``1,'' the Commission Staff thinks that the actual number of
responses varies and cannot be estimated accurately.
Dated: December 31, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025-00083 Filed 1-6-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P