Notice2021-17129
Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-725A); Comment Request; Extension
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 11, 2021
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Abstract
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-725A (Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System). This notice includes the burden totals for proposed Reliability Standard FAC-008-5, which will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 152 (Wednesday, August 11, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 152 (Wednesday, August 11, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44014-44016]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17129]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. IC21-19-000, RD21-4-000]
Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-725A); 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-725A (Mandatory Reliability Standards for
the Bulk-Power System). This notice includes the burden totals for
proposed Reliability Standard FAC-008-5, which will be submitted to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review.
DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due September 10,
2021.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments on FERC-725A to OMB through
<a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission Desk Officer. Please identify the OMB Control Number (1902-
0244) in the subject line of your comments. Comments should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this notice to <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>.
Please submit copies of your comments to the Commission. You may
submit copies of your comments (identified by Docket No. IC21-19-000)
by one of the following methods:
Electronic filing through <a href="http://www.ferc.gov">http://www.ferc.gov</a>, is preferred.
<bullet> Electronic Filing: Documents must be filed in acceptable
native applications and print-to-PDF, but not in scanned or picture
format.
<bullet> 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: Deliver to: Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852.
Instructions: OMB submissions must be formatted and filed in
accordance with submission guidelines at <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. 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: <a href="http://www.ferc.gov">http://www.ferc.gov</a>. For user assistance,
contact FERC Online Support by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#30565542535f5e5c595e55434540405f424470565542531e575f46"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ff999a8d9c90919396919a8c8a8f8f908d8bbf999a8d9cd1989089">[email protected]</span></a>, 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 <a href="https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview">https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Brown may be reached by email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#95d1f4e1f4d6f9f0f4e7f4fbf6f0d5d3d0c7d6bbf2fae3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="db9fbaafba98b7bebaa9bab5b8be9b9d9e8998f5bcb4ad">[email protected]</span></a>, telephone at (202) 502-8663.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: FERC-725A (Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-
Power System).
OMB Control No.: 1902-0244.
Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-725A information
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting
requirements.
Abstract: On August 8, 2005, the Electricity Modernization Act of
2005, which is Title XII, Subtitle A, of the Energy Policy Act of 2005
(EPAct 2005), was enacted into law.\1\ EPAct 2005 added a new section
215 to the FPA, which requires a Commission-certified electric
reliability organization (ERO) (FERC-725) to develop mandatory and
enforceable Reliability Standards, which are subject to Commission
review and approval. Once approved, the Reliability Standards may be
enforced by the ERO, subject to Commission oversight or the Commission
can independently enforce Reliability Standards (FERC-725A).\2\
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\1\ Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law 109-58, Title XII,
Subtitle A, 119 Stat. 594, 941 (2005), to be codified at 16 U.S.C.
824o.
\2\ 16 U.S.C. 824o(e)(3).
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On February 3, 2006, the Commission issued Order No. 672,
implementing section 215 of the FPA.\3\ Pursuant to Order No. 672, the
Commission certified one organization, NERC, as the ERO.\4\ The ERO is
required to develop Reliability Standards, which are subject to
Commission review and approval. The Reliability Standards will apply to
users, owners and operators of the Bulk-Power System, as set forth in
each Reliability Standard.
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\3\ Rules Concerning Certification of the Electric Reliability
Organization; Procedures for the Establishment, Approval and
Enforcement of Electric Reliability Standards, Order No. 672, 71 FR
8662 (February 17, 2006), FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,204 (2006), order
on reh'g, Order No. 672-A, 71 FR 19814 (April 18, 2006), FERC Stats.
& Regs. ] 31,212 (2006).
\4\ North American Electric Reliability Corp., 116 FERC ] 61,062
(ERO Certification Order), order on reh'g & compliance, 117 FERC ]
61,126 (ERO Rehearing Order) (2006), order on compliance, 118 FERC ]
61,030 (2007) (January 2007 Compliance Order).
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On March 16, 2007, the Commission issued Order No. 693, a Final
Rule adding part 40, a new part, to the
[[Page 44015]]
Commission's regulations. The Final Rule states that this part applies
to all users, owners and operators of the Bulk-Power System within the
United States (other than Alaska or Hawaii). It also requires that each
Reliability Standard identify the subset of users, owners and operators
to which that particular Reliability Standard applies. The new
regulations also require that each Reliability Standard that is
approved by the Commission will be maintained on the ERO's internet
website for public inspection.
In order that the Commission is able to perform its oversight
function with regard to Reliability Standards that are proposed by the
ERO and established by the Commission, it is essential that the
Commission receive timely information regarding all or potential
violations of Reliability Standards. While section 215 of the FPA
contemplates the filing of the record of an ERO or Regional Entity
enforcement action, FERC needs information regarding violations and
potential violations at or near the time of occurrence. Therefore, it
will work with the ERO and regional reliability organizations to be
able to use the electronic filing of information so the Commission
receives timely information. The new regulations also require that each
Reliability Standard that is approved by the Commission will be
maintained on the ERO's internet website for public inspection.
In accordance with section 39.5 of the Commission's regulations,
the ERO must file each Reliability Standard or a modification to a
Reliability Standard with the Commission. The filing is to include a
concise statement of the basis and purpose of the proposed Reliability
Standard, either a summary of the Reliability development proceedings
conducted by the ERO or a summary of the Reliability Standard
development proceedings conducted by a Regional Entity together with a
summary of the Reliability Standard review proceedings of the ERO and a
demonstration that the proposed Reliability Standard is ``just,
reasonable, not unduly discriminatory or preferential, and in the
public interest.
RD21-4 (FAC-008-05)
The proposed information collection changes in Docket No. RD21-4-
000 relate to the proposed Reliability Standard FAC-008-05 (Facility
Ratings) developed by the North American Electric Reliability
Corporation (NERC), and submitted to the Commission for approval. The
Commission received NERC's petition to approve the proposed Reliability
Standards.
On February 19, 2021, NERC filed a petition seeking approval of
proposed Reliability Standard FAC-008-5. NERC states that proposed
Reliability Standard FAC-008-5 reflects the retirement of Requirement
R7 of the currently effective standard. NERC notes that this proposal
was recommended following the first phase of work under the NERC
Standards Efficiency Review and that in its Order No. 873 remanding a
previously proposed version of the FAC-008 Reliability Standard, the
Commission agreed that the retirement of Requirement R7 from the
standard would not result in a reliability gap.
In June 2019, following the conclusion of the standard development
process, NERC submitted a series of standard retirement proposals to
the Commission. Among the proposals, NERC submitted for Commission
approval proposed Reliability Standard FAC-008-4, in which NERC
proposed to retire Requirements R7 and R8 of currently effective
Reliability Standard FAC-008-3. In September 2020, the Commission
issued Order No. 873 regarding NERC's retirement proposals. In this
order, the Commission remanded proposed Reliability Standard FAC-008-4
to NERC for further consideration, citing concerns with the proposed
retirement of Requirement R8 of the currently effective standard. The
standard drafting team determined to develop a new version of the
Reliability Standard, proposed Reliability Standard FAC-008-5, in which
only Requirement R7 of the currently effective standard would be
proposed for retirement. Reliability Standard FAC-008-5 Requirement R7
requires Generator Owners and Transmission Owners to provide certain
information to requesting Reliability Coordinator(s), Planning
Coordinator(s), Transmission Planner(s), Transmission Owner(s), and
Transmission Operator(s) regarding their Facilities, as follows:
R7. Each Generator Owner shall provide Facility Ratings (for its
solely and jointly owned Facilities that are existing Facilities, new
Facilities, modifications to existing Facilities and re-ratings of
existing Facilities) to its associated Reliability Coordinator(s),
Planning Coordinator(s), Transmission Planner(s), Transmission Owner(s)
and Transmission Operator(s) as scheduled by such requesting entities.
In the years since Reliability Standard FAC-008-5 was developed,
NERC has developed other Reliability Standards that render the data
provision obligations of Requirement R7 redundant, Requirement R1 of
Reliability Standard TOP-003-3--Operational Reliability Data requires
the Transmission Operator to maintain a documented data specification
(Requirement R1) and for the Transmission Owner and Generator Owner to
provide the requested data (Requirement R5).
Estimate of Annual Burden: \5\ The Commission estimates the burden
and cost \6\ for this information collection as follows.
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\5\ 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 part 1320.
\6\ The Commission staff thinks that the average respondent for
this collection is similarly situated to the Commission, in terms of
salary plus benefits. Based on FERC's 2020 annual average of
$172,329 (for salary plus benefits), the average hourly cost is $83/
hour.
Proposed Changes to Burden Due to Docket No. RD21-4-000 Adjustments and Clarifications
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Number of
respondents Annual number Annual number Average burden Total annual
Reliability standard and requirements and type of of responses of responses hrs. per burden hours
entity per respondent response
(1) (2) (1) * (2) = (3) (4) (3) * (4) = (5)
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RD21-4 Net Changes to FERC-725A, OMB Control No. 1902-0244
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FAC-008-05 (Facility Ratings) \7\.................................. * 1,003 1 * 1,003 [dagger]-10 [dagger] -
10,030
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* (No Changes).
[dagger] (Reduction).
[[Page 44016]]
IC21-19-000 Renewal of 725A
The following table represents the current burden associated with
all Mandatory Reliability Standards that fall under FERC-725A.
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\7\ The type of entity effect is the NERC registered GO =
Generator Owners (1,003). This reduction for 725A represent a
decrease in burden but the GOs still have other obligations, so the
1,003 is included for information purpose but does not affect the
overall number of entities in 725A.
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Number of Average number
Number of annual Total number of of burden Total burden
Reliability standard and requirement entity \8\ responses per responses hours per hours
entity response
(1) (2) (1) * (2) = (3) (4) (3) * (4) = (5)
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FERC-725A
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Mandatory Reliability Standards for Bulk Power System.............. (3,420) 1 3,420 428.86 1,466,716
RD21-4 Net Changes................................................. * 1,003 1 * 1,003 -10 [dagger] -
10,030
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Total for FERC-725A............................................ ............... ............... ............... ............... 1,456,686
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* (No Change).
[dagger] (Reduction)
Note: FAC-008-05 is a part of the Bulk Power System burden totals.
The net changes for the responses and hours will affect the totals for
the row stated ``Mandatory Reliability Standards for Bulk Power
System.''
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\8\ This is a list of NERC registered entities who under 725A
need to follow the NERC Standards. BA = Balancing Authority (99); DP
= Distribution Provider (373); GP = Generator Owner (1,003);
Generator Operator (937); PA/PC Planning Authority/Planning
Coordinator (65); RC=Reliability Coordinator (11); RP = Resource
Planner (160); RSG = Reserve Sharing Group (11); FRSG = Frequency
Response Sharing Group (1); TO = Transmission Owner (321); TOP =
Transmission Operator (167); TP = Transmission Provided (201); TSP =
Transmission Service Provider (71); for a sum total of (3,420). The
same entity may have multiple registration obligation to follow
under 725A so an individual entity's obligation increases based on
registration functions. These values were derived from the NERC
Compliance data of February 5, 2021 using only unique United States
registered entities.
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Expanded Table Showing the Mandatory Reliability Standards for Bulk
Power System is provided below The hyperlinks highlighted in blue
provide additional information on the individual standards
(Requirements, Measurements, and most recent order):
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Standard Name In-service
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FAC-008-5.................. Facility Ratings........... 1/1/2013
INT-006-5.................. Evaluation of Interchange 4/1/2021
Transactions.
INT-009-3.................. Implementation of 4/1/2021
Interchange.
PER-003-2.................. Operating Personnel 7/1/2019
Credentials.
PRC-008-0.................. Implementation and 6/18/2007
Documentation of
Underfrequency Load
Shedding Equipment
Maintenance Program.
PRC-011-0.................. Undervoltage Load Shedding 6/18/2007
System Maintenance and
Testing.
PRC-017-1.................. Remedial Action Scheme 4/1/2017
Maintenance and Testing.
PRC-018-1.................. Disturbance Monitoring 6/18/2007
Equipment Installation and
Data Reporting.
TOP-001-5.................. Transmission Operations.... 4/1/2021
TOP-002-4.................. Operations Planning........ 4/1/2017
TOP-003-4.................. Operational Reliability 4/1/2021
Data.
TOP-010-1(i)............... Real-time Reliability 4/1/2018
Monitoring and Analysis
Capabilities.
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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: August 5, 2021.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-17129 Filed 8-10-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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