Notice2024-01038
Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-725r); 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
January 19, 2024
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Abstract
In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) is soliciting public comment on revisions of the information collection FERC-725R (Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System: BAL Reliability Standards), which will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 13 (Friday, January 19, 2024)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 13 (Friday, January 19, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3648-3650]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01038]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. IC24-2-000]
Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-725r); Comment
Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of revision of information collection and request for
comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) is soliciting public
comment on revisions of the information collection FERC-725R (Mandatory
Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System: BAL Reliability
Standards), which will be submitted to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB).
DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due February 20,
2024.
[[Page 3649]]
ADDRESSES: Send written comments on FERC-725R 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-
0268) 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. IC24-2-000) by
one of the following methods: Electronic filing through <a href="https://www.ferc.gov">https://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, Secretary of the 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="https://www.ferc.gov">https://www.ferc.gov</a>. For user assistance,
contact FERC Online Support by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ccaaa9beafa3a2a0a5a2a9bfb9bcbca3beb88caaa9beafe2aba3ba"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cea8abbcada1a0a2a7a0abbdbbbebea1bcba8ea8abbcade0a9a1b8">[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="http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/docs-filing.asp">http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/docs-filing.asp</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean Sonneman may be reached by email
at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ade9ccd9cceec1c8ccdfccc3cec8edebe8ffee83cac2db"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2165405540624d444053404f424461676473620f464e57">[email protected]</span></a>, and telephone at (202) 502-6362.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: FERC-725R, Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-
Power System: BAL Reliability Standards.
OMB Control No.: 1902-0268.
Type of Request: OMB renewal of the FERC-725R information
collection requirements, with no changes to the requirements.
Abstract: The FERC 725R information collection includes four
reliability standards.
<bullet> BAL-001-2, Real Power Balancing Control Performance;
(effective July 1, 2016)
<bullet> BAL-002-3, Disturbance Control Standard--Contingency Reserve
for Recovery from a Balancing Contingency Event; (effective April 1,
2019)
<bullet> BAL-003-2, Frequency Response and Frequency Bias Setting;
(effective December 1, 2020)
<bullet> BAL-005-1, Balancing Authority Control. (effective January 1,
2019)
On August 8, 2005, Congress enacted into law the Electricity
Modernization Act of 2005, which is title XII, subtitle A, of the
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005).\1\ EPAct 2005 added a new
section 215 to the Federal Power Act (FPA), which requires a
Commission-certified Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) to develop
mandatory and enforceable Reliability Standards, which are subject to
Commission review and approval. Once approved, any Reliability Standard
may be enforced by the ERO subject to Commission oversight, or the
Commission may independently enforce Reliability Standards.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law 109-58, Title XII,
Subtitle A, 119 Stat. 594, 941 (codified at 16 U.S.C. 824o).
\2\ 16 U.S.C. 824o(e)(3).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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, North American Electric
Reliability Corporation (NERC), as the ERO.\4\ The Reliability
Standards developed by the ERO and approved by the Commission apply to
users, owners and operators of the Bulk-Power System as set forth in
each Reliability Standard.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Rules Concerning Certification of the Electric Reliability
Organization; and Procedures for the Establishment, Approval, and
Enforcement of Electric Reliability Standards, Order No. 672, FERC
Stats. & Regs. ] 31,204, order on reh'g, Order No. 672-A, FERC
Stats. & Regs. ] 31,212 (2006).
\4\ North American Electric Reliability Corp., 116 FERC ]
61,062, order on reh'g and compliance, 117 FERC ] 61,126 (2006),
order on compliance, 118 FERC ] 61,190, order on reh'g, 119 FERC ]
61,046 (2007), aff'd sub nom. Alcoa Inc. v. FERC, 564 F.3d 1342
(D.C. Cir. 2009).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This collection was last revised beginning on December 19, 2019
when NERC submitted for approval the proposed Reliability Standard BAL-
003-2.
Types of Respondents: Balancing authorities and a Frequency
Response Sharing Group (FRSG).
Estimate of Annual Burden: \5\ The estimated burdens of the FERC
725R include the Reliability Standards: BAL-001-2, BAL-002-3, BAL-003-
2, and BAL-005-1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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. See 5
CFR 1320 for additional information on the definition of information
collection burden.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The requirements for each Reliability Standard--are as follows:
BAL-001-2: Real Power Balancing Control Performance. Reliability
Standard BAL-001-2 is designed to ensure that applicable entities
balance generation and load by maintaining system frequency within
narrow bounds around a scheduled value, and it improves reliability by
adding a frequency component to the measurement of a Balancing
Authority's Area Control Error (ACE).\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ Area Control Error is the ``instantaneous difference between
a Balancing Authority's net actual and scheduled interchange, taking
into accounts the effects of Frequency Bias, correction for meter
error, and Automatic Time Error Correction (ATEC), if operating in
the ATEC mode. ATEC is only applicable to Balancing Authorities in
the Western Interconnection.'' NERC Glossary.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
BAL-002-3: Disturbance Control Standard--Contingency Reserve for
Recovery from a Balancing Contingency Event. This standard ensures that
a responsible entity, either a balancing authority or reserve sharing
group, is able to recover from system contingencies by deploying
adequate reserves to return their Area Control Error to defined values
and replacing the capacity and energy lost due to generation or
transmission equipment outages.
BAL-003-2: Frequency Response and Frequency Bias Setting. This
standard requires sufficient Frequency Response from the Balancing
Authority (BA) to maintain Interconnection Frequency within predefined
bounds by arresting frequency deviations and supporting frequency until
the frequency is restored.
BAL-005-1: Balancing Authority Control. This standard establishes
requirements for acquiring data necessary to calculate Reporting Area
Control Error (Reporting ACE). The standard also specifies a minimum
periodicity, accuracy, and availability requirement for acquisition of
the data and for providing the information to the System Operator. It
requires balancing authorities to maintain minimum levels of annual
availability of 99.5% for each balancing authority system for
calculating Reporting ACE.
Our estimates are based on the NERC Compliance Registry as of
September
[[Page 3650]]
22, 2023, which indicates that in the United States there are 98
registered balancing authorities, 8 registered reserve sharing group
(RSG) and 1 frequency response sharing group (FRSG).\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ NERC Compliance Registry (September 22, 2023), available at
<a href="https://www.nerc.com/pa/comp/Registration%20and%20Certification%20DL/NERC_Compliance_Registry_Matrix_Excel.xlsx">https://www.nerc.com/pa/comp/Registration%20and%20Certification%20DL/NERC_Compliance_Registry_Matrix_Excel.xlsx</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimates for the average annual burden and cost \8\ follow.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ The hourly cost estimates are based on wage data from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics for May 2022 (at <a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm">https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm</a>) and benefits data for Dec. 2022 (issued March
2023, at <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm">https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm</a>). The hourly
costs (for wages and benefits) for reporting are: Electrical
Engineer (Occupation code 17-2071), $77.29. The hourly costs (for
wages and benefits) for evidence retention are: Information and
Record Clerk (Occupation code 43-4199), $56.14.
FERC-725R
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of
Number & annual Total number
Function type of responses of annual Average burden hours & cost Total annual burden hours & total annual
respondents per responses ($) per response cost ($)
respondent
(1) (2) (1) x (2) = (4)........................ (3) x (4) = (5)
(3)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BAL-001-2:
BA Reporting Requirements........ 98 1 98 8 hrs.; $618.32............ 784 hrs.; $60,595.36.
BA Recordkeeping Requirements.... 98 1 98 4 hrs.; $224.56............ 392 hrs.; $22,006.88.
BAL-002-3:
BA & RSG Reporting Requirements.. 106 1 106 8 hrs.; $618.32............ 848 hrs.; $65,541.92.
BA & RSG Recordkeeping 106 1 106 4 hrs.; $224.56............ 424 hrs.; $23,803.36.
Requirements.
BAL-003-2:
BA & FRSG Reporting Requirements. 99 28 2,772 8 hrs.; $618.32............ 22,176 hrs.; $1,713,983.04.
BA & FRSG Recordkeeping 99 1 99 2 hrs.; $112.28............ 198 hrs.; $11,115.72.
Requirements.
BAL-005-1:
BA Reporting Requirements........ 98 1 98 1 hr.; $77.29.............. 98 hrs.; $7,574.42.
BA Recordkeeping Requirements.... 98 1 98 1 hr.; $56.14.............. 98 hrs.; $5,501.72.
-------------------------------------------
Sub-Total for Reporting ........... ........... .............. ........................... 23,906 hrs.; $1,847,694.74.
Requirements.
Sub-Total for Recordkeeping ........... ........... .............. ........................... 1,112 hrs.; $62,427.68.
Requirements.
-------------------------------------------
Total for FERC-725R...... ........... ........... .............. ........................... 25,018 hrs.; $1,910,122.42.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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: January 12, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-01038 Filed 1-18-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 19, 2024.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.