Notice2024-18641
Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-725B); Comment Request; Extension
Primary source
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Published
August 20, 2024
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-725B, Mandatory Reliability Standards, Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) (Update for CIP-012-1 to version CIP-012-02) Cyber Security--Communications between Control Centers. The 60-day notice comment period ended on July 23, 2024, with no comments received.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 161 (Tuesday, August 20, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 20, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67432-67434]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-18641]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. RD24-3-000]
Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-725B); Comment
Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
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-725B, Mandatory Reliability Standards,
Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) (Update for CIP-012-1 to
version CIP-012-02) Cyber Security--Communications between Control
Centers. The 60-day notice comment period ended on July 23, 2024, with
no comments received.
DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due September 19,
2024.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments on FERC-725B (1902-0248) 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
Numbers 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. RD24-3-000) 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#c1a7a4b3a2aeafada8afa4b2b4b1b1aeb3b581a7a4b3a2efa6aeb7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dcbab9aebfb3b2b0b5b2b9afa9acacb3aea89cbab9aebff2bbb3aa">[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: Kayla Williams may be reached by email
at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#45012431240629202437242b262005030017066b222a33"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7034110411331c151102111e131530363522335e171f06">[email protected]</span></a>, telephone at (202) 502-6468.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: FERC-725B, Mandatory Reliability Standards, Critical
Infrastructure Protection (CIP) (Update to CIP-012-2).
OMB Control No.: 1902-0248.
Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved FERC-725B
information collection requirements with changes to the reporting
requirements.
Abstract: On August 8, 2005, Congress enacted the Energy Policy Act
of 2005.\1\ The Energy Policy Act of 2005 added a new section 215 to
the Federal Power Act (FPA),\2\ which requires a Commission-certified
Electric Reliability Organization to develop mandatory and enforceable
Reliability Standards,\3\ including requirements for cybersecurity
protection, which are subject to Commission review and approval. Once
approved, the Reliability Standards may be enforced by the Electric
Reliability Organization subject to Commission oversight, or the
Commission can independently enforce Reliability Standards.
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\1\ Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law 109-58, sec. 1261 et
seq., 119 Stat. 594 (2005).
\2\ 16 U.S.C. 824o.
\3\ Section 215 of the FPA defines Reliability Standard as a
requirement, approved by the Commission, to provide for reliable
operation of existing bulk-power system facilities, including
cybersecurity protection, and the design of planned additions or
modifications to such facilities to the extent necessary to provide
for reliable operation of the Bulk-Power System. However, the term
does not include any requirement to enlarge such facilities or to
construct new transmission capacity or generation capacity.
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On February 3, 2006, the Commission issued Order No. 672,\4\
implementing FPA Section 215. The Commission subsequently certified the
North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) as the Electric
Reliability Organization. The Reliability Standards developed by NERC
become mandatory and enforceable after Commission approval and apply to
users, owners, and operators of the Bulk-Power System, as set forth in
each Reliability Standard.\5\ The CIP Reliability Standards require
entities to comply with specific requirements to safeguard bulk
electric system (BES) Cyber Systems \6\ and their associated BES Cyber
Assets. These standards are results-based and do not specify a
technology or method to achieve
[[Page 67433]]
compliance, instead leaving it up to the entity to decide how best to
comply.
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\4\ Rules Concerning Certification of the Elec. Reliability
Org.; and Procedures for the Establishment, Approval, and Enf't of
Elec. Reliability Standards, Order No. 672, 71 FR 8661 (Feb. 17,
2006), 114 FERC ] 61,104, order on reh'g, Order No. 672-A, 71 FR
19814 (Apr. 28, 2006), 114 FERC ] 61,328 (2006).
\5\ NERC uses the term ``registered entity'' to identify users,
owners, and operators of the Bulk-Power System responsible for
performing specified reliability functions with respect to NERC
Reliability Standards. See, e.g., Version 4 Critical Infrastructure
Protection Reliability Standards, Order No. 761, 77 FR 24594 (Apr.
25, 2012), 139 FERC ] 61,058, at P 46, order denying clarification
and reh'g, 140 FERC ] 61,109 (2012). Within the NERC Reliability
Standards are various subsets of entities responsible for performing
various specified reliability functions. We collectively refer to
these as ``entities.''
\6\ NERC defines BES Cyber System as ``[o]ne or more BES Cyber
Assets logically grouped by a responsible entity to perform one or
more reliability tasks for a functional entity.'' NERC, Glossary of
Terms Used in NERC Reliability Standards, at 5 (2020),
Glossary_of_Terms.pdf (<a href="http://nerc.com">nerc.com</a>) . NERC defines BES Cyber Asset as A
Cyber Asset that if rendered unavailable, degraded, or misused
would, within 15 minutes of its required operation, mis-operation,
or non-operation, adversely impact one or more Facilities, systems,
or equipment, which, if destroyed, degraded, or otherwise rendered
unavailable when needed, would affect the reliable operation of the
Bulk Electric System. Redundancy of affected Facilities, systems,
and equipment shall not be considered when determining adverse
impact. Each BES Cyber Asset is included in one or more BES Cyber
Systems. Id. at 4.
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The Commission has approved multiple versions of the CIP
Reliability Standards submitted by NERC, partly to address the evolving
nature of cyber-related threats to the Bulk-Power System. High impact
systems include large control centers. Medium impact systems include
smaller control centers, ultra-high voltage transmission lines, large
substations, and generating facilities. The remainder of the BES Cyber
Systems are categorized as low impact systems. Most requirements in the
CIP Reliability Standards apply to high and medium impact systems;
however, a technical controls requirement in Reliability standard CIP-
012, described below, applies to all (low, medium and high) impact
Control Centers.
The FERC-725B information collection requirements are subject to
review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under section
3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.\7\ OMB's regulations
require approval of certain information collection requirements imposed
by agency rules.\8\ Upon approval of a collection of information, OMB
will assign an OMB control number and expiration date. Respondents
subject to the filing requirements will not be penalized for failing to
respond to these collections of information unless the collections of
information display a valid OMB control number. The Commission solicits
comments on the Commission's need for this information, whether the
information will have practical utility, the accuracy of the burden
estimates, ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected or retained, and any suggested methods for
minimizing respondents' burden, including the use of automated
information techniques.
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\7\ 44 U.S.C. 3507(d) (2012).
\8\ 5 CFR 1320.11 (2017).
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Reliability Standard CIP-012-2--Communications between Control
Centers: requires entities to protect the confidentiality, integrity,
and availability and integrity of data transmitted between Control
Centers that could lead to mis-operation or instability on the Bulk-
Power System. Specifically, the Reliability Standard CIP-012-2 is
revised to add requirements for entities to provide protections of the
availability of communication links and sensitive data transmitted
between BES Control Centers. It is part of the implementation of the
Congressional mandate of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to develop
mandatory and enforceable Reliability Standards to better ensure the
reliability of the nation's Bulk-Power System.
Type of Respondents: Business or other for profit, and not for
profit institutions.
Estimate of Annual Burden: \9\ The Commission bases its paperwork
burden estimates on the changes in paperwork burden presented by the
proposed revision to CIP Reliability Standard CIP-012-2 as compared to
the current Commission-approved Reliability Standard CIP-012-1. As
discussed above, the immediate order addresses the area of modification
to the CIP Reliability Standards: modifications to provide protections
of the availability of communication links and sensitive data
transmitted between BES Control Centers.
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\9\ ``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.
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The CIP Reliability Standards, viewed as a whole, implement a
defense-in-depth approach to protecting the security of BES Cyber
Systems at all impact levels.\10\ The CIP Reliability Standards are
objective-based and allow entities to choose compliance approaches best
tailored to their systems.\11\ The NERC Compliance Registry, as of
March 15, 2024, identifies approximately 1,610 unique U.S. entities
that are subject to mandatory compliance with CIP Reliability
Standards. Of this total, we estimate that 730 entities will face an
increased paperwork burden under proposed Reliability Standard CIP-012-
2. Based on these assumptions, we estimate the following reporting
burdens:
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\10\ Order No. 822, 154 FERC ] 61,037 at 32.
\11\ Mandatory Reliability Standards for Critical Infrastructure
Protection, Order No. 706, 73 FR 7368 (Feb. 7, 2008), 122 FERC ]
61,040, at P 72 (2008); order on reh'g, Order No. 706-A, 123 FERC ]
61,174 (2008); order on clarification, Order No. 706-B, 126 FERC ]
61,229 (2009).
FERC-725B, Modifications in Docket No. RD24-3-000
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Total annual
Number of Number of Total number of Average burden burden hours &
respondents responses \12\ responses hrs. & cost per total annual
per respondent response \13\ cost
(1) (2) (1) x (2) = (3) (4)............. (3) x (4) = 5
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Implementation of Documented 730 1 730 42 hrs.; 30,660 hrs.;
Plan(s) (Requirement R1) $4,493.16. $3,280,006.80.
\14\.
Document Identification of 730 1 730 20 hrs.; 14,600 hrs.;
methods to mitigate the $2,139.60. $1,561,908.
risk(s) posed by
unauthorized disclosure and
unauthorized modification
(Requirement R1.1) \14\.
Document Identification of 730 1 730 60 hrs.; 43,800 hrs.;
methods to mitigate the $6,418.80. $4,685,724.
risk(s) posed by loss of the
ability to communicate
(Requirement R1.2) \14\.
Document Identification of 730 1 730 100 hrs.; 73,000 hrs.;
methods to use to initiate $10,698. $7,809,540.
the recovery of
communication links
(Requirement R1.3) \14\.
Document Identification of 730 1 730 50 hrs.; $5,349. 36,500 hrs.;
where the implemented $3,904,770.
method(s) as required in
Parts 1.1 and 1.2
(Requirement R1.4) \12\.
Document identification of 730 1 730 50 hrs.; $5,349. 36,500 hrs.;
the responsibilities of each $3,904,770.
Responsible Entity (if not
owned by same Responsible
Entity) required in Parts
1.1, 1.2 and 1.3
(Requirement R1.5) \14\.
Maintaining Compliance 730 1 730 1 hr.; $106.98.. 730 hrs.;
(ongoing, starting in Year $78,095.40.
2).
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Total (one-time, in Year ........... ............... 4,380 ................ 235,060 hrs.;
1). $25,146,718.80.
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Total (ongoing, starting ........... ............... 730 ................ 730 hrs.;
in Year 2). $78,095.40.
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1. The one-time burden (in Year 1) for the FERC-725B information
collection will be averaged over three years:
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\12\ We consider the filing of an application to be a
``response.''
\13\ The hourly cost for wages plus benefits is based on the
average of the occupational categories for 2024 found on the Bureau
of Labor Statistics website (<a href="http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm">http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm</a>):
Information Security Analysts (Occupation Code: 15-1212):
$80.62.
Computer and Mathematical (Occupation Code: 15-0000): $74.16.
Legal (Occupation Code: 23-0000): $160.24.
Computer and Information Systems Managers (Occupation Code: 11-
3021): $112.88.
These various occupational categories' wage figures are averaged
as follows: $80.62/hour + $74.16/hour + $160.24/hour + $112.88/hour)
/ 4 = $106.975/hour ($106.98 rounded). The resulting wage figure is
rounded to $106.98/hour for use in calculating wage figures in the
Final Rule in Docket No. RD24-3-000.
\14\ This includes the record retention costs for the one-time
and the on-going reporting documents.
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<bullet> 235,060 hours / 3 = 78,353 (rounded) hours/year over Years
1-3.
<bullet> The number of one-time responses for the FERC-725B
information collection is also averaged over Years 1-3: 4,380 responses
/ 3 = 1,460 responses/year.
2. The average annual number (for Years 1-3) of responses and
burden for one-time and ongoing burden will total:
<bullet> 2,190 responses [1,460 responses (one-time) + 730
responses (ongoing)].
<bullet> 79,083 burden hours [78,353 hours (one-time) + 730 hours
(ongoing)].
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 14, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-18641 Filed 8-19-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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