Notice2026-05643
Agency Information Collection 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
March 23, 2026
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentEnergy Information Administration
Abstract
EIA submitted an information collection request for extension as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The information collection requests a three-year extension with changes to the Electric Power Surveys (EPS), OMB Control Number; 1905-0129. EPS consists of ten surveys, including annual, monthly and one daily survey. These surveys collect data from entities involved in the production, transmission, delivery, and sale of electricity, and in maintaining the reliable operation of the power system. The data collected are the primary source of information on the nation's electric power system.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 55 (Monday, March 23, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 55 (Monday, March 23, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13837-13839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05643]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Energy Information Administration
Agency Information Collection Extension
AGENCY: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of
Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: EIA submitted an information collection request for extension
as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The information
collection requests a three-year extension with changes to the Electric
Power Surveys (EPS), OMB Control Number; 1905-0129. EPS consists of ten
surveys, including annual, monthly and one daily survey. These surveys
collect data from entities involved in the production, transmission,
delivery, and sale of electricity, and in maintaining the reliable
operation of the power system. The data collected are the primary
source of information on the nation's electric power system.
DATES: Comments on this information collection must be received no
later than April 22, 2026. Written comments and recommendations for the
proposed information collection 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>. Find
this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently under
30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search
function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Debra Coaxum, EIA Clearance Officer,
at (202) 586-7876 or by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f8bdb1b9d5beaab69b9795959d968c8bb89d9199d69f978e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6d28242c402b3f230e0200000803191e2d08040c430a021b">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This information collection request
contains:
(1) OMB No.: 1905-0129;
(2) Information Collection Request Title: Electric Power Surveys;
(3) Type of Request: Three-year extension with changes;
(4) Purpose: EIA's EPS consists of the following ten surveys:
Form EIA-860 Annual Electric Generator Report collects data on
existing and planned electric generation plants, and associated
equipment including generators, boilers, cooling systems, and
environmental control systems. Data are collected from all existing
units and from planned units scheduled for initial commercial operation
within ten years of the specified reporting period (depending on the
type of power plant).
Form EIA-860M Monthly Update to the Annual Electric Generator
Report collects data on the status of proposed new generators scheduled
to begin commercial operation within the future 12-month period; and
existing generators that have proposed modifications that are scheduled
for completion within one month. The information is needed to ensure a
complete and accurate inventory of the nation's generating fleet, for
such purposes as reliability and environmental analysis.
[[Page 13838]]
Form EIA-861 Annual Electric Power Industry Report collects annual
information on the retail sale, distribution, transmission, and
generation of electric energy in the United States and its territories.
The data includes related activities such as energy efficiency and
demand response programs. In combination with Form EIA-861S short form
and the monthly Form EIA-861M, this annual survey provides coverage of
sales to ultimate customers of electric power and related activities.
Form EIA-861S Annual Electric Power Industry Report (Short Form)
collects a limited set of information annually from small companies
involved in the retail sale of electricity. A complete set of annual
data are collected from large companies on Form EIA-861. The small
utilities that currently report on Form EIA-861S are required to
complete Form EIA-861 once every eight years to provide updated
information for the statistical estimation of uncollected data.
Form EIA-861M Monthly Electric Power Industry Report collects
monthly information from a sample of electric utilities, energy service
providers, and distribution companies that sell or deliver electric
power to end users. Data included on this form includes sales and
revenue for end-use sectors--residential, commercial, industrial, and
transportation. This survey is the monthly complement to the annual
data collection from the universe of respondents that report on Form
EIA-861 and Form EIA-861S.
Form EIA-923A Annual Power Plant Operations Report collects annual
information from electric power plants in the United States but not
reporting on the EIA-923M. This data includes electric power
generation, energy source consumption, end of reporting period fossil
fuel stocks, as well as the quality and cost of fossil fuel receipts.
Form EIA-923M Monthly Power Plant Operations Report collects
monthly information from electric power plants in the United States on
electric power generation, energy source consumption, end of reporting
period fossil fuel stocks, as well as the quality and cost of fossil
fuel receipts.
Form EIA-923S Supplemental Power Plant Operations Report collects
information from a subset of EIA-923M electric power plants in the
United States on non-utility source and disposition of electricity and
environmental data.
Form EIA-930 Balancing Authority Operations Report collects hourly
electric power operating data from the 63 Balancing Authorities (BAs)
in the contiguous United States, including demand, forecast demand, net
generation, and interchange data.
Form EIA-930A Balancing Authority Generator Inventory Report
collects an inventory of electric generating units from the 63
Balancing Authorities (BAs) in the contiguous United States on an
annual basis.
Pretesting Interviews: EIA can conduct 100 pretesting interviews
each year for testing purposes. These methodologies test or evaluate
new terminology, unclear questions in surveys, unclear instructions, or
questions that may be added to the Electric Power Surveys. This will
help improve ongoing surveys and reduce errors due to respondent
confusion.
(4a) Proposed Changes to the Information Collection:
EIA will discontinue Form EIA-63B, Photovoltaic Module Shipments
Report. EIA has determined that the value of the data collected by the
survey no longer exceeds the burden of collecting and publishing it.
EIA is adding five additional questions on spinning reserves at a
time of unprecedented increases in electricity demand. In January 2026,
EIA forecasted that electricity demand would increase in both 2026 and
2027. The basis for adding these questions is a heightened interest in
making an important reliability metric more accessible to the industry,
providing stakeholders with clearer insights into grid stability and
operational readiness during these periods of increased demand. The
following questions have been added to EIA-930A, Schedule 5. Target
Spinning Reserve:
1. Does your Balancing Authority (BA) or your Reserve Sharing Group
(RSG) have a target spinning reserve?
2. What is the spinning reserve target?
3. Over the past calendar year, how many hours did your system
operate with spinning reserves below your target level?
4. What was the minimum spinning reserve actually held during the
past calendar year?
5. How many times were spinning reserves deployed during the past
calendar year?
The instructions for Schedule 5, Target Spinning Reserve, of Form
EIA-930A have been updated to reflect the addition of these questions,
and now include the following:
For Question 1, ``Does your Balancing Authority (BA) or your
Reserve Sharing Group (RSG) have a target spinning reserve?'', respond
``Yes'' or ``No''.
If you answered ``Yes'' to Schedule 5, Question 1, then answer
questions 2 through 5. If you answered ``No'' to Schedule 5, Question
1, you may skip questions 2 through 5.
For Question 2. ``What is the spinning reserve target?'', provide
your answer in megawatts (MW). If your BA is part of a reserve sharing
group (RSG), then provide your BA's portion of your RSG's Spinning
Reserve Target?
For Question 3. ``Over the past calendar year, how many hours did
your system operate with spinning reserves below your target level?'',
specify the number of hours (HH:00-HH:59) that experienced a moment
when your system operated with spinning below your target level. If
your BA is part of a Reserve Sharing Group (RSG), this question only
applies to the portion of the spinning reserve target allocated to your
BA and the portion of spinning reserves managed by your BA.
For Question 4. ``What was the minimum spinning reserve actually
held during the past calendar year?'', provide your answer in megawatts
(MW). If your BA is part of a reserve sharing group (RSG), this
question only applies to the portion of the spinning reserves managed
by your BA.
For Question 5. ``How many times were spinning reserves deployed
during the past calendar year?'', if your BA is part of a reserve
sharing group (RSG), this question only applies to the portion of the
spinning reserves managed by your BA.
EIA is making changes to the frame size for EIA-860A, EIA-860M,
EIA-923A, and EIA-923M to ensure that all new generating units are
accounted for. These frame size changes and resulting increases in the
estimates for the number of respondents, number of total responses, and
number of burden hours are reflected in the below annual estimates
values.
In response to feedback received during the 60-day Federal Register
Notice comment period, EIA made specific revisions to the instructions
for Form EIA-861, under Schedule 3, Part B. These changes aim to
enhance clarity for respondents calculating System Average Interruption
Duration Index (SAIDI) and System Average Interruption Frequency Index
(SAIFI). The original third bullet point stated ``Report both the
Annual Distribution SAIDI Including Major Event Days excluding events
where the reliability event was initiated from loss of supply (e.g.
resulted from an event on the distribution system, not from the high-
voltage system) the Annual Distribution SAIDI Excluding Major Event
Days excluding events where the reliability event was initiated from
loss of supply on line 4''. The language was updated to ``Report both
the Annual Distribution
[[Page 13839]]
SAIDI including Major Event Days but excluding events that were
initiated by a loss of supply from the high-voltage system on line 4.''
The original sixth bullet point stated ``Report both the Annual
Distribution SAIFI Including and Excluding Major Event Days excluding
events where the reliability event was initiated from loss of supply on
line 6.'' The updated sixth bullet point was changed to, ``Report both
the Annual Distribution SAIFI including Major Event Days but excluding
events that were initiated by a loss of supply from the high-voltage
system on line 6.'' These modifications streamline the language to more
precisely define the reporting requirements for reliability events not
originating from the high-voltage system.
(5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 29,989.
Form EIA-860A (without schedule 6) is estimated to have 6,700
respondents;
Form EIA-860A (with schedule 6) is estimated to have 811 respondents;
Form EIA-860M is estimated to have 508 respondents;
Form EIA-861A is estimated to have 1,735 respondents;
Form EIA-861S is estimated to have 1,692 respondents;
Form EIA-861M is estimated to have 650 respondents;
Form EIA-923A is estimated to have 11,142 respondents;
Form EIA-923S is estimated to have 2,946 respondents;
Form EIA-923M is estimated to have 3,579 respondents;
Form EIA-930 is estimated to have 63 respondents;
Form EIA-930A is estimated to have 63 respondents;
Pretesting has 100 respondents;
(6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 101,177;
(7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 251,176;
(8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: EIA
estimates that there are no capital and start-up costs associated with
this data collection. The information is maintained during the normal
course of business. The cost of the burden hours is estimated to be
$23,846,649.44 (251,176 burden hours times $94.94 per hour). Other than
the cost of burden hours, EIA estimates that there are no additional
costs for generating, maintaining, and providing this information.
Statutory Authority: 15 U.S.C. 772(b) and 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.
Signed in Washington, DC, on 03/19/2026.
Debra Coaxum,
Assistant Administrator for Energy Statistics, U.S. Energy Information
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2026-05643 Filed 3-20-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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