2019-00535. Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-912); Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY:

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION:

Notice of information collection and request for comments.

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-912 (PURPA Section 210(m) Notification Requirements Applicable to Cogeneration and Small Power Production Facilities).

DATES:

Comments on the collection of information are due April 1, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC19-10-000) by either of the following methods:

• eFiling at Commission's Website: http://www.ferc.gov/​docs-filing/​efiling.asp.
• Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.

Instructions: All submissions must be formatted and filed in accordance with submission guidelines at: http://www.ferc.gov/​help/​submission-guide.asp. For user assistance, contact FERC Online Support by email at [e-mail], or by phone at: [phone] (toll-free), or [phone] for TTY.

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 http://www.ferc.gov/​docs-filing/​docs-filing.asp.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ellen Brown may be reached by email at [e-mail], telephone at [phone], and fax at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: FERC-912, PURPA Section 210(m) Notification Requirements Applicable to Cogeneration and Small Power Production Facilities.

OMB Control No.: 1902-0237.

Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-912 information collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting requirements.

Abstract: On 8/8/2005, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) ^[1] was signed into law. Section 1253(a) of EPAct 2005 amends Section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) by adding subsection “(m),” that provides, based on a specified showing, for the termination and subsequent reinstatement of an electric utility's obligation to purchase from, and sell energy and capacity to, qualifying facilities (QFs). 18 CFR 292.309-292.313 are the implementing regulations, and provide procedures for:

• An electric utility to file an application for the termination of its obligation to purchase energy and capacity from, or sell to, a QF; ^[2] and

• An affected entity or person to subsequently apply to the Commission for an order reinstating the electric utility's obligation to purchase energy and capacity from, or sell to, a QF.^[3]

Type of Respondents: Electric utilities, principally.

Estimate of Annual Burden: ^[4] The Commission estimates the total Public Reporting Burden and cost for this information collection as follows:

FERC-912 (IC19-10-000)—Cogeneration and Small Power Production, PURPA Section 210(m) Regulations for Termination or Reinstatement of Obligation To Purchase or Sell

	Number of respondents	Number of responses per respondent	Total number of responses	Average burden hours & average cost per response ($) 5	Total annual burden hours & total annual cost ($)	Cost per respondent ($)
	(1)	(2)	(1) × (2) = (3)	(4)	(3) × (4) = (5)	(5) ÷ (1) = (6)
Termination of obligation to purchase	7	1	7	12 $864	84 $6,048	$864
Reinstatement of obligations to purchase	0	0	0	0 $0	0 $0	0
Termination of obligation to sell	2	1	2	8 $576	16 $1,152	576
Reinstatement of obligation to sell	0	0	0	0 $0	0 $0	0
Total					100 $7,200	1,440

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: December 31, 2018.

Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,

Deputy Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  Public Law 109-58, 119 Stat. 594 (2005).

2.  18 CFR 292.310 and 292.312.

3.  18 CFR 292.311 and 292.313.

4.  Burden 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 Title 5 Code of Federal Regulations 1320.3.

5.  The estimates for cost per response are derived using the following formula: Average Burden Hours per Response * $72.00 per Hour = Average Cost per Response. The hourly cost figure comes from the FERC average salary ($149,489/year). Commission staff believes the FERC average salary to be representative wage for industry respondents.