2011-27225. Proposed Agency Information Collection

AGENCY:

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION:

Notice and Request for Comments

SUMMARY:

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) invites public comment in Docket No. RD11-10-000 on a proposed collection of information that the Commission is developing for submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

DATES:

Comments regarding this proposed information collection must be received on or before December 20, 2011.

ADDRESSES:

Comments, identified by docket number, may be filed in the following ways:

• Electronic Filing through http://www.ferc.gov. Documents created electronically using word processing software should be filed in native applications or print-to-PDF format and not in a scanned format.
• Mail/Hand Delivery: Those unable to file electronically may mail or hand-deliver an original of their comments to: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The proposed information collection in Docket No. RD11-10-000 relates to a proposed Reliability Standard, FAC-008-3—Facility Ratings, developed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), and submitted to the Commission for approval. NERC's petition related to proposed Reliability Standard FAC-008-3 is pending before the Commission. The proposed Reliability Standard modifies the currently effective version Reliability Standard FAC-008-1 and subsumes Reliability Standard FAC-009-1. Concurrent with the effectiveness of FAC-008-3, Reliability Standards FAC-008-1 and FAC-009-1 will be retired. The information collection requirements contained in Reliability Standards FAC-008 and FAC-009 are contained in FERC-725A (OMB Control Number 1902-0244).

There is a net increase in information collection and reporting that would result from implementing proposed Reliability Standard FAC-008-3 and retiring the two superseded Reliability Standards. The breakdown is as follows:

FAC-008-3	Applies to:	Additional reporting beyond FAC-008-1 and FAC-009-1	Additional recordkeeping beyond FAC-008-1 and FAC-009-1
R1	Generator owners	None, this requirement is derived from R1 of FAC-008-1	Retention period increased by 2 years.
R2	Generator owners	None, this requirement is derived from R1 of FAC-008-1	Retention period increased by 2 years.
R3	Transmission owners	None, this requirement is derived from R1 of FAC-008-1	Retention period increased by 2 years.
R4	Generator owners and Transmission owners	None, this requirement is derived from R2 of FAC-008-1	Retention period increased by 2 years.
R5	Generator owners and Transmission owners	None, this requirement is derived from R3 of FAC-008-1	Retention period increased by 2 years.
R6	Generator owners and Transmission owners	None, this requirement is derived from R1 of FAC-008-1	Retention period increased by 2 years.
R7	Generator owners	None, this requirement is derived from R2 of FAC-008-1	Retention period increased by 2 years.
R8	Generator owners that are subject to R2 and Transmission owners	Newly added reporting of the next most limiting equipment and the thermal rating for the next most limiting equipment	New retention period of 3 years.

Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this proposed collection is estimated as:

Additional proposed burden in FERC-725A	Number of respondents per compliance registry summary as of August 29, 2011	Number of responses per respondent	Hours per respondent per response	Total annual hours
	(A)	(B)	(C)	(A × B × C)
Report the next most limiting equipment and the thermal rating for the next most limiting equipment	83 1 Generator owners	1	80	6,640
Report the next most limiting equipment and the thermal rating for the next most limiting equipment	342 Transmission owners	1	2 20	6,840
Increase in retention time by 2 years for R1 through R7	833 Generator owners	1	2	1,666
Increase in retention time by 2 years for R1 through R7	342 Transmission owners	1	2	684
Compliance sub-total				13,480
Recordkeeping sub-total				2,350
Total				15,830

Estimated cost burden to respondents is $1,683,400; [i.e., (13,480 hours @ $120 an hour (compliance cost)) + (2,350 hours @ $28 an hour (recordkeeping cost))]. The reporting burden includes the total time, effort, or financial resources expended to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide the information including: (1) Reviewing instructions; (2) developing, acquiring, installing, and utilizing technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, verifying, processing, maintaining, disclosing and providing information; (3) adjusting the existing ways to comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; (4) training personnel to respond to a collection of information; (5) searching data sources; (6) completing and reviewing the collection of information; and (7) transmitting, or otherwise disclosing the information.

The estimate of cost for respondents is based upon salaries for professional and clerical support, as well as direct and indirect overhead costs. Direct costs include all costs directly attributable to providing this information, such as administrative costs and the cost for information technology. Indirect or overhead costs are costs incurred by an organization in support of its mission. These costs apply to activities which benefit the whole organization rather than any particular function or activity.

Dated: October 13, 2011.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  Requirement R8 applies to generator owners that own facilities between the step-up transformer and the point of interconnection. We estimate that 10% of all NERC registered generator owners own such facilities.

2.  Transmission Owner estimate based on the supplemental work required to report the next most limiting equipment and assumes all prerequisite work was performed in compliance with currently effective Reliability Standard FAC-008-1.