[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 186 (Tuesday, September 24, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50116-50190]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-24326]
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_______________________________________________________________________
Part IV
Department of Energy
_______________________________________________________________________
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
_______________________________________________________________________
Order Issuing Revised OASIS Standards and Protocols Document; Notice
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 186 / Tuesday, September 24, 1996 /
Notices
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. RM95-9-000]
Open Access Same-time Information System and Standards of
Conduct; Order Issuing Revised OASIS Standards and Protocols Document
Issued: September 10, 1996.
Before Commissioners: Elizabeth Anne Moler, Chair; Vicky A.
Bailey, James J. Hoecker, William L. Massey, and Donald F. Santa,
Jr.
As announced in Order No. 889,\1\ after consideration of suggested
changes advanced by the How Working Group and other interested persons,
we are issuing revisions to the standards and formats for OASIS sites
prescribed in the OASIS Standards and Protocols document.\2\ This
action is not intended to prejudge any of the substantive issues raised
in the pending requests for rehearing filed in response to Order No.
8890.\3\
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\1\ Open Access Same-Time Information System and Standards of
Conduct, Final Rule, Order No. 889, FERC Stats. & Regs. para.
31,037, 61 FR 21737 (May 10, 1996).
\2\ This is the short title for Standards and Communication
Protocols for Open Access Same-Time Information System (OASIS) and
accompanying Data Element Dictionary, 61 FR at 21770-21846, appended
to Order No. 889.
\3\ We reserve the right to make further modifications to the
Standards and Protocols document as necessary to conform to our
determinations on rehearing.
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Background
In Order No. 889, we stated that it is essential to establish
standards and protocols that will ensure that the OASIS presents
information in a consistent and uniform manner. However, in Order No.
889 we recognized that the initial standards and formats contained in
the Standards and Protocols document are not complete and require
further development. Accordingly, we invited the How Working Group--an
industry led coalition of diverse interests established by the industry
to develop consensus on ``how'' to develop an OASIS--to review the
document and report to us on its progress in correcting any
deficiencies in the document.\4\ We also stated that, after reviewing
the additional report we anticipated receiving from the How Working
Group (along with comments from any interested person), we would issue
a revised Standards and Protocols document as soon as possible
thereafter, to allow transmission providers to implement operational
Phase I OASIS sites by November 1, 1996. 61 FR at 21738, 21755-56.
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\4\ 61 FR at 21740-41, 21762. We also directed the How Working
Group to attach any comments it received from any interested persons
with opposing views.
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As requested, on June 7, 1996, the How Working Group submitted a
report presenting its suggested edits to the initial standards and
Protocols document. On June 11, 1996, the Commission provided notice
that the How Working Group's June 7, 1996 report was available for
public review and comment.
The How Working Group continued its efforts to reach consensus and,
on July 3, 1996, submitted a report suggesting further changes to the
Standards and Protocols document.
On July 5, 1996, the Joint Transmission Service Information Network
(JTSIN) filed comments suggesting revisions to the version of the
Standards and Protocols document put out for comment on June 11, 1996.
On July 19, 1996, Power System Engineering Inc. (PSE) filed comments on
this same document.
On July 31, 1996, in response to the JTSIN comments, the How
Working Group submitted corrections to its earlier submittal,
suggesting further changes to the Standards and Protocols document.
These corrections incorporate suggestions made by JTSIN and are
endorsed by JTSIN.
The How Working Group requests that he Commission quickly release a
revised Standards and Protocols document or grant a delay in the
startup date for Phase I OASIA compliance. The How Working Group states
that it avoided suggesting more substantive changes to OASIS
functionality or design because it was not possible to evaluate changes
of this type (and reach consensus) while meeting the Commission's
November 1, 1996 startup date for Phase I OASIS implementation.
Discussion
The successive submittals from the How Working Group added further
refinements and improvements with each iteration. Our review,
therefore, will concentrate on the group's latest iteration, submitted
on July 31, 1996.\5\ We find that these revisions greatly improve the
OASIS Standards and Protocols document that accompanied issuance of
Order No. 889, by resolving additional issues and by harmonizing the
text to determinations made in Order No. 889. Therefore, with the minor
exceptions noted below, we will issue a revised Standards and Protocols
document consistent with the How Working Group's recommendations.\6\
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\5\ As this iteration fully addresses JTSIN's comments, includes
revisions based on JTSIN's comments, and has been endorsed by JTSIN,
we need not separately address JTSIN's comments.
\6\We also are attaching a version of the revised Standards and
Protocols document that shows the changes that we are making to the
How Working Group's July 31, 1996 report. This attachment is not
being published in the Federal Register but is available through the
Commission Issuance Posting System (see, infra, n.9) and from the
Commission's Public Reference Room.
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Turning to the July 31, 1996 How Working Group report, we find that
it has been improved to the extent that it now requires only a few
minor revisions. First, in various places in the Standards and
Protocols document, we will replace the term ``customer'', used by the
How Working Group, with the term ``user'', whenever the group being
referenced includes OASIS users who may not be customers.\7\
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\7\ See Standards and Protocols document in the Table of
Contents at Sec. 3.6 and in the text at Secs. 3.3(c), 3.4(a),
3.4(b), 3.4(e), 3.4(h), 3.5(b), 3.6, 4.2.4.2(2), 4.3, 4.3.2(a),
4.3.3(a), 5.3, 5.6, 5.9(b), and 5.10(a).
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Second, we have revised the suggested language in Sec. 3.4(d) to
match more closely the language in Order No. 889 that requires the
Transmission Provider to post information about resales on the same
display page, using the same tables, as similar capacity being sold by
it.
Third, in Sec. 3.4(h), we have not included the proposed change
from ``90 days'' to ``10 days'' because we reserve the issue of whether
to revise the retention period for on-line audit log postings for the
order we will issue addressing the pending requests for rehearing.
Additionally, we have made several minor edits for clarity or
simplicity. Specifically, under Sec. 2.1(c) we have changed ``chose''
to ``choose'' as the present tense better fits this sentence. In
Sec. 3.6(b), we deleted ``once again'' as unnecessary. In
Sec. 4.1.1(a), we added ``providing'' for clarity. In Sec. 4.2.1(a), we
changed ``to'' to ``with''. In the example at the end of Sec. 4.2.1(c),
we changed ``time'' to ``endtime'' to agree with the Data Element
Dictionary. We made the same change in the example of a query in
Secs. 4.4.1 and 4.4.2. In Sec. 5.7, we changed ``Buy/Sell'' to
``Purchase'' to better match Order No. 889.
We have also made several nonsubstantive revisions to the Data
Element Dictionary for clarity. Specifically, under the definition of
``CUSTOMER-DUNS'' restricted values, we have added ``DUNS''. Under
``DATA-ROWS'' restricted values, we have changed ``Number or numbers''
to ``Positive Number''. Under ``SERVICE--DESCRIPTION'' definition of
data element, we have changed ``Inform'' to ``Information''. Under
``STATUS''
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restricted values, we have deleted the references to ``reassigned'',
``scheduled'', and ``curtailed'' so that the values match the
categories in the definition of data element. Under the Field Format
for SELLER-DUNS, we have changed the maximum number of characters to 9
to agree with the maximum number of characters for other DUNS numbers.
Turning to the comments from PSE, a participant in the How Working
Group process, its comments were submitted as ``informal comments'' to
Staff that, with PSE's approval, were added to the public record in
this proceeding.
In their comments, PSE points out that Section I of the Standards
and Protocols document, which discusses the purposes of OASIS, does not
include customers requesting service through an OASIS. We have modified
the language to include this function. The remaining issues raised by
PSE, such as OASIS access and registration issues, do not relate solely
to the contents of the Standards and Protocols document. Rather, they
concern issues that, in our judgment, involve Phase II implementation,
which we will consider later, or relate to issues pending on rehearing
of Order No. 889.\8\
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\8\ In Order No. 889, see 61 FR at 21741, the Commission
discussed its preference for consensus recommendations on technical
implementation issues. We encourage future commenters to consider
bringing their ideas to the How Working Group for its consideration
in the first instance, so that ideas can be screened and improved
through peer review, before being addressed by the Commission.
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The revised Standards and Protocols document will be made available
at the Commission's Public Reference Room and will be published in the
Federal Register. It also will be available through the Commission
Issuance Posting System (CIPS), which can be reached by telephone
(modem dialup) at 1-800-856-3920.\9\ Dialing this number gives the
caller a menu, from which the caller can choose CIPS or other menu
choices.
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\9\ If you encounter problems in accessing CIPS, you may call
202-208-2474 to seek assistance. CIPS also can be accessed via the
FedWorld system through dialup modems or over the Internet.
By modem:
Dial 703-321-3339 and logon to the FedWorld system. After
logging on to the FedWorld system, choose f. Government and
Regulatory and then type: /go FERC.
By Internet:
Option 1
Telnet to: fedworld.gov, Select [1] FedWorld option, Logon to
the FedWorld system, Choose f. Government and Regulatory, Type: /go
FERC.
Option 2
Point your Web Browser to: http://www.fedworld.gov, Scroll down
the page to select FedWorld Telnet Site, Select [1] FedWorld option,
Logon to the FedWorld system, Choose f. Government and Regulatory,
Type: /go FERC.
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The Commission orders: The Standards and Protocols document is
hereby modified, as discussed in the body of this order.
By the Commission.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 96-24326 Filed 9-23-96; 8:45 am]
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