[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 93 (Friday, May 13, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28014-28015]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-11755]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. IC11-600-000]
Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-600); Comment
Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Energy.
ACTION: Notice of proposed information collection and request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of section 3506(c)(2)(A)
of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A) (2006),
(Pub. L. 104-13), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission
or FERC) is soliciting public comment on the proposed information
collection described below.
DATES: Comments in consideration of the collection of information are
due July 12, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be filed either electronically (eFiled) or in
paper format, and should refer to Docket No. IC11-600-000. Documents
must be prepared in an acceptable filing format and in compliance with
Commission submission guidelines at http://www.ferc.gov/help/submission-guide.asp. eFiling instructions are available at: http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. First time users must follow
eRegister instructions at: http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/eregistration.asp, to establish a user name and password before
eFiling. The Commission will send an automatic acknowledgement to the
sender's e-mail address upon receipt of eFiled comments. Commenters
making an eFiling should not make a paper filing. Commenters that are
not able to file electronically must send an original of their comments
to: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission,
888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
Users interested in receiving automatic notification of activity in
this docket may do so through eSubscription at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp. All comments and FERC issuances may be
viewed, printed or downloaded remotely through FERC's eLibrary at
http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp, by searching on Docket
No. IC11-600. For user assistance, contact FERC Online Support by e-
mail at [email protected], or by phone at: (866) 208-3676
(toll-free), or (202) 502-8659 for TTY.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Brown may be reached by e-mail
at [email protected], telephone at (202) 502-8663, and fax at
(202) 273-0873.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The information collected under the
requirements of FERC-600, ``Rules of Practice and Procedure: Complaint
Procedures'' (OMB Control No. 1902-0180), is used by the Commission to
implement the statutory provisions of the Federal Power Act (FPA), 16
U.S.C. 791a-825r; the Natural Gas Act(NGA), 15 U.S.C. 717-717w; the
Natural Gas Policy Act (NGPA), 15 U.S.C. 3301-3432, the Public Utility
Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA), 16 U.S.C. 2601-2645; the
Interstate Commerce Act, 49 U.S.C. App. 1 et seq., the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1301-1356 and the Energy Policy
Act of 2005, (Pub. L. 109-58) 119 Stat. 594.
With respect to the natural gas industry, section 14(a) of the NGA
provides: The Commission may permit any person to file with it a
statement in writing, under oath or otherwise, as it shall determine,
as to any or all facts and circumstances concerning a matter which may
be the subject of an investigation.
For public utilities, section 205(e) of the FPA provides: Whenever
any such new schedule is filed, the Commission shall have the
authority, either upon complaint or upon its own initiative without
complaint at once, and, if it so orders, without answer or formal
pleading by the public utility, but upon reasonable notice to enter
upon hearing concerning the lawfulness of such rate, charge,
classification, or service; and pending such hearing and decision of
the Commission. * * *
Section 215(d)(5) of the FPA provides: The Commission, upon its own
motion or upon complaint, may order the Electric Reliability
Organization to submit to the Commission a proposed reliability
standard or a modification to a reliability standard that addresses a
specific matter if the Commission considers such a new or modified
reliability standard appropriate to carry out this section. * * *
Concerning hydropower projects, section 19 of the FPA provides: * *
* it is agreed as a condition of such license that jurisdiction is
hereby conferred upon the Commission, upon complaint of any person
aggrieved or upon its own initiative, to exercise such regulation and
control until such time as the State shall have provided a commission
or other authority for such regulation and control. * * *
For qualifying facilities, section 210(h)(2)(B) of PURPA provides:
Any electric utility, qualifying cogenerator, or qualifying small power
producer may petition the Commission to enforce the requirements of
subsection (f) as provided in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
Likewise for oil pipelines, Part 1 of the Interstate Commerce Act
(ICA), sections 1, 6 and 15 (recodified by Pub. L. 95-473 and found as
an appendix to Title 49 U.S.C.) the Commission is authorized to
investigate the rates charged by oil pipeline companies subject to its
jurisdiction. If a proposed oil rate has been filed and allowed by the
Commission to go into effect without suspension and hearing, the
Commission can investigate the effective rate on its own motion or by
complaint filed with the Commission. Section 13 of the ICA provided
that: Any person, firm, corporation, company or association, or any
mercantile, agricultural, or manufacturing society or other
organization, or any common carrier subject to the provisions of this
chapter in contravention of the provisions thereof, may apply to the
Commission by petition which shall briefly state the facts: whereupon a
statement of the complaint thus made shall be forwarded by the
Commission to such common carrier, who shall be called upon to satisfy
the complaint, or to answer the same in writing, within a reasonable
time, to be specified by the Commission. * * *
In Order No. 602, 64 FR 17087 (April 8, 1999), the Commission
revised its regulations governing complaints filed with the Commission
under the above statutes. Order No. 602 was designed to
[[Page 28015]]
encourage and support consensual resolution of complaints, and to
organize the complaint procedures so that all complaints are handled in
a timely and fair manner. In order to achieve the latter, the
Commission revised Rule 206 of its Rules of Practice and Procedure (18
CFR 385.206) to require that a complaint satisfy certain informational
requirements, that answers be filed in a shorter, 20-day time frame,
and that parties may employ various types of alternative dispute
resolution procedures to resolve complaints.
In Order No. 647, 69 FR 32436 (June 10, 2004), the Commission
revised its regulations to simplify the formats it requires for various
types of notices. These revisions provide for a more uniform formatting
and make it easier for the Commission to update the form of notice
formatting without the necessity of initiating a rulemaking for every
change. A new subsection 18 CFR 385.203(d) replaced the former format
requirements. Among the provisions that were affected by these
revisions was 18 CFR 385.206(b)(10).
On October 30, 2008, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
approved the reporting requirements contained in FERC-600 for a term of
three years, the maximum period permissible under the Paperwork
Reduction Act \1\ before an information collection must be resubmitted
for approval. As noted above this notice seeks public comments in order
for the Commission to submit a justification to OMB to approve and
extend the current expiration date of the FERC-600 reporting
requirements. The data in complaints filed by interested/affected
parties regarding oil and natural gas pipeline operations, electric and
hydropower facilities in their applications for rate changes, service,
licensing or reliability are used by the Commission in establishing a
basis for various investigations and to make an initial determination
regarding the merits of the complaint.
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\1\ Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, October
1, 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.
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Investigations may range from whether there is undue discrimination
in rates or service to questions regarding market power of regulated
entities to environmental concerns. In order to make a better
determination, it is important to know the specifics of any oil, gas,
electric, and hydropower complaint ``upfront'' in a timely manner and
in sufficient detail to allow the Commission to act swiftly. In
addition, such complaint data will help the Commission and interested
parties to monitor the market for exercises of market power or undue
discrimination. The information is voluntary but submitted with
prescribed filing requirements. The Commission implements these filing
requirements in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR
Parts 343, and 385, 385.206, 385.203 and 385.213.
Action: The Commission is requesting a three-year extension of the
current expiration date, with no changes to the existing collection of
data.
Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this collection is
estimated as:
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Average Average
Number of number of number of Total annual
Data collection respondents responses per burden hours hours
[shel2] (1) respondent per response (1)x(2)x(3)
(2) (3)
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FERC-600........................................ 88 1 14 1,232
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\2\ This is a three year average of the number of respondents (2008-2010).
Estimated cost burden to respondents is $84,328 (1,232 hours/2080
hours per year times $142,372 per year average per employee = $84,328).
The cost per respondent is $958. There is a slight increase in the
average number of respondents and number of filings since the last
renewal request (in 2008, the average number of respondents was 81).
The cost per respondent has increased to reflect adjustments due to
inflationary costs.
The reporting burden includes the total time, effort, or financial
resources expended to generate, maintain, retain, 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 one particular function or activity.
Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the proposed 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 of the
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality,
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are
to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms
of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of
responses.
Dated: May 9, 2011.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-11755 Filed 5-12-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P