[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 152 (Tuesday, August 7, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47050-47051]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-19266]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. IC12-13-000; (FERC-915)]
Commission Information Collection Activities; Comment Request
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.
ACTION: Comment request.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or
FERC) is submitting the information collection FERC-915 (Public Utility
Market-Based Rate Authorization Holders--Records Retention Requirement)
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review of the
information collection requirements. Any interested person may file
comments directly with OMB and should address a copy of those comments
to the Commission as explained below. The Commission issued a Notice in
the Federal Register (77 FR 28863, 5/16/2012) requesting public
comments. FERC received no comments on the FERC-915 and is making this
notation in its submittal to OMB.
DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due by September
6, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Comments filed with OMB, identified by the OMB Control No.
1902-0223, should be sent via email to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs: oira_submission@omb.gov. Attention: Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission Desk Officer. The Desk Officer may also be
reached via telephone at 202-395-4718.
A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, identified by the Docket No. IC12-13-000, by
either of the following methods:
eFiling at Commission's Web Site: 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 ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or by phone at: (866) 208-3676
(toll-free), or (202) 502-8659 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
DataClearance@FERC.gov, by telephone at (202) 502-8663, and by fax at
(202) 273-0873.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: FERC-915, Public Utility Market-Based Rate Authorization
Holders--Records Retention Requirement.
OMB Control No.:1902-0223.
Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-915 information
collection requirements with no changes to the reporting requirements.
Abstract: The Commission has the regulatory responsibility under
section 205 of the Federal Power Act to ensure that wholesale sales of
electricity are just and reasonable and provided in a non-
discriminatory manner. Under section 35.41(d), the Commission requires
all sellers with market-based rates to retain all relevant sales
documents for five years. Relevant documents include all information
upon which they bill their prices charged for electric energy or
electric energy products sold pursuant to their market-
[[Page 47051]]
based rate tariff and the prices reported for use in price indices.
The five-year statute of limitations applies where the Commission
seeks civil penalties for violations of the Anti-Manipulation rule or
other rules, regulations, or orders to which the price information may
be relevant.
The information maintained by the respondents under FERC-915 is
used by the Commission to monitor the entities' sales, ensure that the
prices are just and reasonable, maintain the integrity of the wholesale
jurisdictional sales markets, and ensure that the entities comply with
the requirements of the Federal Power Act, the Commission's regulations
and any orders authorizing market-based rate sales.
Type of Respondents: Public Utility Market-Based Rate Authorization
Holders.
Estimate of Annual Burden \1\: The Commission estimates the total
Public Reporting Burden for this information collection as:
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\1\ Burden is defined 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, reference 5 Code of Federal Regulations 1320.3.
FERC-915 (IC12-13-000): Public Utility Market-Based Rate Authorization Holders--Records Retention Requirement
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Number of Average burden
Number of responses per Total number of hours per Estimated total
respondents respondent responses response annual burden
(A) (B) (A) x (B) = (C) (D) (C) x (D)
Electric Utilities with Market-Based Rate Authority................ 1,730 1 1,730 1 1,730
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The total estimated annual cost burden to respondents is $369,638
[$40,655 (labor costs) + $315,792 (record retention/storage cost) +
$13,191 (electronic record-keeping cost) = $369,638]
Labor costs: $40,655 [(1,730 hours / 2 \2\ = 865 hours *
$19/hours \3\ = $16,435) + (1730 hours / 2 = 865 * $28/hour \4\ =
$24,220)]
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\2\ The Commission assumes 50% of responding entities utilize
conventional (i.e. ``paper'' storage).
\3\ 2012 average hourly wage of filing clerk working within an
electric utility.
\4\ The Commission bases the $28/hour figure on a FERC staff
study that included estimating public utility recordkeeping costs.
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Record retention/storage cost (using an estimate of 48,891
cubic feet): $315,792 \5\
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\5\ The Commission bases this figure on industry archival
storage costs.
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Electronic record retention/storage cost: $13,191 (1,730
respondents / 2 = 865 respondents * $15.25/hour \6\ = $13,191).\7\
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\6\ Per entity; the Commission bases this figure on the
estimated cost to service and to store 1 GB of data (based on the
aggregated cost of an IBM advanced data protection server).
\7\ The Commission assumes 50% of responding entities are
storing records in electronic formats.
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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: August 1, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-19266 Filed 8-6-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P