[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 250 (Monday, December 31, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77069-77070]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-31265]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. IC13-9-000]
Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-730); Comment
Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Energy.
ACTION: Notice of information collection and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (Commission or FERC) is soliciting public comment on the
currently approved information collection, FERC-730, Report of
Transmission Investment Activity.
DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due March 1, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC13-9-
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 [email protected], 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
[email protected], telephone at (202) 502-8663, and fax at (202)
273-0873.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Report of Transmission Investment Activity.
OMB Control No.: 1902-0239.
Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-730 information
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting
requirements.
Abstract: Pursuant to Section 219 \1\ of the Federal Power Act, the
Commission issued FERC Order No. 679,\2\ Promoting Transmission
Investment Through Pricing Reform. Order No. 679 FERC amended its
regulations in 18 CFR 35.35 to establish incentive-based (including
performance-based) rate treatments for the transmission of electric
energy in interstate commerce by public utilities. The Commission
intended the order to benefit consumers by ensuring reliability and to
reduce the cost of delivered power by reducing transmission congestion.
Order No. 679 also adopted an annual reporting requirement (FERC-730)
for utilities that receive incentive rate treatment for specific
transmission projects. The FERC-730 provides annual data on
transmission capital expenditures as well as project status detail. The
Commission requires that filers specify which projects are currently
receiving incentives in the project detail table and that they group
together those facilities receiving the same incentive. Specifically,
in accordance with the statute, public utilities with incentive rates
must file:
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\1\ Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law 109-58, 119 Stat. 594,
315 and 1283 (2005).
\2\ RM06-4-000 (issued 7/20/2006), published: 71 FR 43294.
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Actual transmission investment for the most recent
calendar year, and projected, incremental investments for the next five
calendar years (in dollar terms); and
A project by project listing that specifies for each
project the most up to date, expected completion date, percentage
completion as of the date of filing, and reasons for delays for all
current and projected investments over the next five calendar years.
Projects with projected costs less than $20 million are excluded from
this listing.
To ensure that Commission rules are successfully meeting the
objectives of Section 219, the Commission collects industry data,
projections and related information that detail the level of
investment. FERC-730 information regarding projected investments as
well as information about completed projects allows the Commission to
monitor the success of the transmission pricing reforms and to
determine the status of critical projects and reasons for delay.
Type of Respondents: Public utilities that have been granted
incentive based rate treatment for specific transmission projects under
the provisions of 18 CFR 35.35(h) must file the FERC-730.
Estimate of Annual Burden \3\: The Commission estimates the total
Public Reporting Burden for this information collection as:
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\3\ The Commission defines 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, reference 5 Code of Federal
Regulations 1320.3.
FERC-730: Report of Transmission Investment Activity
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No. of Average burden
No. of responses per Total No. of hours per Estimated total
respondents respondent responses response annual burden
(A) (B) (A)x(B)=(C) (D) (C)x(D)
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Public utilities granted incentive based rate treatment for 63 1 63 30 1,890
specific transmission projects under the provisions of 18 CFR
35.35 (h).........................................................
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The total estimated annual cost burden to respondents is
$130,428.17 [1,890 hours / 2080 \4\ hours per year * $143,540/year \5\
= $130,428.17].
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\4\ 2080 hours/year = 40 hours/week * 52 weeks/year
\5\ Average annual salary per employee in 2012
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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
[[Page 77070]]
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
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information technology.
Dated: December 20, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-31265 Filed 12-28-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P