[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10670-10671]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03698]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. Ic20-6-000]
Commission Information Collection Activities (Ferc-725a(1b);
Comment Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of information collection and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or
FERC) is soliciting public comment on the currently approved
information collection, FERC-725A(1B), (Mandatory Reliability Standards
for the Bulk Power System)
DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due April 27,
2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC20-6-
000) by either of the following methods:
eFiling at Commission's website: 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.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: FERC-725A(1B), (Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk
Power System).
OMB Control No.: 1902-0292.
Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-725A(1B)
information collection requirements with no changes to the current
reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Abstract: The FERC-725A(1B) Under section 215 of the Federal Power
Act (FPA),1the Commission proposes to approve Reliability Standards
TOP-010-1 (Real-time Reliability Monitoring and Analysis Capabilities)
submitted by North American Electric Corporation (NERC). In this order,
the Reliability Standards build on monitoring, real-time assessments
and support effective situational awareness. The Reliability Standards
accomplish this by requiring applicable entities to: (1) Provide
notification to operators of real-time monitoring alarm failures; (2)
provide operators with indications of the quality of information being
provided by their monitoring and analysis capabilities; and (3) address
deficiencies in the quality of information being provided by their
monitoring and analysis capabilities. FERC-725A(1B) address situational
awareness objectives by providing for operator awareness when key
alarming tools are not performing as intended. These collections will
improve real-time situational awareness capabilities and enhance
reliable operations by requiring reliability coordinators, transmission
operators, and balancing authorities to provide operators with an
improved awareness of system conditions analysis capabilities,
including alarm availability, so that operators may take appropriate
steps to ensure reliability. These functions include planning,
operations, data sharing, monitoring, and analysis.
Type of Respondent: Balancing Authority (BA),Transmission
Operations (TOP) and Reliability Coordinators (RC).
Estimate of Annual Burden:\1\ The Commission estimates the total
annual burden and cost \2\ for this information collection in the table
below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ ``Burden'' is 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, refer to Title 5 Code of Federal Regulations 1320.3.
\2\ Costs (for wages and benefits) are based on wage figures
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for May 2019 (at https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm) and benefits information (at
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm).
\3\ Our estimates are based on the NERC Compliance Registry
Summary of Entities and Functions as of January 31, 2019, which
indicates there are registered as BA and TOP.
\4\ The number of respondents is the number of entities in which
a change in burden from the current standards to the proposed
exists, not the total number of entities from the current or
proposed standards that are applicable.
\5\ The estimated hourly costs (salary plus benefits) are based
on Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) information, as of May 2019 (at
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm, with updated benefits
information for March 2019 at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm), for an electrical engineer (code 17-2071, $68.17/
hour), and for information and record clerks record keeper (code 43-
4199, $40.84/hour). The hourly figure for engineers is used for
reporting; the hourly figure for information and record clerks is
used for document retention.
FERC-725A(1B), Changes Due to TOP-010-1 in Docket No. IC20-6-000 \3\
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Annual number Average burden & Total annual
Entity Requirements & respondents of responses Total number cost per burden hours & Cost per
period \4\ per respondent of responses response \5\ total annual cost respondent ($)
................. (1) (2) (1) * (2) = (4).............. (3) * (4) = (5).. (5) / (1)
(3)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BA \6\......................... Year 1 98 1 98 70 hrs.; 6,860 hrs.; $4,494.00
Implementation $4,494.00. $440,412.00.
(one-time
reporting).
Starting in Year 98 1 98 42 hrs.; 4,116 hrs.; $2,696.40
2 (annual $2,696.40. $264,247.20.
reporting).
TOP \7\........................ Year 1 169 1 169 70 hrs.; 11,830 hrs.; $4,494.00
Implementation $4,494.00. $759,486.00.
(one-time
reporting).
[[Page 10671]]
Starting in Year 169 1 169 40 hrs.; 6,760 hrs.; $2,568.00
2 (annual $2,568.00. $433,992.00.
reporting).
BA/TOP......................... Annual Record 267 1 267 2 hrs.; $75.38... 534 hrs.; $75.38
Retention. $20,126.46.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Burden Hours Per Year ................. .............. .............. .............. ................. 19,224 hrs.
$1,220,024.46
(Year 1); 11,410
hrs. $718,365.66
per year,
(starting in
Year 2).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Averaging One-Time Burden and Responses for FERC-725A(1B), Changes Due
to TOP-010-1 in Docket No. IC20-6-000 Over Years 1-3
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ Balancing Authority (BA). The following Requirements and
associated measures apply to balancing authorities: Requirement R1:
A revised data specification and writing the required operating
process/operating procedure; and Requirement R2: Quality monitoring
logs and the data errors and corrective action logs.
\7\ Transmission Operations (TOP). The following Requirements
and associated measures apply to transmission operators: Requirement
R1: A revised data specification and writing the required operating
process/operating procedure; and Requirement R3: Alarm process
monitor performance logs to maintain performance logs and corrective
action plans.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--Year 1 has 19,224 hrs. of burden and record retention
--Years 2 and 3 have on-going annual burden and record retention of
11,410 hrs.
For purposes of this OMB clearance, the 19,224 one-time burden
hours will be averaged over Years 1-3. After Year 3, the one-time
burden hours will then be removed from the inventory. The estimated
additional burden due to this Order is 14,014 [consisting of (19,224
+11,410 + 11,410) / 3].
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: February 19, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-03698 Filed 2-24-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P