Commission Information Collection Activities, Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY:

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed information collection and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the requirements of section 3506(c)(2)(a) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is soliciting public comment on the specific aspects of the information collection described below.

DATES:

Comments on the collection of information are due March 10, 2006.

ADDRESSES:

Copies of sample filings of the proposed collection of information can be obtained from the Commission's Web site ( http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filings/elibrary.asp ) or from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Attn: Michael Miller, Office of the Executive Director Officer, ED-34, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. Comments may be filed either in paper format or electronically. Those parties filing electronically do not need to make a paper filing. For paper filing, the original and 14 copies of such comments should be submitted to the Office of the Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426 and refer to Docket No. IC06-716-000.

Documents filed electronically via the Internet must be prepared in WordPerfect, MS Word, Portable Document Format, or ASCII format. To file the document, access the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov and click on “Make an E-filing”, and then follow the instructions for each screen. First time users will have to establish a user name and password. The Commission will send an automatic acknowledgement to the sender's e-mail address upon receipt of comments.

All comments may be viewed, printed or downloaded remotely via the Internet through FERC's homepage using the eLibrary link. For user assistance, contact FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll-free at (866) 208-3676 or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael Miller may be reached by telephone at (202) 502-8415, by fax at (202) 273-0873, and by e-mail at michael.miller@ferc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The information collected under the requirements of FERC-716 “Good Faith Request for Transmission Service and Response by Transmitting Utility Under Sections 211(a) and 213(a) of the Federal Power Act” (OMB No. 1902-0170) is used by the Commission to implement the statutory provisions of sections 211 and 213 of the Federal Power Act (FPA) as amended and added by the Energy Policy Act 1992. The information is not filed with the Commission, however, the request and response may be analyzed as a part of a section 211 proceeding. This collection of information covers the information that must be contained in the request and in the response.

The Energy Policy Act of 1992 amended section 211 of the FPA and expanded the Commission's authority to order transmission service. Under the revised section 211, the Commission may order transmission services if it finds that such action would be in the public interest, would not unreasonably impair the continued reliability of electric systems affected by the order, and would meet the requirements of amended section 211 of the FPA.

The Commission's policy statement in Public Law 93-3, Policy Statement Regarding Good Faith Requests for Transmission Services and Responses by Transmitting Utilities Under Sections 211(a) and 213(a) of the Federal Power Act, as amended, implemented a data exchange between a transmission requester and a transmitting utility prior to the submission of section 211 request with the Commission. Components of the data exchange are identified in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 18 CFR 2.20. The general policy sets forth standards by which the Commission determines whether and when a valid good faith request for transmission has been made under section 211 of the FPA. In developing the standards, the Commission sought to encourage an open exchange of information with a reasonable degree of specificity and completeness between the party requesting transmission services and the transmitting utility. As a result, twelve components of a good faith estimate are identified under 18 CFR 2.20.

Information in the data exchange is not filed as noted above with the Commission, unless negotiations between the transmission requestor and the transmitting utility have not been successful and the transmission requestor files a section 211 request (FERC-716A, 1902-0168) with the Commission. The request and response may be analyzed by the Commission as part of the section 211 proceeding.

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:

Estimated cost burden to respondents is $5,421. (800 hours/2080 hours per year times $112,767 per year average per employee = $43,372). The cost per respondent is $5,421.00.

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.