[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 249 (Monday, December 30, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71912-71913]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-28120]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC20-5-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-923); Comment 
Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

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, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or 
FERC) is soliciting public comment on the requirements and burden of 
the information collection described below.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due February 28, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC20-5-
000) by either of the following methods:

[[Page 71913]]

     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.
    Please identify the specific information collection number and/or 
title in your comments.
    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, telephone at (202) 502-8663, and fax at (202) 
273-0873.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the information collection 
requirements described below with no changes to the current reporting 
requirements.
    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 estimates 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.

FERC-923, Communication of Operational Information between Natural Gas 
Pipelines and Electric Transmission Operators

    OMB Control No.: 1902-0265.
    Abstract: In 2013, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC 
or Commission) revised its regulations to provide explicit authority to 
interstate natural gas pipelines and public utilities that own, 
operate, or control facilities used for the transmission of electric 
energy in interstate commerce to voluntarily share non-public, 
operational information with each other for the purpose of promoting 
reliable service and operational planning on either the pipeline's or 
public utility's system. This helped ensure the reliability of natural 
gas pipeline and public utility transmission services by permitting 
transmission operators to share with each other the information that 
they deem necessary to promote the reliability and integrity of their 
systems. FERC removed actual or perceived prohibitions to the 
information sharing and communications between industry entities. The 
communications of information are not submitted to FERC. Rather, the 
non-public information is shared voluntarily between industry entities. 
FERC does not prescribe the content, medium, format, or frequency for 
the information sharing and communications. Those decisions are made by 
the industry entities, depending on their needs and the situation.
    Type of Respondent: Natural gas pipelines and public utilities.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \1\ The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden and cost \2\ for FERC-923 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. See 5 
CFR 1320 for additional information on the definition of information 
collection burden.
    \2\ Commission staff estimates that the industry's skill set 
(wages and benefits) for FERC-923 is comparable to the Commission's 
skill set. The FERC 2019 average salary plus benefits for one FERC 
full-time equivalent (FTE) is $167,091/year (or $80/hour [rounded]).
    \3\ The estimate for the number of respondents is based on the 
North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Compliance 
Registry as of December 6, 2019, minus the Transmission Operators 
within ERCOT.
    \4\ The estimate is based on the number of respondents to the 
2018 FERC Forms 2 and 2A (Major and Non-major Natural Gas Pipeline 
Annual Reports).

                                                                        FERC-923
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                                                   Annual number
                                     Number of     of responses    Total number    Average burden hours &    Total annual burden hours &     Cost per
                                    respondents   per respondent   of responses     cost ($) per response       total annual cost ($)     respondent ($)
                                             (1)             (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4).....................  (3) * (4) = (5).............       (5) / (1)
                                                                             (3)
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Public Utility Transmission              \3\ 165              12           1,980  0.5 hrs.; $40...........  990 hrs.; $79,200...........            $480
 Operator, communications.
Interstate Natural Gas                   \4\ 181              12           2,172  0.5 hrs.; $40...........  1,086 hrs.; $86,880.........             480
 Pipelines, communications.
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    Total.......................  ..............  ..............           4,152  ........................  2,076 hrs.; $166,080........  ..............
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    Dated: December 20, 2019.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-28120 Filed 12-27-19; 8:45 am
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


