[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 181 (Wednesday, September 22, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52661-52662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20457]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC21-39-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC Form 580); 
Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of information collection and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission 
or FERC) is soliciting public comment on the currently approved 
information collection, FERC Form 580 (Interrogatory on Fuel and Energy 
Purchase Practices Pursuant to Section 205 of the Federal Power Act).

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due November 22, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC21-39-
000) by by one of the following methods.
    Electronic filing through http://www.ferc.gov is preferred.
     Electronic Filing: Documents must be filed in acceptable 
native applications and print-to-PDF, but not in scanned or picture 
format.
     For those unable to file electronically, comments may be 
filed by USPS mail or by hand (including courier) delivery:
    [cir] Mail via U.S. Postal Service Only: Addressed to: Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First 
Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.
    [cir] Hand (including courier) Delivery to: Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852.
    Instructions: All submissions must be formatted and filed in 
accordance with submission guidelines at: http://www.ferc.gov. For user 
assistance, contact FERC Online Support by email at 
ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or by phone at: (866) 208-3676 (toll-free).
    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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Brown may be reached by email at 
DataClearance@FERC.gov, and telephone at (202) 502-8663.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: FERC Form 580, (Interrogatory on Fuel and Energy Purchase 
Practices Pursuant to Section 205 of the Federal Power Act).
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0137.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC Form 580 with no 
substantive changes to the current reporting requirements. 
Administrative changes to update the form are being made, as described 
below.
    Abstract: The Commission collects FERC Form 580 information every 
other year as required under Section 205(f)(2) of the FPA,\1\ which 
provides that the Commission must review,``not less frequently than 
every 2 years,'' practices under automatic adjustment clauses 
(AACs).\2\ As required by FPA section

[[Page 52662]]

205(f)(2), the Commission uses the information collected through the 
FERC Form 580 interrogatory to review utility purchase and cost 
recovery practices under AACs in order to ensure efficient use of 
resources.\3\ The Commission uses the information to evaluate costs in 
individual rate filings and to supplement periodic utility audits. The 
public also uses the information in this manner. Without the FERC Form 
580 interrogatory, the Commission would not have the requisite 
information available to conduct the necessary review the FPA mandates.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 16 U.S.C. 824d.
    \2\ An automatic adjustment clause is a provision of a rate 
schedule which provides for increases or decreases (or both), 
without prior hearing, in rates reflecting increases or decreases 
(or both) in costs incurred by an electric utility.
    For additional information on AACs, see the Frequently Asked 
Questions (FAQs) and Desk Reference for FERC Form 580 on the 
Commission's website.
    \3\ By using the data in FERC Form 580, the Commission is able 
to review utility purchase and cost recovery practices and ensure 
the resources are in compliance with Commission regulations in 18 
CFR 35.14.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Type of Respondents: The filing must be submitted by all FERC-
jurisdictional utilities owning and/or operating at least one steam-
electric generating station of 50 MW or greater capacity or having a 
majority ownership interest in a jointly-owned steam-electric 
generating station of at least 50 MW. A jurisdictional utility without 
a cost-based tariff on file with the Commission is not required to file 
the form.
    Administrative Updates to the FERC Form 580: Continuing on from the 
data collection request from October 2020, the Commission will be 
issuing a request for a second request for similar data that was 
authorized in the last renewal for FERC Form 580.\4\ The request will 
solicit the same information as the previous request, except that the 
years will be changed from 2018-2019 to 2020-2021. In this case, the 
updated year designations will appear in questions 2 through 8 of FERC 
Form 580, as well as in question 5 of the Privileged Addendum to the 
FERC Form 580.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ The current OMB approval (ICR 201908-1902-015) was issued on 
April 23, 2020 and expires January 31, 2023. While that approval 
includes the timeframe for the Commission's next required use of 
FERC-580 in 2022, we are submitting this request in order to update 
(administrative updates) FERC Form 580 for the data collection in 
2022, and to request renewal of FERC-580 for another 3 years.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimate of Annual Burden.\5\ The Commission estimates the annual 
\6\ public reporting burden and cost \7\ for the information collection 
as:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ 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.
    \6\ The FERC Form 580 interrogatory is conducted every two 
years.
    \7\ Commission staff estimates that the industry's average 
hourly cost for this information collection is approximated by the 
FERC's average hourly cost (for wages and benefits) for 2021, or 
$87.00/hour.

                                                                                          FERC Form 580
                                             [Interrogatory on fuel and energy purchase practices pursuant to section 205 of the Federal Power Act]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          Annual number                                                                                                             Annual cost
                                            Number of     of responses    Total number      Average burden & cost per response     Total annual burden hours & total annual cost  per respondent
                                           respondents   per respondent   of responses                                                                                                  ($)
                                                    (1)             (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4)....................................  (3) * (4) = (5)...............................       (5) / (1)
                                                                                    (3)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Respondents with FACs \8\..............              24             0.5              12  103 hrs.; $8,961.00....................  1,236.0 hrs.; $107,532.00.....................       $4,480.50
Respondents with AACs, but no FACs.....              12             0.5               6  20 hrs.; $1,740.00.....................  120.0 hrs.; $10,440.00........................          870.00
Respondents with no AACs and no FACs...              23             0.5            11.5  2 hrs.; $174.00........................  23.0 hrs.; $2,001.00..........................           87.00
                                        --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total..............................  ..............  ..............            29.5  .......................................  1,379.0 hrs.; $119,173.00.....................  ..............
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ Fuel Adjustment Clause (FAC).

    Dated: September 15, 2021.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-20457 Filed 9-21-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


