[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 207 (Thursday, October 27, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65049-65050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-23413]


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

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC23-2-000]


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

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of information collection and request for comments.

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

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 FERC-923 (Communication of Operational 
Information between Natural Gas Pipelines and Electric Transmission 
Operators), described below.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due December 27, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit your comments (identified by Docket No. IC23-
2-000) by one of the following methods:
    Electronic filing through https://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.

[[Page 65050]]

    [cir] Hand (including courier) Delivery: Addressed to: Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 12225 
Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852.
    Instructions: All submissions must be formatted and filed in 
accordance with submission guidelines at: https://www.ferc.gov. For 
user assistance, contact FERC Online Support by email at 
[email protected], 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 https://www.ferc.gov.

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: FERC-923, Communication of Operational Information between 
Natural Gas Pipelines and Electric Transmission Operators.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0265.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the information collection 
requirements described below with no changes to the current reporting 
requirements.
    Abstract: In 2013, the 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 information shared is 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \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 2022 average salary plus benefits for one FERC 
full-time equivalent (FTE) is $188,992 year (or $91 per hour 
[rounded]).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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:

                  FERC--923--Communication of Operational Information Between Natural Gas Pipelines and Electric Transmission Operators
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Annual number                                              Total annual burden
                                          Number of     of responses    Total number     Average burden hrs. &     hrs. & total annual       Cost per
                                         respondents   per respondent   of responses     cost ($) per response           cost ($)         respondent ($)
                                                  (1)             (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4).....................  (3) * (4) = (5)........       (5) / (1)
                                                                                  (3)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Public Utility Transmission Operator,         \1\ 155              12           1,860  0.5 hrs.; $45.50........  930 hrs.; $84,630......            $546
 communications.
Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines,             \2\ 191              12           2,292  0.5 hrs.; $45.50........  1,146 hrs.; $104,286...             546
 communications.
                                      ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total............................  ..............  ..............           4,152  ........................  2,076 hrs.; $188,916...  ..............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The estimate for the number of respondents is based on the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Compliance Registry as of October
  12, 2022, minus the Transmission Operators within ERCOT.
\2\ The estimate is based on the number of respondents to the 2021 FERC Forms 2 and 2A (Major and Non-major Natural Gas Pipeline Annual Reports).

    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: October 21, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-23413 Filed 10-26-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


