[Federal Register: November 20, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 223)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 65246-65248]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20no07-14]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
18 CFR Parts 141 and 385
[Docket No. RM07-18-000]
Elimination of FERC Form No. 423
November 2, 2007.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (Commission) is proposing to amend its
regulations to eliminate the FERC Form No. 423, Monthly Report of Cost
and Quality of Fuels for Electric Plants. The Commission's infrequent
use of the information no longer justifies the burden and cost of
collecting it. Conversely, the Energy Information Administration has
expressed a need for this information and, upon cessation of the
Commission's collection, proposes to collect the information, as part
of its newly proposed EIA-923.
DATES: Comment deadline: Comments are due December 20, 2007.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket No. RM07-18-
000, by one of the following methods:
eFiling: From the Commission's Web site: http://www.ferc.gov
, follow the instructions for submitting comments
electronically found by selecting eFiling under the Documents & Filing
heading.
Mail: Commenters unable to file comments electronically
must mail or hand deliver an original and 14 copies of their comments
to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the
Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
Please refer to the Comment Procedures section for additional
information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lawrence Greenfield (Legal
Information), Office of the General Counsel--Energy Markets, Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC
20426,
[[Page 65247]]
Telephone: (202) 502-6415, E-mail: lawrence.greenfield@ferc.gov.
Patricia W. Morris (Technical Information), Division of
Administration, Budget and Strategic Planning, Office of Energy Market
Regulation, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street,
NE., Washington, DC 20426, Telephone: (202) 502-8730, E-mail:
patricia.morris@ferc.gov.
James Krug (Technical Information), Division of Administration,
Budget and Strategic Planning, Office of Energy Market Regulation,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20426, Telephone: (202) 502-8419, e-mail:
james.krug@ferc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission is
proposing to amend its regulations, 18 CFR 141.61, to eliminate its
Form No. 423, Monthly Report of Cost and Quality of Fuels for Electric
Plants (OMB No. 1902-0024). The Commission's infrequent use of the
information no longer justifies the burden and cost of collecting it.
While the Commission is proposing to eliminate the Form 423, the Energy
Information Administration (EIA) has expressed a need for this
information and, upon cessation of the Commission's collection, has
proposed to collect the information, as part of its newly proposed EIA-
923 survey.\1\
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\1\ Energy Information Administration Electric Power Survey, OMB
Control No. 1905-0129, Supporting Statement A, (submitted to the
Office of Management and Budget for review on October 4, 2007),
available at: http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewDocument?ref_nbr=200709-1905-003
.
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Background
2. Form 423 gathers information on the cost and quality of fuels
delivered to steam electric generating plants of 50 MW or greater. This
information has been used over the years for a variety of purposes,
including: (1) To conduct fuel reviews under Federal Power Act (FPA)
sections 205(a) and (e); \2\ (2) to address fuel costs and fuel
purchase practices affecting public utility rates under FPA sections
205 and 206; \3\ and (3) to detect abnormally high fuel costs in public
utility fuel purchases indicative of affiliate preference under FPA
sections 205 and 206.\4\
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\2\ 16 U.S.C. 824d(a), (e).
\3\ 16 U.S.C. 824d, 824e.
\4\ Id.
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3. Form 423 is submitted electronically on a monthly basis by
approximately 190 utilities for their 569 steam electric generating
plants.
Discussion
4. The issuance of Order No. 888 \5\ and the public utility
industry's increasing reliance on market-based rates have created a
diminished need for the Form 423 information; greater use of market-
based rates has resulted in less reliance on cost-based rates and less
need to evaluate rates by reference to the utility's costs. In short,
there are fewer public utilities with cost-based rates \6\ and
particularly with fuel adjustment clauses as part of their rates. This,
in turn, has resulted in fewer rate cases and fewer complaints filed
with the Commission. Moreover, should the Commission have a need for
information concerning fuel costs and purchases, it can obtain such
information on a case-by-case basis through special reports,
investigations, or in formal proceedings.\7\
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\5\ Promoting Wholesale Competition Through Open Access Non-
discriminatory Transmission Services by Public Utilities; Recovery
of Stranded Costs by Public Utilities and Transmitting Utilities,
Order No. 888, 61 FR 21540 (May 10, 1996), FERC Stats. & Regs. ]
31,036 (1996), order on reh'g, Order No. 888-A, 62 FR 12274 (Mar.
14, 1997), FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,048 (1997), order on reh'g,
Order No. 888-B, 81 FERC ] 61,248 (1997), order on reh'g, Order No.
888-C, 82 FERC ] 61,046 (1998), aff'd in relevant part sub nom.
Transmission Access Policy Study Group v. FERC, 225 F.3d 667 (D.C.
Cir. 2000), aff'd sub nom. New York v. FERC, 535 U.S. 1 (2002).
\6\ A review of data from the Electric Quarterly Reports for
calendar year 2006 indicates that market-based power sales
constituted ninety percent of jurisdictional power sales (reported
as energy sales and booked out transactions). Five percent were at
cost-based rates, and the other five percent could not be readily
categorized given the information reported.
\7\ See, e.g., 16 U.S.C. 825e, 825f.
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5. The Commission's infrequent use of the information collected
through Form 423, in sum, no longer justifies the burden of collecting
it. The Commission therefore proposes to cease to collect the Form 423
information ending with the December 2007 information, due February 15,
2008.
6. In contrast to the Commission's lack of need for the
information, the EIA, in a collection statement to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), states that EIA has multiple uses for it
and request approval to collect it. Presently, EIA collects similar
information from nonutility generators and, as explained in EIA's
collection statement to OMB, adding to it information from Commission-
jurisdictional public utilities would, for the first time, capture all
such data on one form for the entire industry. EIA further proposes to
merge the combined data collection with information from three other
existing EIA collections: EIA-906, EIA-920 and EIA-767, in an effort to
improve data quality, consistency and reporting efficiency. The result,
EIA states, will be a new survey, the EIA-923, Power Plant Operations
Report.
7. The Commission proposes to collect Form 423 information ending
with the December 2007 report, due February 15, 2008, to coordinate
with the initiation of EIA's collection of that information. However,
if EIA is not prepared to collect the information at that time, to
prevent a gap in data continuity, the Commission will continue to
collect the information, until such time as EIA is prepared to begin
collection, but not beyond the December 2008 report, due in February
2009.
8. The annual estimated $385,128 cost to filers to provide the Form
423 information, added to the $193,869 cost to the Commission to
collect it, means eliminating the collection would save $578,997. The
added burden on EIA to collect the FERC Form 423 data, EIA states in
its OMB submission, is offset by the added efficiencies of reorganizing
their data collections.
Solicitation of Comments
9. The Commission seeks comments both on its proposal to eliminate
the Form 423, and on the date the Commission proposes to eliminate the
Form 423.
Information Collection Statement
10. OMB regulations require OMB to approve certain information
collection requirements imposed by an agency.\8\ Here, the Commission
is proposing to cease collecting certain information. Nevertheless, OMB
has been notified of the Commission's actions in this case. The
Commission will submit a copy of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(NOPR) to OMB for information purposes only.
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\8\ 5 CFR 1320.11.
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11. Interested persons may obtain information on the elimination of
these reporting requirements by contacting the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426
[Attn: Michael Miller, Information Services Division (202) 502-8415,
fax: (202) 273-0873]. Comments also can be sent to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB [Attn: Desk Officer for the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; phone, (202) 395-4650, fax: (202)
395-7285, e-mail: oira_submission@omb.eop.gov. Comments regarding
EIA's collection of information now collected on Form 423 should be
addressed to OMB at the above address.
[[Page 65248]]
Environmental Analysis
12. Commission regulations require that an Environmental Assessment
or an Environmental Impact Statement be prepared for any Commission
action that may have a significant adverse effect on the human
environment.\9\ The Commission has categorically excluded certain
actions from this requirement as not having a significant adverse
effect on the human environment. No environmental consideration is
necessary for the promulgation of a rule concerning information
gathering, analysis or dissemination.\10\ Because this NOPR concerns
the elimination of an information collection, no environmental
consideration is necessary.
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\9\ Regulations Implementing the National Environmental Policy
Act, Order No. 486, 52 FR 47897 (Dec. 17, 1987), FERC Stats. & Regs.
] 30,783 (1987) (codified at 18 CFR Part 380).
\10\ 18 CFR 380.4(a)(5).
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Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
13. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) \11\ generally
requires either a description and analysis of a rule that will have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities
or a certification that the rule will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities. Most utilities to
which this proposed rule applies would not fall within the RFA's
definition of small entity.\12\ Consequently, the Commission certifies
that this NOPR, if adopted, will not have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities. Moreover, elimination of the
Form 423 will reduce the burden on all entities, including small
entities.
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\11\ 5 U.S.C. 601-12.
\12\ 5 U.S.C. 601(3), citing to section 3 of the Small Business
Act, 15 U.S.C. 632. Section 3 of the Small Business Act defines a
``small business concern'' as a business that is independently owned
and operated and that is not dominant in its field of operation. The
Small Business Size Standards component of the North American
Industry Classification System (NAICS) defines a small electric
utility as one that, including its affiliates, is primarily engaged
in the generation, transmission, and/or distribution of electric
energy for sale and whose total electric output for the preceding
fiscal year did not exceed four million MWh. 13 CFR 121.201.
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Comment Procedures
14. The Commission invites interested persons to submit comments on
the changes proposed in this NOPR to be adopted, including any related
matters or alternative proposals that commenters may wish to discuss.
Comments are due December 20, 2007. Comments must refer to Docket No.
RM07-18-000, and must include, in the comments, the commenter's name,
the organization represented, if applicable, and the address. Comments
may be filed either in electronic or paper format.
15. Comments may be filed electronically via the eFiling link found
under the Documents & Filings heading on the Commission's Web site at
http://www.ferc.gov. The Commission accepts most standard word
processing formats, but requests commenters to submit comments in a
text-searchable format rather than a scanned image format. Commenters
filing electronically do not need to make a paper filing. Commenters
that are not able to file comments electronically must send an original
and 14 copies of their comments to: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20426.
16. All comments will be placed in the Commission's public files
and may be viewed, printed, or downloaded remotely as described in the
Document Availability section below. Commenters on this proposal are
not required to serve copies of their comments on other commenters.
Document Availability
17. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the
Internet through the Commission's Home Page (http://www.ferc.gov) and
in the Commission's Public Reference Room during normal business hours
(8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First Street, NE., Room 2A,
Washington, DC 20426.
18. From the Commission's Home Page on the Internet, the full text
of this document is available in the Commission's document management
system, eLibrary, in PDF and Microsoft Word format for viewing,
printing, and downloading. To access this document in eLibrary, type
the docket number (excluding the last three digits of the docket
number), in the Docket Number field.
19. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the Commission's
Web site during normal business hours. For assistance, please contact
FERC Online Support at (202) 502-6652 (toll-free at 1-866-208-3676), e-
mail fercon-linesupport@ferc.gov, or contact the Public Reference Room
at (202) 502-8371, TTY (202) 502-8659, e-mail:
public.referenceroom@ferc.gov.
List of Subjects
18 CFR Part 141
Electric power, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
18 CFR Part 385
Administrative practice and procedure, Electric power, Penalties,
Pipelines, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements
By direction of the Commission.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
In consideration of the foregoing, the Commission proposes to amend
parts 141 and 385, Chapter I, Title 18, Code of Federal Regulations, as
follows:
PART 141--STATEMENTS AND REPORTS (SCHEDULES)
1. The authority citation for part 141 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 79; 16 U.S.C. 791a-828c, 2601-2645; 31
U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 7101-7352.
Sec. 141.61 [Removed and reserved]
2. Section 141.61 is removed and reserved.
PART 385--RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
3. The authority citation for part 385 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 551-557; 15 U.S.C. 717-717z, 3301-3432; 16
U.S.C.791a-825v, 2601-2645; 28 U.S.C. 2461; 31 U.S.C. 3701, 9701; 42
U.S.C. 7101-7352, 16441, 16451-16463; 49 U.S.C. 60502; 49 App.
U.S.C. 1-85 (1988).
Sec. 385.2011 [Amended]
4. Section 385.2011, paragraph (a)(8) is removed and reserved.
[FR Doc. E7-22550 Filed 11-19-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P