26206 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 90 / Tuesday, May 11, 2010 / Notices 

33TMCnet, Consumer Interface with the Smart 

Grid, http://sip-trunking.tmcnet.com/news/2010/ 

02/09/4613238.htm (last visited Apr. 27, 2010) 

existing implementations of these 

requirements. 

List of Questions for Commenters 

The following list of questions 

represents a preliminary attempt to 

identify and respond to the issues that 

have been raised in a variety of public 

and private forums, including but 

limited to: DOE’s historic investment in 

Smart Grid technology through the 

Smart Grid Investment Grants and the 

Smart Grid Demonstrations projects; 

Smart Grid Forum blog initiated by the 

Office of Science and Technology policy 

titled ‘‘Consumer Interface with the 

Smart Grid 33’’; and the National 

Broadband Plan regarding the Smart 

Grid and issues of data access and 

collection, third party access to detailed 

energy information, and privacy. This 

list is to assist in the formulation of 

comments and is not intended to restrict 

the issues that might be addressed in the 

comments. 

In addressing these questions or 

others, commenters must also recognize 

that this RFI is intended to assist and 

inform DOE’s efforts to address the 

aspects of these questions that most 

directly implicate the duties and 

responsibilities assigned by law to DOE 

and the Secretary of Energy. This 

qualification is important because the 

global concept of a Smart Grid 

inevitably implicates the jurisdiction 

and expertise of many other Federal 

agencies as evidenced in the 

composition of the Federal Smart Grid 

Task Force, not to mention Federal law 

enforcement agencies, and others. DOE 

fully intends to respect the jurisdiction 

and expertise of these and other Federal 

entities. Consequently, comments 

directed to matters deemed more 

relevant to the jurisdiction and expertise 

of other Federal entities will provide 

little assistance relevant to this RFI. 

(1) Who owns energy consumption 

data? 

(2) Who should be entitled to privacy 

protections relating to energy 

information? 

(3) What, if any, privacy practices 

should be implemented in protecting 

energy information? 

(4) Should consumers be able to opt 

in/opt out of smart meter deployment or 

have control over what information is 

shared with utilites or third parties? 

(5) What mechanisms should be made 

available to consumers to report 

concerns or problems with the smart 

meters? 

(6) How do policies and practices 

address the needs of different 

communities, especially low-income 

rate payers or consumers with low 

literacy or limited access to broadband 

technologies? 

(7) Which, if any, international, 

Federal, or State data-privacy standards 

are most relevant to Smart-Grid 

development, deployment, and 

implementation? 

(8) Which of the potentially relevant 

data privacy standards are best suited to 

provide a framework that will provide 

opportunities to experiment, rewards for 

successful innovators, and flexible 

protections that can accommodate 

widely varying reasonable consumer 

expectations? 

(9) Because access and privacy are 

complementary goods, consumers are 

likely to have widely varying 

preferences about how closely they 

want to control and monitor third-party 

access to their energy information: what 

mechanisms exist that would empower 

consumers to make a range of 

reasonable choices when balancing the 

potential benefits and detriments of 

both privacy and access? 

(10) What security architecture 

provisions should be built into Smart 

Grid technologies to protect consumer 

privacy? 

(11) How can DOE best implement its 

mission and duties in the Smart Grid 

while respecting the jurisdiction and 

expertise of other Federal entities, states 

and localities? 

(12) When, and through what 

mechanisms, should authorized agents 

of Federal, State, or local governments 

gain access to energy consumption data? 

(13) What third parties, if any, should 

have access to energy information? How 

should interested third-parties be able to 

gain access to energy consumption data, 

and what standards, guidelines, or 

practices might best assist third parties 

in handling and protecting this data? 

(14) What forms of energy information 

should consumers or third parties have 

access to? 

(15) What types of personal energy 

information should consumers have 

access to in real-time, or near real-time? 

(16) What steps have the states taken 

to implement Smart Grid privacy, data 

collection, and third party use of 

information policies? 

(17) What steps have investor owned 

utilities, municipalities, public power 

entities, and electric cooperatives taken 

to implement Smart Grid privacy, data 

collection and third party use of 

information policies? 

(18) Should DOE consider consumer 

data accessibility policies when 

evaluating future Smart Grid grant 

applications? 

Issued in Washington, DC on May 5, 2010. 

Scott Blake Harris, 

General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2010–11127 Filed 5–10–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Implementing the National Broadband 

Plan by Studying the Communications 

Requirements of Electric Utilities To 

Inform Federal Smart Grid Policy 

AGENCY: Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Request for information (RFI). 

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy 

(DOE) is seeking comments and 

information from interested parties to 

assist DOE in understanding the 

communications requirements of 

utilities, including, but not limited to, 

the requirements of the Smart Grid. This 

RFI also seeks to collect information 

about electricity infrastructure’s current 

and projected communications 

requirements, as well as the types of 

networks and communications services 

that may be used for grid 

modernization. Specifically, DOE seeks 

information on what types of 

communications capabilities that the 

utilities think that they will need and 

what type of communications 

capabilities that the communications 

carriers think that they can provide. 

DATES: Comments must be postmarked 

by no later than July 12, 2010. Reply 

comments must be postmarked by no 

later than July 26, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by ‘‘NBP RFI: 

Communications Requirements,’’ by any 

of the following methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

E-mail: broadband@hq.doe.gov. 

Include ‘‘NBP RFI: Communications 

Requirements’’ in the subject line of the 

message. 

Mail: U.S. Department of Energy, 

Office of the General Counsel, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., Room 

6A245, Washington, DC 20585. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Maureen C. McLaughlin, Senior Legal 

Advisor to the General Counsel (202) 

586–5281; broadband@hq.doe.gov. 

For Media Inquiries you may contact 

Jen Stutsman at 202–586–4940. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

In early 2009, Congress directed the 

Federal Communications Commission 

(FCC) to create the recently released 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 90 / Tuesday, May 11, 2010 / Notices 26207 

1Fed. Commc’n Comm’n, The National 

Broadband Plan: Connecting America, http:// 

www.broadband.gov (last visited Apr. 26, 2010). 

2 Id. at Recommendation 12.6. 

3A smart meter is a good example of an enabling 

Smart Grid technology that can empower both 

utilities and consumers to extract value from twoway communications and real-time access to usage 

data. Smart meters play an important role in the 

success of the Smart Grid because they can generate 

an array of useful data including historical energy 

consumption data, real-time data, convey pricing 

and control information, and enable a variety of 

demand response approaches to reduce peak load. 

4 Dep’t of Energy, What the Smart Grid Means to 

You and the People You Serve (Aug. 31, 2009), 

available at http://www.oe.energy.gov/ 

DocumentsandMedia/Utilities.pdf. 

5Fed. Energy Regulatory Comm’n, Assessment of 

Demand Response and Advanced Metering, 8, 65 

(Dec. 2008), available at http://www.ferc.gov/legal/ 

staff-reports/12–08-demand-response.pdf. 

6United Telecomm. Council, Hurricanes of 2005: 

Performance of Gulf Coast Critical Infrastructure 

Communications Networks, 2, 24 (Nov. 2006). 

7S. Co. Serv. Inc., Comments—National 

Broadband Plan Public Notice #2, GN Docket No. 

09–47, 09–51, and 09–137, 15, 21 (Oct. 2 2009). 

8Util. Telecomm. Council, Comments—National 

Broadband Plan Public Notice #2, GN Docket No. 

09–47, 09–51, and 09–137, 11, 24 (Oct. 2 2009). 

9Sempra Energy Util., Comments regarding the 

Implementation of Smart Grid Technology, GN 

Docket No. 09–47, 09–51, and 09–137, 13, 22 (Oct. 

2 2009). 

10Util. Telecomm. Council, Comments in 

response to the National Broadband Plan Public 

Continued 

National Broadband Plan (NBP).1 As 

Congress instructed, the NBP makes 

recommendations to various 

government entities, including 

Executive Branch agencies like DOE. In 

particular, the NBP recommended that 

DOE, in collaboration with the FCC, 

should conduct a thorough study of the 

communications requirements of 

electric utilities, including, but not 

limited to, the requirements of the 

Smart Grid.2 As the National Broadband 

Plan correctly notes, understanding the 

evolving communications requirements 

of electric utilities and other energy 

infrastructure entities will help in 

developing informed Smart Grid 

policies for the nation. Therefore, DOE 

seeks to collect information about 

current and projected communications 

requirements in sustaining and 

modernizing the grid, as well as the 

types of networks and communications 

services that may be used. Specifically, 

DOE seeks information on what types of 

communications capabilities that the 

utilities think that they will need and 

what type of communications 

capabilities that the communications 

carriers think that they can provide. 

A Smart Grid uses information and 

communications technologies to 

improve the reliability, availability, and 

efficiency of the electric system. In 

Smart Grid projects today, these 

technologies are being applied to 

electric grid applications, involving 

devices at the consumer level through 

the transmission level, to make our 

electric system more responsive and 

more flexible. 

The potential promises 3 of the Smart 

Grid include, improved reliability and 

power quality, reduction in peak 

demand, reduction in transmission 

congestion costs, the potential for 

increased energy efficiency, 

environmental benefits gained by 

increased asset utilization, increased 

security, ability to accommodate more 

renewable energy and increased 

durability and ease of repair in response 

to attacks or natural disasters. 

But in order to provide these, and 

other, benefits that the Smart Grid can 

offer, utilities and other participants in 

the nation’s electricity infrastructure 

need to employ adequate 

communications technologies that serve 

their needs from both a critical 

infrastructure and business standpoint. 

This RFI thus focuses on enhancing 

DOE’s understanding of both what these 

needs are and how they might best be 

met. 

This RFI seeks to create a dialogue 

that will help DOE study the 

communications requirements of 

electric utilities in order to better inform 

Federal Smart Grid policy. 

The Smart Grid will have many new 

applications for consumers, retailers, 

utilities, and others, and it will be 

composed of several vast, developing, 

and interrelated systems. The 

communications requirements of these 

systems will be a critical component of 

both the Smart Grid and the other 

technologies that will evolve and 

change how electricity is produced, 

consumed, conserved and distributed. 

Moreover, just as there is no ‘‘one-sizefits-all’’ utility solution, illustrated by 

investor-owned, municipally-owned, 

and rural electric cooperatives—we also 

cannot expect any ‘‘one-size-fits-all’’ 

communications solution to 

accommodate all reasonable Smart Grid 

implementations and applications. 

One of the key technology areas of the 

Smart Grid is integrated two-way 

communications, which make the Smart 

Grid a dynamic, interactive, real-time 

infrastructure. An open architecture 

creates a plug-and-play environment 

that securely networks grid components 

and operators, enabling them to talk, 

listen and interact.4

Request for information: DOE seeks 

information about current and projected 

communications needs for the Smart 

Grid from electric utilities, regional 

transmission operators and other 

interested parties, as well as the types 

of networks and communications 

services they use. 

DOE recognizes that many 

communications and networking 

technologies can be used in Smart Grid 

applications, including, but not limited 

to: fiber optic; microwave; copper lines; 

satellite; broadband wireless; 

unlicensed wireless mesh; licensed 

point-to-point and point-to-multipoint, 

low latency wireless; Power Line Carrier 

and Broadband over Power Line; 

Internet; and, wired broadband. These 

and other networking technologies can 

be used by a variety of Smart Grid 

applications, including, but not limited 

to: Home Area Networks (HAN); Phasor 

Measurements and wide area situational 

awareness; Substation SCADA; 

Distributed Generation Monitoring and 

Control; Protective Relaying; Demand 

Response and Pricing; and Plug-in 

Electric Vehicles. 

DOE also recognizes that while it may 

be possible to estimate the current 

required communications needs of the 

entities now deploying the Smart Grid, 

it may be unrealistic to precisely 

quantify their future communications 

needs, as the Smart Grid is not fully 

developed and its future requirements 

or applications may dramatically 

increase or change. Nevertheless, even 

unavoidable uncertainty should not 

deter either DOE, utilities or other 

interested parties from assessing both 

current communications needs and the 

best-available estimates of whether or 

how they may evolve. 

For example, certain Smart Grid and 

demand response applications have 

been deployed by utilities for many 

years.5 These applications use a variety 

of communications technologies, and 

these technologies may vary from 

implementation to implementation. 

These technologies have traditionally 

involved private networks. Utilities 

have cited higher rates of survivability 

following a natural disaster,6 the ability 

to maintain service throughout a 

utility’s service territory,7 the lack of 

priority of services when outages 

occur,8 and the cost of service 9 as 

reasons why commercial services 

cannot adequately replace private 

networks. 

While it appears from comments filed 

with the FCC that many commenting 

utilities want to use private, noncommercial networking options, some 

utilities have also commented that 

dedicated utility spectrum may be 

beneficial, but perhaps not essential to 

continue current Smart Grid 

deployments like backhaul for meters in 

an AMI system.10 One commenter 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
26208 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 90 / Tuesday, May 11, 2010 / Notices 

Notice #2, GN Docket No. 09–47, 09–51, and 09– 

137, 3, 24 (Oct. 2 2009); Nat’l Rural Elec. Coop. 

Ass’n, Comments in response to the National 

Broadband Plan Public Notice #2, GN Docket No. 

09–47, 09–51, and 09–137, 12, 14 (Oct. 2 2009). 

11S. Co. Serv., Comments in response to the 

National Broadband Plan Public Notice #2, GN 

Docket No. 09–47, 09–51, and 09–137, 15, 21 (Oct. 

2 2009). 

12Nat’l Ass’n of Regulatory Util. Comm’rs, 

Comments in response to the National Broadband 

Plan Public Notice #2, GN Docket No. 09–47, 09– 

51, and 09–137, 3, 11 (Oct. 2 2009). 

expressed the need for greater industry 

collaboration to build a better case for 

dedicated spectrum.11

Utilities have also expressed a need 

for dedicated spectrum for fast power 

restoration in an emergency or natural 

disaster, reliable service, and for 

protection from a cyber attack on the 

electric grid.12 DOE thus seeks to better 

understand this need for dedicated 

spectrum; what compels the need for 

additional spectrum in addition to the 

increased amount of data that utilities 

are expected to handle as the 

deployment of Smart Grid applications 

multiplies. 

List of Questions 

The following list of questions 

represents a preliminary attempt to 

identify and respond to the issues that 

have been raised in the National 

Broadband Plan regarding the Smart 

Grid and DOE, as outlined in the 

summary of this Inquiry. This list of 

questions does not represent a 

determination of the final list of topics 

that should be addressed to best carry 

out the recommendations of the Plan. 

Rather, this list is intended only to 

assist in the formulation of comments— 

not to restrict the issues that might be 

addressed in the comments. 

In addressing these questions or 

others, commenters must also recognize 

that this RFI is intended to assist and 

inform DOE’s efforts to address the 

aspects of these questions that most 

directly implicate the duties and 

responsibilities assigned by law to DOE 

and the Secretary of Energy. This 

qualification is important because all 

interstate information technologies, 

including the Smart Grid, inevitably 

implicate the jurisdiction and expertise 

of the States and many other federal 

agencies—a few of the most obvious 

examples include federal lawenforcement agencies, the Department 

of Homeland Security, and the FCC. 

DOE fully intends to respect the 

jurisdiction and expertise of these and 

other governmental entities. 

Consequently, comments directed to 

matters deemed more relevant to the 

jurisdiction and expertise of other 

governmental entities will provide little 

assistance relevant to this RFI. 

(1) What are the current and future 

communications needs of utilities, 

including for the deployment of new 

Smart Grid applications, and how are 

these needs being met? 

(2) What are the basic requirements, 

such as security, bandwidth, reliability, 

coverage, latency, and backup, for smart 

grid communications and electric utility 

communications systems in general— 

today and tomorrow? How do these 

requirements impact the utilities’ 

communication needs? 

(3) What are other additional 

considerations (e.g. terrain, foliage, 

customer density and size of service 

territory)? 

(4) What are the use cases for various 

smart grid applications and other 

communications needs? 

(5) What are the technology options 

for smart grid and other utility 

communications? 

(6) What are the recommendations for 

meeting current and future utility 

requirements, based on each use case, 

the technology options that are 

available, and other considerations? 

(7) To what extent can existing 

commercial networks satisfy the 

utilities’ communications needs? 

(8) What, if any, improvements to the 

commercial networks can be made to 

satisfy the utilities’ communications 

needs? 

(9) As the Smart Grid grows and 

expands, how do the electric utilities 

foresee their communications 

requirements as growing and adapting 

along with the expansion of Smart Grid 

applications? 

Issued in Washington, DC, on May 5, 2010. 

Scott Blake Harris, 

General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2010–11129 Filed 5–10–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No. 12731–004] 

Natural Currents Energy Services, 

LLC; Notice of Preliminary Permit 

Application Accepted for Filing and 

Soliciting Comments, Motions To 

Intervene, and Competing Applications 

April 30, 2010. 

On March 2, 2010, and revised on 

April 7, 2010, Natural Currents Energy 

Services, LLC, filed an application for a 

preliminary permit, pursuant to section 

4(f) of the Federal Power Act, proposing 

to study the feasibility of the Angoon 

Kootznahoo—Killisnoo Tidal Energy 

Project, located in Kootznahoo Inlet on 

the western shore of Admiralty Island, 

near the City of Angoon in the SkagwayHoonah-Angoon Census Area of 

southeastern Alaska. The sole purpose 

of a preliminary permit, if issued, is to 

grant the permit holder priority to file 

a license application during the permit 

term. A preliminary permit does not 

authorize the permit holder to perform 

any land disturbing activities or 

otherwise enter upon lands or waters 

owned by others without the owners’ 

express permission. 

The proposed project would include 

two developments; a 200-kilowatt-(kW) 

development in Kootznahoo Inlet and a 

200-kW-development at Killisnoo 

Island. Each development would consist 

of: (1) A moored test platform or dock, 

or underwater tethering device, pending 

evaluation of specific site conditions; 

(2) eight 25-kW Red Hawk in-stream 

turbine modules with a total generating 

capacity of 200 kW; (3) an 

approximately 650-foot-long, 480-volt 

underwater transmission line 

connecting the Red Hawk modules to an 

existing above-ground local distribution 

system; and (4) appurtenant facilities. 

The project would have a total installed 

capacity of 400 kW and an estimated 

average annual generation of 1,600 

megawatt-hours. 

Applicant Contact: Roger Bason, 

President, Natural Currents Energy 

Services, LLC, 24 Roxanne Boulevard, 

Highland, NY 12528; phone: (845) 691- 

4008. 

FERC Contact: Jennifer Harper, (202) 

502–6136. 

Deadline for filing comments, motions 

to intervene, competing applications 

(without notices of intent), or notices of 

intent to file competing applications: 60 

days from the issuance of this notice. 

Competing applications and notices of 

intent must meet the requirements of 18 

CFR 4.36. Comments, motions to 

intervene, notices of intent, and 

competing applications may be filed 

electronically via the Internet. See 18 

CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the 

instructions on the Commission’s Web 

site (http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ 

ferconline.asp) under the ‘‘eFiling’’ link. 

For a simpler method of submitting text 

only comments, click on ‘‘Quick 

Comment.’’ For assistance, please 

contact FERC Online Support at 

FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov; call tollfree at (866) 208–3676; or, for TTY, 

contact (202) 502–8659. Although the 

Commission strongly encourages 

electronic filing, documents may also be 

paper-filed. To paper-file, mail an 

original and eight copies to: Kimberly D. 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES