167 FERC ¶ 61,127

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

18 CFR Part 38

[Docket No. RM05-5-027]

Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public Utilities

(Issued May 16, 2019)

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) proposes to 

amend its regulations to incorporate by reference, with certain enumerated exceptions, 

the latest version (Version 003.2) of certain Standards for Business Practices and 

Communication Protocols for Public Utilities adopted by the Wholesale Electric 

Quadrant (WEQ) of the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB). The WEQ 

Version 003.2 Standards build upon the standards included in the WEQ Version 003.1 

Standards and include, in their entirety, the modifications submitted to the Commission in 

WEQ Version 003.1, which were the subject of an earlier notice of proposed rulemaking, 

with the addition of certain revisions and corrections. The revisions made by NAESB in 

this version of the standards are designed to aid public utilities with the consistent and 

uniform implementation of requirements promulgated by the Commission as part of the 

pro forma Open Access Transmission Tariff.
Docket No. RM05-5-027 ii

DATES: Comments are due [INSERT DATE 60 days after publication in the 

FEDERAL REGISTER]

ADDRESSES: Comments, identified by Docket No. RM05-5-027, may be filed 

electronically at http://www.ferc.gov 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 mail or hand-delivery to: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 

Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426. The 

Comment Procedures Section of this document contains more detailed filing procedures.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael P. Lee (technical issues)

Office of Energy Policy and Innovation

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

888 First Street, NE

Washington, DC 20426

(202) 502-6548

Michael A. Chase (legal issues)

Office of the General Counsel

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

888 First Street, NE

Washington, DC 20426

(202) 502-6205

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
167 FERC ¶ 61,127

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

Standards for Business Practices and Communication 

Protocols for Public Utilities

 Docket No. RM05-5-027

NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING

(Issued May 16, 2019)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Paragraph Numbers

I. Overview ......................................................................................................................... 1.

II. Background.................................................................................................................... 3.

III. Discussion................................................................................................................... 11.

A. Revisions and Modifications to Earlier Versions of Standards Made In the WEQ 

Version 003.2 Standards.............................................................................................. 12.

B. Treatment of Requests for Redirects....................................................................... 14.

1. Background.......................................................................................................... 14.

2. WEQ Standards in Versions 003.1 and 003.2 ..................................................... 16.

3. Request for Comments in WEQ Version 003.1 NOPR....................................... 17.

4. Comments on Redirect Filed in Response to WEQ Version 003.1 NOPR......... 18.

5. Discussion............................................................................................................ 27.

IV. Notice of Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards..................................................... 28.

V. Incorporation by Reference ......................................................................................... 29.

VI. Information Collection Statement .............................................................................. 49.

VII. Environmental Analysis............................................................................................ 56.

VIII. Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification.................................................................. 57.

IX. Comment Procedures ................................................................................................. 61.

X. Document Availability ................................................................................................ 65.
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 2 -

I. Overview

The Commission has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking1 regarding the 

Version 003.1 business practice standards (WEQ Version 003.1 Standards) adopted by 

the Wholesale Electric Quadrant (WEQ) of the North American Energy Standards Board 

(NAESB) and has received comments on that NOPR in Docket No. RM05-5-025; 

however, the Commission has not taken any final action on those standards. NAESB has 

now adopted its Version 003.2 WEQ Business Practice Standards (WEQ Version 003.2 

Standards).2

 The WEQ Version 003.2 Standards include, in their entirety, the WEQ 

Version 003.1 Standards, with the addition of certain revisions and corrections. The 

NAESB WEQ Version 003.2 Report concludes from this that, as “WEQ Version 003.2 

includes the entirety of modifications submitted to the Commission in WEQ Version 

003.1, action on the previously submitted version is unnecessary should the Commission 

choose.”3

 We find this suggestion has merit and, thus, in the interest of efficiency we 

 1 Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public 

Utilities, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 81 FR 49580 (July 28, 2016), 156 FERC 

¶ 61,055 (2016), (WEQ Version 003.1 NOPR).

2 See Docket No. RM05-5-027, Report of the North American Energy Standards 

Board on Wholesale Electric Quadrant Business Practice Standards Version 003.2 under 

RM05-5 (Dec. 8, 2017) (NAESB WEQ Version 003.2 Report).

3 NAESB WEQ Version 003.2 Report at 4. We note that, in the past, the 

Commission followed this same procedure in Order No. 676-E, wherein the Commission 

incorporated changes made by NAESB in both the WEQ Version 002.0 Standards and in 

the WEQ Version 002.1 Standards without taking separate action on the WEQ 

Version 002.0 Standards. See Standards for Business Practices and Communication 

Protocols for Public Utilities, Order No. 676-E, 129 FERC ¶ 61,162, at P 7 (2009).
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 3 -

will issue this notice of proposed rulemaking inviting comment on the revisions and 

corrections NAESB made in the WEQ Version 003.2 Standards and then take final action 

on the WEQ Version 003.2 WEQ Standards, which include the revisions made by 

NAESB in the WEQ Version 003.1 Standards and carried forward as part of the WEQ 

Version 003.2 Standards. Comments already filed on the revisions made by NAESB in 

the WEQ Version 003.1 Standards will be given full consideration and need not be 

replicated in response to this NOPR.

Further, as announced in the WEQ Version 003.1 NOPR, we will address

separately NAESB’s WEQ-023 Modeling Business Practice Standards, which concern

technical issues affecting the calculation of Available Transfer Capability for wholesale 

electric transmission services.

4

 We also have issued a separate notice of proposed 

rulemaking proposing to retire and remove the incorporation by reference of the WEQ006 Time Error Correction Business Practice Standards.5

 Thus, we are not proposing any 

actions on those topics here. 

II. Background

NAESB is a non-profit standards development organization established in late 

2001 (as the successor to the Gas Industry Standards Board (GISB), which was 

established in 1994) and serves as an industry forum for the development of business 

 4 See WEQ Version 003.1 NOPR, 156 FERC ¶ 61,055 at P 42. 

5 Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public 

Utilities, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 83 FR 51654 (Oct. 12, 2018), 165 FERC 

¶ 61,007 (2018). 
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 4 -

practice standards and communication protocols for the wholesale and retail natural gas 

and electricity industry sectors. Since 1995, NAESB, and its predecessor GISB, have 

been accredited members of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), 

complying with ANSI’s requirements that its standards reflect a consensus of the affected 

industries.6

NAESB’s standards include business practices intended to standardize and 

streamline the transactional processes of the natural gas and electric industries, as well as 

communication protocols and related standards designed to improve the efficiency of 

communication within each industry. NAESB supports all three quadrants of the gas and 

electric industries – wholesale gas, wholesale electric, and retail markets quadrant.7

 All 

participants in the gas and electric industries are eligible to join NAESB and participate 

in standards development. 

NAESB develops its standards under a consensus process so that the standards 

draw support from a wide range of industry members. NAESB’s procedures are designed 

to ensure that all persons choosing to participate can have input into the development of a 

 6 Prior to the establishment of NAESB in 2001, the Commission’s development of 

business practice standards for the wholesale electric industry was aided by two ad hoc

industry working groups established during the rulemaking proceeding that resulted in 

issuance of Order No. 889 and the creation of the OASIS, while GISB’s efforts involved 

the development of business practice standards for the wholesale natural gas industry. 

Once formally established, NAESB took over the standards development previously 

handled by GISB and by the electric working groups.

7 The retail gas quadrant and the retail electric quadrant were combined into the 

retail markets quadrant. NAESB continues to refer to these working groups as 

“quadrants” even though there are now only three quadrants.
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 5 -

standard, regardless of whether they are members of NAESB, and each standard NAESB 

adopts is supported by a consensus of the relevant industry segments. Standards that fail 

to gain consensus support are not adopted. NAESB’s consistent practice has been to 

submit a report to the Commission after it has made revisions to existing business 

practice standards or has developed and adopted new business practice standards. 

NAESB’s standards are voluntary standards, which become mandatory for public utilities 

upon incorporation by reference by the Commission. 

On July 21, 2016, the Commission issued a notice of proposed rulemaking in 

Docket No. RM05-5-025 (WEQ Version 003.1 NOPR) that proposed to incorporate by 

reference Version 003.1 of certain Standards for Business Practices and Communication 

Protocols for Public Utilities adopted by the Wholesale Electric Quadrant of the North 

American Energy Standards Board. In response to the WEQ Version 003.1 NOPR, 

comments were filed by eight commenters.8

 A number of comments expressed general 

support for the Commission’s proposals in the WEQ Version 003.1 NOPR and no 

comments were received opposing the basic direction of the NOPR, although comments 

did make suggestions on several specific details of the NOPR proposals. The issue that 

elicited the most comments was on the treatment of requests for redirects. 

On December 8, 2017, NAESB filed a reported with the Commission informing

the Commission that it had adopted and published the WEQ Version 003.2 Business 

Practice Standards for Public Utilities. It reports that the WEQ Version 003.2 Standards 

 8 These commenters are identified infra note 23.
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 6 -

include newly created standards as well as modifications to existing standards developed 

through the NAESB standards development or minor correction processes. It further 

reports that these standards build upon WEQ Version 003.1 Standards, filed with the 

Commission on October 26, 2015, but not yet the subject of final Commission action. As 

the WEQ Version 003.2 Standards include all the modifications submitted to the 

Commission in the WEQ Version 003.1 Standards, NAESB suggests that action on the 

previously submitted version is unnecessary should the Commission choose. 

NAESB’s WEQ Version 003.2 Business Practice Standards include modifications,

reservations, and/or additions to the following set of existing standards:

WEQ Business Practice Standards

000 Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Definition of Terms

001 Open Access Same-Time Information System (OASIS)

002 OASIS Standards and Communication Protocols (S&CP)

003 OASIS S&CP Data Dictionaries

004 Coordinate Interchange

006 Manual Time Error Corrections

008 Transmission Loading Relief (TLR) – Eastern Interconnection Business Practice Standards

013 OASIS Implementation Guide

015 Measurement and Verification of Wholesale Electricity Demand Response 

Business Practice Standards

018 Specifications for Wholesale Standard Demand Response Signals Business 

Practice Standards

020 Smart Grid Standards Data Elements Table Business Practice Standards

022 Electric Industry Registry (EIR) Business Practice Standards
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 7 -

Over the course of years, the OASIS Suite of Standards has been revised several 

times to support directives contained in Order Nos. 8889 and 890.10 The WEQ Version 

003.2 Standards include modifications and reservations to existing standards and newly 

developed standards made to support the short-term preemption process (WEQ-001-25) 

and the merger of like transmission reservations (WEQ-001-24) prescribed in the OASIS 

Suite of Standards.

11

The WEQ Version 003.2 Standards also included other changes that were made to 

support consistency with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)

Reliability Standards. NAESB made these changes as a result of direct coordination with 

NERC on issues regarding dynamic tagging and pseudo-ties, and the finalization of the 

 9 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) (cross-referenced at 77 FERC ¶ 61,080), order on reh’g, Order 

No. 888-A, 62 FR 12274 (Mar. 14, 1997), FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,048 (crossreferenced at 78 FERC ¶ 61,220), 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).

10 Preventing Undue Discrimination and Preference in Transmission Service, 

Order No. 890, 118 FERC ¶ 61,119, order on reh’g, Order No. 890-A, 121 FERC 

¶ 61,297 (2007), order on reh’g, Order No. 890-B, 123 FERC ¶ 61,299 (2008), order on 

reh’g, Order No. 890-C, 126 FERC ¶ 61,228, order on clarification, Order No. 890-D, 

129 FERC ¶ 61,126 (2009).

11 WEQ-001-25 addresses the preemption of previously queued short-term 

requests or reservations by a valid competing request. WEQ-001-24 addresses the 

combination of multiple firm PTP Parent Reservations for which they are the owner into 

a single reservation. 

(continued ...)
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 8 -

transition of the industry registry tool from NERC to NAESB. NAESB also made 

additional changes to seven suites of the WEQ Business Practices to ensure the standards 

accurately reflect revisions to the NERC Reliability Standards. In addition, NAESB 

made changes to support market operator functionalities to support the full use of the 

market operator as a separate role within the EIR, a NAESB managed industry tool, and 

on electronic tags (e-Tags). NAESB also made changes to support consistency by 

revising certain Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Definitions of Terms in WEQ-000. 

Finally, the standards were revised to make minor corrections to six standards.

III. Discussion

As discussed below, with certain enumerated exceptions, we propose to 

incorporate by reference (into the Commission’s regulations at 18 CFR 38.1(b) (2018)) 

the NAESB WEQ Version 003.2 Business Practice Standards.12 The WEQ Version 

003.2 Business Practice Standards will replace the WEQ Version 003 Business Practice 

Standards currently incorporated by reference into the Commission’s regulations. As 

explained above, comments have already been filed on the NAESB WEQ Version 003.1 

 12 Consistent with our past practice, we do not propose to incorporate by reference 

into the Commission’s regulations the following standards: Standards of Conduct for 

Electric Transmission Providers (WEQ-009); Contracts Related Standards (WEQ-010); 

and WEQ/WGQ eTariff Related Standards (WEQ-014). We also do not propose to 

incorporate by reference at this time the WEQ-023 Modeling Business Practice 

Standards. We do not propose to incorporate by reference standard WEQ-009 because it 

contains no substantive standards and merely serves as a placeholder for future standards. 

We do not propose to incorporate by reference standard WEQ-010 because this standard 

contains an optional NAESB contract regarding funds transfers and the Commission does 

not require utilities to use such contracts.

(continued ...)
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 9 -

Business Practice Standards and we will fully take those comments into account when we 

consider our determination on the WEQ Version 003.2 Standards. Thus, parties have no 

need to replicate the comments on the WEQ Version 003.1 Standards in response to this 

NOPR. The standards addressed in this NOPR are consistent with the Commission’s 

findings in Order No. 676-H13 and do not appear to be inconsistent with any Commission 

directives or findings in other orders. 

A. Revisions and Modifications to Earlier Versions of Standards Made In 

the WEQ Version 003.2 Standards

As explained above, the WEQ Version 003.2 Business Practice Standards include:

• modifications and reservations to existing standards and newly developed 

standards to support the short-term preemption process and the merger of like 

transmission reservations;

• changes to support consistency with NERC Reliability Standards;

• changes to support market operator functionalities;

• changes to support consistency in the use of abbreviations, acronyms, and 

definitions in WEQ-000; and

• minor corrections to six standards.

The Commission specifically invites interested persons to submit comments on all 

these revisions and changes from prior versions of the WEQ Business Practice Standards 

and on whether the Commission should incorporate by reference into its regulations, as 

 13 Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public 

Utilities, Order No. 676-H, 79 FR 56,939 (Sept. 24, 2014), 148 FERC ¶ 61,205, as 

modified, errata notice, 149 FERC ¶ 61,014 (2014), order on reh'g, 151 FERC ¶ 61,046 

(2015). 
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 10 -

enforceable mandatory requirements, the latest version of these standards (i.e., the WEQ 

Version 003.2 Business Practice Standards).

B. Treatment of Requests for Redirects

1. Background

In Dynegy Power Marketing, Inc.,

14 the Commission established its policy on a 

customer’s right to keep its contractual rights to firm transmission service it had reserved 

while the customer’s request for a redirect was “pending” as required in section 22.2 of 

the Pro Forma OATT.

15 In Dynegy, the Commission held that “unconditional 

acceptance” would not terminate a transmission customer’s right to its original path while

the redirect request still can be preempted by a competing reservation up to the following

conditional reservation deadline in section 13.2 of the Pro Forma OATT. The 

Commission clarified that a transmission customer submitting a redirect request does not 

lose its rights to its original path until the redirect request satisfies all of the following 

criteria: (1) it is accepted by the transmission provider; (2) it is confirmed by the 

transmission customer; and (3) it passes the conditional reservation deadline under 

 14 99 FERC ¶ 61,054 (2002) (Dynegy). This policy was retained and clarified in 

Entergy Services, Inc., 143 FERC ¶ 61,143, at P 25 & n.68 (2013) (Entergy).

15 Section 22.2 states: “[a]ny request by a Transmission Customer to modify 

Receipt and Delivery Points on a firm basis shall be treated as a new request for service 

in accordance with Section 17 hereof, except that such Transmission Customer shall not 

be obligated to pay any additional deposit if the capacity reservation does not exceed the 

priority for service at the existing firm Receipt and Delivery Points specified.”

(continued ...)
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 11 -

section 13.2 of the transmission provider’s OATT.16 The Commission’s concern was that

a redirecting customer whose redirect request had been confirmed under step 2 

nonetheless could lose its rights to the original parent path if the transmission provider 

later preempted the requested redirect in favor of a competing request prior to step 3.

17

In its filing of version 3.0, NAESB proposed WEQ Standards 001-9.5 and 001-

10.5. Under these standards, a customer would lose its parent transmission rights when 

the transmission operator confirmed the redirect request even though the customer would 

still be at risk for preemption by a competing transmission request. In Order No. 676-H, 

in consideration of the comments, the Commission declined to incorporate WEQ Version 

003.1 Standards 001-9.5 and 001-10.5, stating that the standards are inconsistent with the 

Commission’s redirect policy in Dynegy.

18 Additionally, the Commission requested that 

NAESB revisit WEQ Version 003.1 Standards 001-9.5 and 001-10.5 and any other 

affected standards. NAESB’s revisions contained in the Version 003.1 standards purport 

to reflect this effort.

 16 Dynegy, 99 FERC ¶ 61,054 at P 9. 

17 This result could occur if the transmission customer does not wish to match the 

price or term of a competing request of equal or longer duration on the redirect path.

18 Order No. 676-H, 148 FERC ¶ 61,205 at PP 47, 48. 
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 12 -

2. WEQ Standards in Versions 003.1 and 003.2

Version 003.1 of the WEQ-001-9 business practice standards (repeated again in 

version 003.2) attempts to implement a standard that is consistent with the Commission’s 

policy on redirects as outlined in Dynegy. Proposed Version 3.1 WEQ-001-9.5.4 states

The Transmission Provider shall ensure the Transmission 

Customer’s rights to take firm PTP on the original unconditional 

Parent Reservation’s reserved POR and POD are preserved until 

such time that the confirmed Redirect on a firm basis has reached its 

conditional reservation deadline as defined in Section 13.2 of the pro 

forma tariff. 

The preamble to WEQ Version 003.1 Standard 001-9, however, contains a clause that 

might be interpreted to permit a transmission operator to establish a different policy if it 

posts that information as a “Transmission Provider specific business practice.”19 WEQ 

Version 003.1 Standard 001-10.5 completes NAESB’s proposed implementation of the 

Commission’s Dynegy redirect policy by requiring revisions to Uncommitted Capacity of 

 19 The preamble to WEQ Version 003.1 Standard 001-9 reads: “[t]he Business 

Practice Standard WEQ-001-9 is defined in order to enhance consistency of the 

reservation process that applies to Redirects on a firm basis from Parent Reservations that 

are unconditional, as defined in Section 13.2(iii) of the pro forma tariff. The 

Transmission Provider shall specify any reservation process that applies to Redirects on 

a firm basis from Parent Reservations that are conditional, as defined in Section 13.2(iii) 

of the pro forma tariff in its Business Practices that are posted in accordance with 

Business Practice Standard WEQ-001-13.1.4.” (Emphasis added).

Proposed cross-referenced Standard 001-13.1.4 reads: “[t]he Transmission 

Provider shall post information related to 1) any Transmission Provider specific Business 

Practices, 2) any waivers or exemptions granted from any of the OASIS requirements or 

Business Practice Standards, and 3) any other pertinent information related to the conduct 

of business with the Transmission Provider.” (Emphasis added).

(continued ...)
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 13 -

the Parent Reservation. WEQ Version 003.1 Standard 001-10.5 requires the 

Transmission Provider to reduce the amount of the redirected capacity granted for the 

time period of that Redirect upon confirmation by the Transmission Customer of the 

request to Redirect on a non-firm basis. 

3. Request for Comments in WEQ Version 003.1 NOPR

In the NOPR pertaining to WEQ 003.1, we invited comment on whether the 

Commission should extend the Dynegy policy to both conditional parent reservations for 

firm transmission service and non-firm transmission service.20 The Commission 

explained that the negative effects associated with the potential loss of a customer’s 

parent path when the parent reservation is conditional and subject to competition is 

arguably less compelling than when the parent reservation is unconditional.21 To aid the 

Commission’s consideration of this issue, the Commission referenced four redirect issues 

in the NOPR on which NAESB stakeholders were unable to reach consensus, and invited 

comments on whether the Commission should adopt regulations governing the business 

practices to be followed for requests for redirects from conditional parent reservations for 

short-term firm transmission service and for non-firm transmission service proposed –

and invited comments on this proposal. These issues are: (1) the treatment of a firm 

redirect for transmission service following the preemption of the conditional parent 

reservation; (2) the circumstances under which a firm redirect for transmission service 

 20 WEQ Version 003.1 NOPR, 156 FERC ¶ 61,055 at P 25.

21 Id. P 24. 
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 14 -

may return to the conditional parent reservation; (3) the number of subsequent firm 

redirects for transmission service that can stem from the original firm redirect for 

transmission service; and (4) the proper treatment of requests to redirect requests for nonfirm transmission service.

22 

4. Comments on Redirect Filed in Response to WEQ Version 003.1 

NOPR

Virtually all the comments received on this subject oppose the option of extending 

the Dynegy redirect policy to either conditional parent reservations for short-term firm 

transmission service or non-firm transmission service.

23 As a result, most commenters 

express support for NAESB’s proposed redirect standards for unconditional parent 

reservations.

24 Most commenters did not explicitly support the proposed language 

provided within the WEQ-001-9 preamble that would also allow transmission providers 

the option of implementing alternative practices for redirects from conditional 

 22 Id. P 25. 

23 Bonneville Power Administration (Bonneville) at 5; Edison Electric Institute 

(Edison Institute) at 5; Idaho Power Company (Idaho Power) at 2; Southwest Power Pool, 

Inc. and Midwest Independent System Operator, Inc. (collectively, Joint Commenters) at 

6; Open Access Technology International (OATI) at 3; Public Utility District No. 1 of 

Snohomish County, Washington and the City of Tacoma, Department of Public Utilities, 

Light Division (collectively, Snohomish/Tacoma) at 1; and Southern Company Services, 

Inc. (Southern) at 4. California Independent System Operator Corporation was the sole 

commenter who did not address this issue.

24 NAESB’s redirect standards require a reservation for service to be unconditional 

before it may be redirected.

(continued ...)
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 15 -

reservations.25 However, some commenters state that they recommend or could support a 

future NAESB proposal for a separate policy to provide transmission customers with the 

ability to redirect from conditional parent reservations.26 

Various commenters note that, under the Dynegy redirect policy, the transmission 

provider must hold Available Transfer Capability (ATC) for the original firm reservation 

on the original path and simultaneously hold ATC on the redirect reservation’s path until 

the redirect reaches the conditional deadline, and, at such time, capacity on the original 

(parent) path may then be released.27 Several commenters contend that this allows the 

transmission customer to hold priority of service options on two or more transmission 

paths at the same time.28 Joint Commenters ask the Commission if there may be benefits 

to revisiting specifics of the Dynegy/Entergy orders since the requirement that a redirect’s 

parent passes the conditional reservation deadline sacrifices system efficiency.29

Several commenters oppose the proposal to extend the Dynegy policy beyond an 

application to unconditional parent reservations. These commenters point out that prior 

to the conditional reservation deadline, when the parent reservation is still conditional 

 25 Bonneville at 4, 7; Idaho Power at 2; Joint Commenters at 6; OATI at 3; and 

Southern at 4.

26 Bonneville at 6; OATI at 4.

27 OATI at 2-3.

28 See, e.g., Edison Institute at 7; OATI at 3.

29 Joint Commenters at 8-9.

(continued ...)
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 16 -

and subject to competition, there is no guarantee that firm service will be provided to the 

transmission customer on either the original transmission path or the requested redirect 

path since the reservation remains subject to competition until the conditional period 

expires.30 Commenters observe that the transmission customer’s expectation as to the 

certainty of service is different in the conditional and unconditional cases.31 Edison 

Institute references sections of the Commission’s pro forma OATT to support its 

conclusion that a firm capacity reservation under which the transmission customer is 

already taking service must already exist, and a reservation for service must be 

unconditional before it may be redirected.32 Bonneville notes that a customer with a 

conditional parental service has no reasonable expectation of service, since a laterqueued, higher-priority request may preempt or compete with that customer’s conditional 

parent reservation, and since this expectation of service is different from a customer’s 

expectation of service with an unconditional firm reservation, Bonneville argues it is 

inappropriate to extend the protections afforded by Dynegy to unconditional parent 

reservations.33

 30 See, e.g., Edison Institute at 6; OATI at 3; and Southern at 5.

31 See, e.g., Bonneville at 5; Edison Institute at 6.

32 Edison Institute at 5-6.

33 Bonneville at 4-5.

(continued ...)
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 17 -

Commenters also contend that there may be many difficulties in administering 

scenarios with multiple conditional, confirmed reservations consuming more 

transmission capacity than available, since capacity would be retained on both the parent 

path and all the redirected paths.34 Some commenters advise that, if transmission 

customers are able to redirect from conditional parent reservations, it could result in 

potentially troublesome administrative, billing, and liability issues.35

Specifically, Joint Commenters and Southern argue that a transmission customer 

should only be permitted to redirect transmission service from unconditional parent 

reservations.36 However, Edison Institute would also allow individual transmission 

providers the option to also permit redirects from conditional parent reservations by 

moving firm capacity to the redirect path upon confirmation.37 Snohomish/Tacoma 

suggests that the Commission should either: 1) allow individual transmission providers 

to craft specific tariff provisions for how redirects from conditional parent reservations 

will be addressed; or 2) explicitly not apply the Dynegy redirect policy, nor any other 

restriction on redirects from conditional parent reservations.38 OATI comments that it is 

 34 Southern at 5.

35 Idaho Power at 2; Southern at 5-6.

36 Joint Commenters at 5; Southern at 4.

37 Edison Institute at 4.

38 Snohomish/Tacoma at 1.

(continued ...)
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 18 -

generally not in favor of adopting standards that allow for options to implement 

transmission provider alternative practices to the NAESB standards.39

OATI notes that, while it supports the application of Dynegy to redirects on a firm 

basis where the parent reservation is confirmed but still within the conditional reservation 

period (prior to the conditional reservation deadline),40 it could also support a NAESB 

standard where the capacity held on the conditional firm parent reservation is released 

immediately and lost on the parent path upon confirmation of the redirect on a firm 

basis.41 Other commenters agree and prefer such a NAESB standard for conditional 

parent reservations.

With respect to the Commission implementing a policy where a transmission 

customer redirects from a conditional parent reservation and the transmission customer 

loses the rights to the parent reservation once the redirect is confirmed, Bonneville 

advises that transmission providers will have a straightforward solution that is 

implementable and that can leverage technical capabilities that currently exist in most of 

the industry, and will not be burdened with accounting for capacity on multiple 

conditional paths.42

 39 OATI at 4.

40 Id. at 3.

41 Id. at 4.

42 Bonneville at 6.
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 19 -

As to requests for redirects of requests for non-firm transmission service, all the 

commenters who addressed this issue oppose extending the Dynegy redirect policy to 

non-firm transmission service. Commenters note that the Commission’s pro forma

OATT only permits transmission customers taking firm point-to-point service to make 

modifications to points of receipt (POR) and points of delivery (POD), and the OATT 

does not state transmission customers may modify PORs and PODs on a non-firm 

basis.43 OATI states that non-firm (secondary) redirect is the lowest priority service 

under the OATT and would be subject to preemption or interruption at any time to 

process either a request to reserve or schedule an existing reservation for either firm or 

non-firm transmission service.44

Commenters also believe that a request to redirect firm transmission service on a 

non-firm basis should not be allowed or should be limited to be from an unconditional, 

firm parent reservation.45 Edison Institute advises that the potential for gaming, the 

impact on queue positions and processing, and the problem of undertaking ATC/AFC 

(Available Flowgate Capability) calculations, outweigh any potential benefits given that a 

customer can just as easily submit a new request for non-firm transmission service with a 

 43 Edison Institute at 10; Joint Commenters at 7; Southern at 7.

44 OATI at 6.

45 Edison Institute at 11; Idaho Power at 4; OATI at 6.

(continued ...)
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 20 -

modified POR and/or POD.46 Commenters also state that it is unnecessary to adopt 

changes to these standards, since a customer can relinquish a capacity reservation 

associated with a non-firm redirect back to the parent reservation.47

5. Discussion

The changes to NAESB WEQ Version 003.1 Standards 001-9.5.4 and 001-10.5

appear consistent with the policy established in Dynegy, and we propose to incorporate 

these standards by reference. We agree with the majority of commenters that the Dynegy 

policy providing for retention of parent rights when the transmission owner confirms a 

redirect request (but while the request remains conditional) applies only when the parent 

reservation is firm and unconditional and, hence, should not apply to conditional parent 

reservations or non-firm transmission service. However, we propose to reject the 

preamble to WEQ 001-9 because it leaves the implication that a transmission operator 

could adopt a “Transmission Provider specific Business Practice” that is at odds with the

reason for establishing common business practices standards under the NAESB standards 

development process. We therefore disagree with Edison Institute and 

Snohomish/Tacoma who argue that the Commission should allow redirects from a 

conditional parent reservation on a case-by-case basis as antithetical to the NAESB 

standards development process. The NAESB standards development process is designed 

to provide for uniform methods of doing business with different transmission providers. 

 46 Edison Institute at 11.

47 Bonneville at 7; Idaho Power at 4.
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 21 -

Business transactions can involve a number of different transmission providers and 

establishing a uniform set of procedures and communication protocols help make such 

transactions more efficient and facilitates the ability to participate in multiple markets.

IV. Notice of Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards

Office of Management and Budget Circular A 119 (section 11) (February 10, 

1998) provides that Federal Agencies should publish a request for comment in a NOPR 

when the agency is seeking to issue or revise a regulation proposing to adopt a voluntary 

consensus standard or a government-unique standard. In this NOPR, the Commission is 

proposing to incorporate by reference into its regulations voluntary consensus business 

practice standards developed by the WEQ of NAESB.

V. Incorporation by Reference

The Office of the Federal Register requires agencies incorporating material by 

reference to discuss, in the preamble of the proposed rule, the ways that the materials it 

incorporates by reference are reasonably available to interested parties and how interested 

parties can obtain the materials.48 The regulations also require agencies to summarize in 

the preamble of the proposed rule the material it incorporates by reference. The 

standards we are proposing to incorporate by reference in this NOPR consist of fourteen 

suites of business practice standards applicable to public utilities that own, operate, or 

control facilities used for the transmission of electric energy in interstate commerce or for 

 48 1 CFR 51.5 (2018). See Incorporation by Reference, 79 FR 66267 (Nov. 7, 

2014).
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 22 -

the sale of electric energy at wholesale in interstate commerce and any non-public utility 

that seeks voluntary compliance with jurisdictional transmission tariff reciprocity 

conditions. These can be summarized as follows:

The WEQ-000 Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Definition of Terms Business 

Practice Standards provide a single location for all abbreviations, acronyms, and defined 

terms referenced in the WEQ Business Practice Standards. These standards provide 

common nomenclature for terms within the wholesale electric industry, thereby reducing 

confusion and opportunities for misinterpretation or misunderstandings among industry 

participants.

The OASIS suite of business practice standards (WEQ-001 Open Access SameTime Information Systems (OASIS), WEQ-002 OASIS Standards and Communication 

Protocols, WEQ-003 OASIS Data Dictionary, and WEQ-013 OASIS Implementation 

Guide) support the FERC posting and reporting requirements that provide information 

about each transmission provider’s performance of its pro forma OATT. The OASIS 

system is used for scheduling transmission on the bulk electric power grid, comprises the 

computer systems and associated communications facilities that public utilities are 

required to provide for the purpose of making available to all transmission users 

comparable interactions, and provides transmission service information and any back-end 

supporting systems or user procedures that collectively perform the transaction 

processing functions for handling requests on OASIS. These standards establish business 
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 23 -

practices and communication protocols that provide for consistent implementation across 

OASIS sites as well as consistent methods for posting to OASIS. 

The WEQ-001 OASIS Business Practice Standards define the general and specific 

transaction processing requirements and related business processes required for OASIS. 

The standards detail requirements related to standard terminology for transmission and 

ancillary services, attribute values defining transmission service class and type, ancillary 

and other services definitions, OASIS registration procedures, procurement of ancillary 

and other services, path naming, next hour market service, identical transmission service 

requests, redirects, resales, transfers, OASIS postings, procedures for addressing ATC or 

AFC methodology questions, rollover rights, conditional curtailment option reservations, 

auditing usage of Capacity Benefit Margin, coordination of requests for service across 

multiple transmission systems, consolidation, preemption and right-of-first refusal 

process, and Network Integration Transmission Service (NITS) requests.

The WEQ-002 OASIS Standards and Communication Protocols Business Practice 

Standards define the technical standards for OASIS. These standards detail network 

architecture requirements, information access requirements, OASIS and point-to-point 

interface requirements, implementation, and NITS interface requirements. 

The WEQ-003 OASIS Data Dictionary Business Practice Standards define the 

data element specifications for OASIS.

The WEQ-004 Coordinate Interchange Business Practice Standards define the 

commercial processes necessary to facilitate interchange transactions via Request for 
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 24 -

Interchange (RFI) and specify the arrangements and data to be communicated by the 

entity responsible for authorizing the implementation of such transactions (the entities 

responsible for balancing load and generation).

The WEQ-005 Area Control Error (ACE) Equation Special Cases Business 

Practice Standards define commercial based requirements regarding the obligations of a 

balancing authority to manage the difference between scheduled and actual electrical 

generation within its control area. Each balancing authority manages its ACE in 

accordance with the NERC Reliability Standards. These standards detail requirements 

for jointly owned utilities, supplemental regulation service, and load or generation 

transfer by telemetry.

The WEQ-006 Manual Time Error Correction Business Practice Standards define 

the commercial based procedures to be used for reducing time error to within acceptable 

limits of true time. These standards have subsequently been marked reserved by 

NAESB.49

The WEQ-007 Inadvertent Interchange Payback Business Practice Standards 

define the methods in which inadvertent energy is paid back, mitigating the potential for 

financial gain through the misuse of paybacks for inadvertent interchange. Inadvertent 

interchange is interchange that occurs when a balancing authority cannot fully balance 

generation and load within its area. The standards allow for the repayment of any 

 49 As explained above, in a separate proceeding (in Docket No. RM05-5-026) the 

Commission has proposed to retire the standards on manual time error correction. Final 

action on that proposal remains pending. 
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 25 -

imbalances through bilateral in-kind payback, unilateral in-kind payback, or other 

methods as agreed to.

The WEQ-008 Transmission Loading Relief – Eastern Interconnection Business 

Practice Standards define the business practices for cutting transmission service during a 

TLR event. These standards detail requirements for the use of interconnection-wide TLR 

procedures, interchange transaction priorities for use with interconnection-wide TLR 

procedures, and the Eastern Interconnection procedure for physical curtailment of 

interchange transactions.

The WEQ-011 Gas/Electric Coordination Business Practice Standards define 

communication protocols intended to improve coordination between the gas and electric 

industries in daily operational communications between transportation service providers 

and gas-fired power plants. The standards include requirements for communicating 

anticipated power generation fuel for the upcoming day as well as any operating 

problems that might hinder gas-fired power plants from receiving contractual gas 

quantities.

The WEQ-012 Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Business Practice Standards 

establish the cybersecurity framework for parties partaking in transactions via a 

transmission provider’s OASIS or e-Tagging system. The NAESB PKI framework 

secure wholesale electric market electronic commercial communications via encryption 

of data and the electronic authentication of parties to a transaction through the use of a 

digital certificate issued by a NAESB certified certificate authority. The standards define 
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 26 -

the requirements for parties utilizing the digital certificates issued by the NAESB 

certificate authorities.

The WEQ-013 OASIS Implementation Guide Business Practice Standards detail 

the implementation of the OASIS Business Practice Standards. The standards detail 

requirements related to point-to-point OASIS transaction processing, OASIS template 

implementation, preemption and right-of-first-refusal processing, NITS application and 

modification of service processing, and secondary network transmission service.

The WEQ-015 Measurement and Verification of Wholesale Electricity Demand 

Response Business Practice Standards define a common framework for transparency, 

consistency, and accountability applicable to the measurement and verification of 

wholesale electric market demand response practices. The standards describe 

performance evaluation methodology and criteria for the use of equipment, technology, 

and procedures to quantify the demand reduction value – the measurement of reduced 

electrical usage by a demand resource.

The WEQ-021 Measurement and Verification of Energy Efficiency Products 

Business Practice Standards define a common framework for transparency, consistency, 

and accountability applicable to the measurement and verification of wholesale electric 

market energy efficiency practices. The standards establish energy efficiency 

measurement and verification criteria and define requirements for energy efficiency 

resource providers for the measurement and verification of energy efficiency products 

and services offered in the wholesale electric markets.
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 27 -

The WEQ-022 EIR Business Practice Standards define the business requirements 

for entities utilizing the NAESB managed EIR, a wholesale electric industry tool that 

serves as the central repository for information needed in the scheduling of transmission 

through electronic transactions. The standards describe the roles within EIR, registration 

requirements, and cybersecurity.

In addition, NAESB has adopted an additional eight suites of standards that, 

consistent with our past decisions, we are not proposing to incorporate by reference.50 

Additionally, as mentioned above, we are addressing NAESB’s WEQ-023 ATC 

Modeling Standards as well NAESB’s WEQ-006 Manual Time Error Correction 

Standards in separate rulemakings.

Our regulations provide that copies of the standards incorporated by reference may 

be obtained from the North American Energy Standards Board, 801 Travis Street, Suite 

 50 The suites of NAESB business practice standards we are not proposing to 

incorporate by reference in this NOPR are: (1) the WEQ-009 Standards of Conduct for 

Electric Transmission Providers, which NASESB has now eliminated as they duplicate 

the Commission’s regulations; (2) the WEQ-010 Contracts Related Business Practice 

Standards that establish model contracts for the wholesale electric industry, and which 

the Commission has not incorporated as they are not mandatory; (3) the WEQ-014 

WEQ/WGQ eTariff Related Business Practice Standards, which provide an 

implementation guide describing the various mechanisms, data tables, code 

values/reference tables, and technical specifications used in the submission of electronic 

tariff filings to the Commission, which the Commission has not incorporated as these 

submittals are governed by the Commission’s eTariff regulations; (4) the WEQ-023 

Modeling Business Practice Standards, which the Commission is addressing in a separate 

rulemaking; and (5) the WEQ-016, WEQ-017, WEQ-018, WEQ-019, and WEQ-020 

Business Practice Standards that were developed as part of the Smart Grid 

implementation and which the Commission adopted as non-mandatory guidance in 

18 CFR 2.27 (2018). See Order No. 676-H, 148 FERC ¶ 61,205. 

(continued ...)
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 28 -

1675, Houston, TX 77002, Phone: (713) 356–0060. NAESB’s Web site is located at 

http://www.naesb.org/. Copies of the standards may be inspected at the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First 

Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426, Phone: (202) 502–8371, http://www.ferc.gov.

51

NAESB is a private consensus standards developer that develops voluntary 

wholesale and retail standards related to the energy industry. The procedures used by 

NAESB make its standards reasonably available to those affected by the Commission 

regulations, which generally is comprised of entities that have the means to acquire the 

information they need to effectively participate in Commission proceedings.52 NAESB 

provides a free electronic read-only version of the standards for a three business day 

period or, in the case of a regulatory comment period, through the end of the comment 

period.53 Participants can join NAESB, for an annual membership cost of $7,500, which 

entitles them to full participation in NAESB and enables them to obtain these standards at 

 51 18 CFR 284.12 (2018).

52 As a private, consensus standards developer, NAESB needs the funds obtained 

from its membership fees and sales of its standards to finance the organization. The 

parties affected by these Commission regulations generally are highly sophisticated and 

have the means to acquire the information they need to effectively participate in 

Commission proceedings.

53 Procedures for non-members to evaluate work products before purchasing are 

available at https://www.naesb.org/misc/NAESB_Nonmember_Evaluation.pdf. See 

Incorporation by Reference, 79 FR at 66271, n.51 & 53 (Nov. 7, 2014) (citing to 

NAESB’s procedure of providing “no-cost, no-print electronic access,” NAESB 

Comment at 1, http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=OFR-2013-0001-0023).

(continued ...)
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 29 -

no additional cost.54 Non-members may obtain a complete set of Standards Manuals, 

Booklets, and Contracts on CD for $2,000 and the Individual Standards Manual or 

Booklets for each standard by email for $250 per manual or booklet.55 In addition, 

NAESB considers requests for waivers of the charges on a case by case basis based on 

need.

VI. Information Collection Statement

The collection of information contained in this proposed rule is subject to review 

by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under section 3507(d) of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507(d).56 OMB’s regulations require 

approval of certain information collection requirements imposed by agency rules.57 

Upon approval of a collection(s) of information, OMB will assign an OMB control 

number and an expiration date. Respondents subject to the filing requirements of this 

rule will not be penalized for failing to respond to these collections of information unless 

the collections of information display a valid OMB control number.

The Commission solicits comments on the Commission's need for this 

information, whether the information will have practical utility, the accuracy of the 

 54 North American Energy Standards Board Membership Application, 

https://www.naesb.org/pdf4/naesbapp.pdf.

55 NAESB Materials Order Form, https://www.naesb.org//pdf/ordrform.pdf.

56 44 U.S.C. 3507(d).

57 5 CFR 1320.11 (2018).

(continued ...)
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 30 -

provided burden estimates, ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected, and any suggested methods for minimizing respondents’ 

burden, including the use of automated information techniques.

The following estimates for burden and cost58 are based on the projected costs for 

the industry to implement the new and revised business practice standards adopted by 

NAESB and proposed to be incorporated by reference in this NOPR.

Revisions in NOPR in RM05-5-027

No. of 

Respondents

(1)

Annual No. 

of 

Responses 

Per 

Respondent

(2)

Total No. 

of 

Responses 

(1)*(2)=(3)

Average 

Burden 

(Hrs.) & 

Cost ($) Per 

Response

(4)

Total 

Annual 

Burden Hrs. 

& Total 

Annual Cost 

($)

(3)*(4)=(5)

FERC516E59, 60

(tariff filing)

165 1 165 6 hrs.;

$474

990 hrs.;

$78,210

 58 The Commission staff estimates that industry is similarly situated in terms of 

hourly cost (for wages plus benefits). Based on the Commission’s FY (Fiscal Year) 2018 

average cost (for wages plus benefits), $79.00/hour is used.

59 This burden category is intended for FERC-516, the Commission’s identifier 

that corresponds to OMB Control No. 1902-0096 (Electric Rate Schedules and Tariff 

Filings). However, another unrelated item is pending OMB review using this OMB 

Control No. and only one item per OMB Control No. may be pending at a time. 

Therefore, to ensure timely submission, Commission staff is using FERC-516E (OMB 

Control No. 1902-0290), a temporary collection number.

60 These information collection requirements are one-time burden estimates. After 

implementation in Year 1, the revision proposed in this NOPR would be complete.

(continued ...)
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 31 -

FERC-717

(compliance 

with 

standards)61

165 1 165 30 hrs.;62

$2,370

4,950 hrs.;

$391,050

TOTAL 330 5,940 hrs.;

$469,260

The one-time burden for the FERC-516E information collection will be averaged over 

three years:

• 990 hours ÷ 3 = 330 hours/year over three years

• The number of one-time responses for the FERC-725B information collection is also 

averaged over three years: 165 responses ÷ 3 = 55 responses/year

Costs to Comply with Paperwork Requirements:

The estimated annual costs are as follows:

• FERC-516E: 55 entities * 1 response/entity * (6 hours/response * $79/hour) =$26,070.

• FERC-717: 165 entities * 1 response/entity * (30 hours/response * $79/hour) 

=$391,050.

 61 FERC-717 is the Commission’s identifier that corresponds to OMB control 

no. 1902-0173 that identifies the information collection associated with Standards for 

Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public Utilities.

62 The 30-hour estimate was developed in Docket No. RM05-5-013, when the 

Commission prepared its estimate of the scope of work involved in transitioning to the 

NAESB Version 002.1 Business Practice Standards. See Order No. 676-E, 129 FERC 

¶ 61,162 at P 134. We have retained the same estimate here, because the scope of the 

tasks involved in the transition to Version 003.2 of the Business Practice Standards is 

very similar to that for the transition to the Version 003 Standards.
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 32 -

Titles: Electric Rate Schedule Filing (FERC-516E); Open Access Same Time 

Information System and Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols 

for Public Utilities (FERC-717).

Action: Proposed collection.

OMB Control Nos.: 1902-0290 (FERC-516E); 1902-0173 (FERC-717).

Respondents: Business or other for profit (Public Utilities – Generally not applicable to 

small businesses).

Frequency of Responses: FERC-516E - One-time implementation (business procedures, 

capital/start-up); FERC-717 – ongoing compliance filings.

Necessity of the Information: This proposed rule, if implemented would upgrade 

the Commission’s current business practice and communication standards and protocols 

modifications to support compliance with requirements established by the Commission in 

Order Nos. 890, 890-A, 890-B, and 890-C, as well as modifications to the OASIS-related 

standards to support Order Nos. 676, 676-A, 676-E, and 717 and would make additional 

revisions for clarity and consistency.

Internal Review: The Commission has reviewed the revised business practice 

standards and has made a preliminary determination that the proposed revisions that we 

propose here to incorporate by reference are both necessary and useful. In addition, the 

Commission has assured itself, by means of its internal review, that there is specific, 

objective support for the burden estimate associated with the information requirements.
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 33 -

Interested persons may obtain information on the reporting requirements by 

contacting the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of the Executive Director, 

888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426 [Attn: Ellen Brown, e-mail: 

DataClearance@ferc.gov, phone: (202) 502-8663, fax: (202) 273-0873].

Comments concerning the information collections proposed in this NOPR and the 

associated burden estimates should be sent to the Commission at this docket and by 

e-mail to the Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs [Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission]. For 

security reasons, comments should be sent by e-mail to OMB at the following e-mail 

address: oira_submission@omb.eop.gov. Please refer to the docket number of this 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Docket No. RM05-5-27) and OMB Control Nos. 1902-

0290 (FERC-516E) and 1902-0173 (FERC-717) in your submission to OMB.

VII. Environmental Analysis

The Commission is required to prepare an Environmental Assessment or an 

Environmental Impact Statement for any action that may have a significant adverse effect 

on the human environment.63 The Commission has categorically excluded certain actions 

from these requirements as not having a significant effect on the human environment.64 

The actions proposed here fall within categorical exclusions in the Commission’s 

 63 Regulations Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, Order 

No. 486, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 30,783 (1987) (cross-referenced at 41 FERC ¶ 61,284). 

64 18 CFR 380.4 (2018).

(continued ...)
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 34 -

regulations for rules that are clarifying, corrective, or procedural, for information 

gathering, analysis, and dissemination, and for sales, exchange, and transportation of 

electric power that requires no construction of facilities.65 Therefore, an environmental 

assessment is unnecessary and has not been prepared in this NOPR.

VIII. Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA)66 generally requires a description 

and analysis of proposed rules that will have significant economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. The RFA does not mandate any particular outcome in a 

rulemaking. It only requires consideration of alternatives that are less burdensome to 

small entities and an agency explanation of why alternatives were rejected.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) size standards for electric utilities is 

based on the number of employees, including affiliates. Under SBA’s standards, some 

transmission owners will fall under the following category and associated size threshold: 

electric bulk power transmission and control, at 500 employees.67

The Commission’s estimate for small and large entities is not yet complete. The 

Commission preliminarily estimates that 72 of the 165 respondents (or ~44 percent) are 

small. The Commission estimates that the impact on each entity (large and small) is:

 65 See 18 CFR 380.4(a)(2)(ii); 380.4(a)(5); 380.4(a)(27).

66 5 U.S.C. 601-612.

67 13 CFR 121.201 (2018), Sector 22 (Utilities), NAICS code 221121 (Electric 

Bulk Power Transmission and Control).
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 35 -

• Year One: $474 (one-time cost for tariff filing) + 2,370 (ongoing compliance cost) = 

$2,844

• Year Two and Ongoing: $2,370 (ongoing compliance cost)

These annual estimates are consistent with the paperwork burden of $2,844/entity used 

above.68 The Commission does not consider $2,844 to be a significant economic impact.

Based on the above, the Commission certifies that implementation of the proposed 

Business Practice Standards will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of 

small entities. Accordingly, no initial regulatory flexibility analysis is required.

IX. Comment Procedures

The Commission invites interested persons to submit comments on the matters and 

issues proposed in this notice to be adopted, including any related matters or alternative 

proposals that commenters may wish to discuss. Comments are due [INSERT DATE 60 

days after publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER]]. Comments must refer to 

Docket No. RM05-5-027, and must include the commenter's name, the organization they 

represent, if applicable, and their address in their comments.

The Commission encourages comments to be filed electronically via the eFiling 

link on the Commission's web site at http://www.ferc.gov. The Commission accepts 

most standard word processing formats. Documents created electronically using word 

processing software should be filed in native applications or print-to-PDF format and not 

 68 36 hours/entity (6 hours/entity for tariff filing + 30 hours/entity for compliance 

with standards) at $79/hour = $2,844. 
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 36 -

in a scanned 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 of their comments to: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the 

Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.

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.

X. Document Availability

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 5:00 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First Street, NE, Room 2A, 

Washington DC 20426.

From the Commission's Home Page on the Internet, this information is available 

on eLibrary. The full text of this document is available on eLibrary in PDF and 

Microsoft Word format for viewing, printing, and/or downloading. To access this 

document in eLibrary, type the docket number excluding the last three digits of this 

document in the docket number field.
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 37 -

User assistance is available for eLibrary and the Commission’s website during 

normal business hours from the Commission’s Online Support at 202-502-6652 (toll free 

at 1-866-208-3676) or email at ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or the Public Reference 

Room at (202) 502-8371, TTY (202)502-8659. E-mail the Public Reference Room at 

public.referenceroom@ferc.gov.

List of subjects in 18 CFR Part 38

Electric power plants, Electric utilities, Incorporation by reference, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements

By direction of the Commission.

( S E A L )

Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,

Deputy Secretary.
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 38 -

In consideration of the foregoing, the Commission proposes to amend Part 38, 

Chapter I, Title 18, Code of Federal Regulations, as follows.

PART 38 – STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC UTILITY BUSINESS 

OPERATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS

1. The authority citation for Part 38 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 791-825r, 2601-2645; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 7101-7352.

2. Amend § 38.1, by revising paragraph (b) to read as follows:

§ 38.1 Incorporation by reference of North American Energy Standards 

Board Wholesale Electric Quadrant standards.

(b) * * *

(1) WEQ-000, Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Definition of Terms

(Version 003.2, Dec. 8, 2017);

(2) WEQ-001, Open Access Same-Time Information System (OASIS), OASIS 

Version 2.2 (Version 003.2, Dec. 8, 2017) with the exception of Standards 001-9

(preamble), 001-14.1.3, 001-15.1.2 and 001-106.2.5);

(3) WEQ-002, Open Access Same-Time Information System (OASIS) Business 

Practice Standards and Communication Protocols (S&CP), OASIS Version 2.2 

(Version 003.2, Dec. 8, 2017);

(4) WEQ-003, Open Access Same-Time Information System (OASIS) Data 

Dictionary Business Practice Standards, OASIS Version 2.2 (Version 003.2, Dec. 8, 

2017);

(5) WEQ-004, Coordinate Interchange (Version 003.2, Dec. 8, 2017);
Docket No. RM05-5-027 - 39 -

(6) WEQ-005, Area Control Error (ACE) Equation Special Cases 

(Version 003.2, Dec. 8, 2017);

(7) (Reserved)

(8) WEQ-007, Inadvertent Interchange Payback (Version 003.2, Dec. 8, 2017);

(9) WEQ-008, Transmission Loading Relief (TLR) – Eastern 

Interconnection (Version 003.2, Dec. 8, 2017); 

(10) WEQ-011, Gas/Electric Coordination (Version 003.2, Dec. 8, 2017);

(11) WEQ-012, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) (Version 003.2, Dec. 8, 2017);

(12) WEQ-013, Open Access Same-Time Information System (OASIS) 

Implementation Guide, OASIS Version 2.2 (Version 003.2, Dec. 8, 2017);

(13) WEQ-015, Measurement and Verification of Wholesale Electricity Demand 

Response (Version 003.2, Dec. 8, 2017);

(14) WEQ-021, Measurement and Verification of Energy Efficiency Products

(Version 003.2, Dec. 8, 2017); and

(15) WEQ-022, Electric Industry Registry Business Practice Standards 

(Version 003.2, Dec. 8, 2017). 

* * * * *