127 FERC ¶ 61,246 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION 

18 CFR Part 40 

Docket No. RM09-8-000 

Revised Mandatory Reliability Standards for Interchange Scheduling and Coordination 

(Issued June 18, 2009) 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 215 of the Federal Power Act, the Commission 

proposes to approve three updated Interchange Scheduling and Coordination (INT) 

Reliability Standards developed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. 

The proposed INT Reliability Standards specify times for entities in the Western 

Interconnection to review and respond to requests for interchange service, specifically, 

on-time requests for service and requests for emergency interchange and reliability 

adjustment interchange service. In addition, the revisions set forth appropriate response 

times for all requests for on-time, emergency and reliability adjustment interchange 

service. 

DATES: Comments are due [insert date that is 30 days after publication in the 

FEDERAL REGISTER]. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number by any of the 

following methods: 
Docket No. RM09-8-000 - 2 - 

• Agency Web Site: http://ferc.gov. Documents created electronically using word 

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

in a scanned format. 

• Mail/Hand Delivery: Commenters unable to file comments electronically must 

mail or hand deliver an original and 14 copies of their comments to: Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., 

Washington, D.C. 20426. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Danny Johnson (Technical Information) 

Office of Electric Reliability, Division of Reliability Standards 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, N.E. 

Washington, D.C. 20426 

(202) 502-8892 

Rheta Johnson (Technical Information) 

Office of Electric Reliability, Division of Reliability Standards 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, N.E. 

Washington, D.C. 20426 

(202) 502-6503 

Richard M. Wartchow (Legal Information) 

Office of the General Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, N.E. 

Washington, D.C. 20426 

(202) 502-8744 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
127 FERC ¶ 61,246 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION 

Revised Mandatory Reliability Standards for 

Interchange Scheduling and Coordination 

Docket No. RM09-8-000 

NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING 

(Issued June 18, 2009) 

1. Pursuant to section 215 of the Federal Power Act (FPA), the Commission 

proposes to approve three updated Interchange Scheduling and Coordination (INT) 

Reliability Standards developed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation 

(NERC): INT-005-3, Interchange Authority Distributes Arranged Interchange; INT-006-

3, Response to Interchange Authority; and INT-008-3, Interchange Authority Distributes 

Status. The proposed INT Reliability Standards specify response times for entities in the 

Western Interconnection to review and respond to requests for interchange service. In 

addition, the revisions set forth appropriate response times for all requests for on-time, 

emergency and reliability adjustment interchange service.1

 

 1

 Requests for interchange service are also called “RFI.” The NERC glossary 

defines “Interchange” as, “Energy transfers that cross balancing authority boundaries.” 

NERC Glossary of Terms Used in Reliability Standards (as revised) (glossary), originally 

filed with NERC’s April 4, 2006 Request for Approval of Reliability Standards, Docket 

No. RM06-16-000, and affirmed by Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power 

System, Order No. 693, FERC Stats. and Regs. ¶ 31,242 (2007), order on reh’g, Order 

No. 693-A, 120 FERC ¶ 61,053 (2007). The glossary is appended to the Reliability 

Standards and is available on the NERC website, www.nerc.com . 
Docket No. RM09-8-000 - 2 - 

2. The revised INT Reliability Standards update and replace version 2 of the INT 

Reliability Standards. NERC adopted these standards pursuant to an urgent action 

request under NERC procedures, which require that the standards be resubmitted for 

processing through NERC’s normal Reliability Standards development procedures.2

 The 

proposed rule would benefit the reliable operation of the Bulk-Power System by 

clarifying how long the relevant entities have to respond to requests for interchange 

service and providing entities in the Western Interconnection with sufficient time to 

assess and respond to requests for interchange service.3

 

I. Background

A. EPAct 2005 and Mandatory Reliability Standards 

3. On August 8, 2005, the Electricity Modernization Act of 2005 was enacted as 

Title XII, Subtitle A, of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005).4

 EPAct 2005 

 2 See Modification of Interchange and Transmission Loading Relief Reliability 

Standards; and Electric Reliability Organization Interpretation of Specific Requirements 

of Four Reliability Standards, Order No. 713, 73 FR 43613 (Jul. 28, 2008), 124 FERC 

¶ 61,071, at P 67 (2008). Under NERC procedures, changes developed pursuant to an 

urgent action request must be reviewed under the normal Reliability Standards 

development process, by a panel having the appropriate expertise, and balloted for final 

approval, with any modifications, within one year, if no substantive changes are made, or 

else within two years. NERC states that the current revisions are not substantial enough 

to change the intent, scope or purpose of the prior versions of the Reliability Standards. 

3

 The Commission is not proposing any new or modified text to its regulations. 

Rather, as set forth in 18 CFR Part 40, a proposed Reliability Standard will not become 

effective until approved by the Commission, and the Electric Reliability Organization 

(ERO) must post on its website each effective Reliability Standard. 

4

 Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-58, Title XII, Subtitle A, 119 Stat. 

594, 941 (2005), 16 U.S.C. 824o (2006). 
Docket No. RM09-8-000 - 3 - 

added section 215 to the FPA, requiring the Commission-certified Electric Reliability 

Organization (ERO) to develop mandatory and enforceable Reliability Standards to 

provide for the reliable operation of the Bulk-Power System, subject to Commission 

review and approval. Once approved, the Reliability Standards may be enforced by the 

ERO, subject to Commission oversight, or by the Commission independently.5

 

4. On February 3, 2006, the Commission issued Order No. 672, implementing 

section 215.6

 Pursuant to Order No. 672, the Commission certified NERC as the ERO.7 

The ERO is required to develop Reliability Standards, subject to Commission review and 

approval, applicable to users, owners and operators of the Bulk-Power System, as set 

forth in each Reliability Standard. 

5. Section 215(d)(2) of the FPA states that the Commission may approve, by rule or 

order, a proposed Reliability Standard or modification to a Reliability Standard if it 

determines that the Standard is just, reasonable, not unduly discriminatory or preferential, 

and in the public interest.8

 If the Commission disapproves of the proposed Standard in 

whole or in part, it must remand the proposed Standard to the ERO for further 

 5

 16 U.S.C. 824o(e)(3). 

6 Rules Concerning Certification of the Electric Reliability Organization; and 

Procedures for the Establishment, Approval, and Enforcement of Electric Reliability 

Standards, Order No. 672, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,204, order on reh’g, Order 

No. 672-A, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,212 (2006). 

7 North American Electric Reliability Corp., 116 FERC ¶ 61,062, order on reh’g 

& compliance, 117 FERC ¶ 61,126 (2006). 

8

 16 U.S.C. 824o(d)(2). 
Docket No. RM09-8-000 - 4 - 

consideration.9

 Section 215(d)(5) grants the Commission authority, upon its own motion 

or upon complaint, to order the ERO to submit to the Commission a proposed Reliability 

Standard or a modification to a Reliability Standard that addresses a specific matter if the 

Commission considers such a modified Reliability Standard appropriate to carry out 

section 215. 

B. Order No. 713

6. In Order No. 713, the Commission accepted a prior NERC proposal to provide 

additional time for entities in the Western Interconnection to assess requests for 

interchange service needed in less than an hour.10 The resulting changes were 

incorporated into the prior INT Reliability Standards, designated INT-005-2, INT-006-2 

and INT-008-2, which were accepted by the Commission.11 The Commission found that, 

due to the limited assessment time available, some requested transactions were being 

denied because they were not reviewed and acted upon in the allotted time.12 NERC’s 

proposal was developed in response to an urgent action request from the Western 

 9

 16 U.S.C. 824o(d)(4). 

10 The INT Reliability Standards apply to interchange authorities, balancing 

authorities, and transmission service providers. 

11 Order No. 713, 124 FERC ¶ 61,071 at P 67. 

12 Upon expiration of the assessment time, the related e-Tags are denied and 

must be resubmitted. In industry parlance, this is called “passive denial.” Order No. 713, 

124 FERC ¶ 61,071 at P 62-63. 
Docket No. RM09-8-000 - 5 - 

Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) to reinstate a ten-minute assessment period, 

consistent with WECC’s historical practice. 

7. In its current petition, NERC finalizes the revisions that were initially developed 

pursuant to the urgent action request. 

C. NERC’s Proposed INT Reliability Standard Revisions

8. On February 5, 2009, NERC filed its petition for Commission approval of the 

revised INT Reliability Standards, designated INT-005-3; INT-006-3 and INT-008-3.13 

In the revised INT Reliability Standards, NERC proposes to establish separate timing 

tables for the Western Interconnection and the Eastern Interconnection, including Electric 

Reliability Council of Texas and Hydro-Quebec; affirm and clarify the increase in the 

reliability assessment times for WECC from five minutes to ten minutes for requests 

submitted more than 60 minutes and no less than 15 minutes prior to ramp start time, and 

also permit on-time submittal of e-Tags14 up to 20 minutes prior to the operating hour; 

specify the timing for responses to requests for the Western Interconnection; and modify 

Requirement R1 of INT-006-002 to clarify that balancing authorities and transmission 

 13 The revised INT Reliability Standards are provided in the petition and are 

available on the Commission’s eLibrary document retrieval system in Docket No. RM09-

8-000 and also on NERC’s website, http://www.nerc.com. 

14 Electronic Tagging, or e-Tag, is a request to implement a new interchange 

transaction as a physical energy flow, i.e., an RFI. The e-Tag documents the requested 

physical interchange transaction and identifies participants. E-Tags include expected 

flows, and the information provided may be used in mitigating constraints, when needed. 

See NERC’s Joint Interchange Scheduling Work Group, Electronic Tagging Functional 

Specification Version 1.8.0 (Nov. 7, 2007). 
Docket No. RM09-8-000 - 6 - 

service providers in all Interconnections must respond to “on-time” requests for 

interchange service, as well as to requests for emergency and reliability adjustment 

interchange services. NERC also proposes to add three related definitions to its glossary: 

“After the Fact,” “Emergency Request for Interchange (RFI),” and “Reliability 

Adjustment RFI,” and specifies appropriate responses for “Late,” “On-time” and “After 

the Fact” requests for service to the timing tables. 

9. NERC states that the revised INT Reliability Standards (INT-005-3, INT-006-3, 

and INT-008-3) ensure the safe and reliable operation of the Bulk-Power System. 

According to NERC, the Reliability Standards improve Bulk-Power System reliability by 

providing WECC entities sufficient time to assess and respond to requests for interchange 

service. Establishing a separate timing table for WECC will clarify the timing 

requirements for the Western Interconnection. The timing requirements for the Eastern 

Interconnections, including ERCOT and Hydro-Quebec, are also modified by adopting 

the on-time, late and after-the-fact classifications. NERC reports that the new terms 

incorporated in the timing tables are consistent with existing industry e-Tag 

specifications used to request and arrange interchange service, and use of these terms will 

ensure uniform treatment for all entities subject to the INT Reliability Standards. 
Docket No. RM09-8-000 - 7 - 

1. Proposed NERC Glossary Definitions 

10. To implement the revisions to the INT Reliability Standards, NERC proposes to 

add three terms to its glossary:15

After the Fact: A time classification assigned to a Request for 

Interchange (RFI) when the submittal time is greater than one 

hour after the start time of the RFI. 

Emergency Request for Interchange: RFI to be initiated [for] 

Emergency or Energy Emergency conditions. 

Reliability Adjustment RFI: Request to modify an 

Implemented Interchange Schedule for reliability purposes. 

2. Revised INT Reliability Standard Requirements 

11. NERC proposes a separate interchange response timing table for WECC, while 

responsible entities in the Eastern Interconnections, including ERCOT and HydroQuebec, will continue to follow a table largely based on the prior versions. The tables set 

forth the response times for various requests for interchange service according to priority 

and time of submittal. The WECC-specific table reflects the increased reliability 

assessment time that was approved in Order No. 713. The expanded review time 

provides WECC entities ten minutes to respond to requests for interchange service 

submitted more than 60 minutes and no less than 15 minutes prior to ramp start time and 

also permits on-time submittal of e-Tags up to 20 minutes prior to the operating hour. 

 15 As with Reliability Standards, the Commission also reviews and approves 

revisions to the NERC glossary pursuant to FPA section 215(d)(2). Further, the 

Commission may direct a modification to address a specific matter identified by the 

Commission pursuant to section 215(d)(5). See, e.g., Order No. 693, FERC Stats. and 

Regs. ¶ 31,242 at P 1893-98. 
Docket No. RM09-8-000 - 8 - 

NERC also makes minor textual modifications to clarify that all entities subject to the 

INT Reliability Standards must respond to “on-time” requests, as well as to all requests 

for emergency and reliability adjustment interchange service,16 revises the tables to 

accommodate regions in which a response to arranged interchange is required, and 

clarifies INT-006-3, Measure M1 to correspond more closely to Requirement R1. 

12. NERC requests that the revised INT Reliability Standards be effective on the first 

day of the quarter three months after regulatory approval is granted.17 

3. Revised INT Reliability Standard Development 

13. In response to WECC’s February 7, 2007 urgent action request, NERC developed 

the version 2 INT Reliability Standards that were approved by the Commission in Order 

No. 713. Shortly after receiving the urgent action request, WECC and a joint 

NERC/NAESB18 work group submitted a Standards Authorization Request to NERC 

seeking permanent revisions to the INT Reliability Standards to accommodate the 

expanded WECC timing requirements. In developing the permanent revision, the version 

2 INT Reliability Standard proposal was modified to incorporate the changes discussed 

above and the proposed glossary terms. After those revisions were made, the proposed 

INT Reliability Standards were approved by industry ballot and the NERC Board. 

 16 INT-006-003, Requirement R1. 

17 The petition makes no modification to the violation risk factors or violation 

severity levels for the revised INT Reliability Standards. Therefore, the currently 

effective violation risk factors and violation severity levels will continue to apply. 

18 North American Energy Standards Board. 
Docket No. RM09-8-000 - 9 - 

II. Discussion

14. The Commission proposes to approve Reliability Standards INT-005-3, 

INT-006-3 and INT-008-3 and related glossary terms, effective as proposed by NERC, 

as discussed below. INT-006-3, Requirement R1 requires communication between 

balancing authorities, transmission service providers and interchange authority regarding 

when to respond to a request for interchange service: 

Requirement R1: Prior to the expiration of the reliability 

assessment period defined in the timing requirements tables 

in this standard, Column B, the Balancing Authority and the 

Transmission Service Provider shall respond to each On-time 

Request for Interchange (RFI), and to each Emergency RFI 

and Reliability Adjustment RFI from an Interchange 

Authority to transition an Arranged Interchange to a 

Confirmed Interchange. 

15. INT-006-3 Requirement R1 cited above explicitly requires balancing authorities 

and transmission service providers to coordinate with interchange authorities concerning 

requests for interchange service. Balancing authorities and transmission operators must 

review proposed interchange transactions to ensure that transmission service is available 

and system limits will not be violated and inform the interchange authority whether a 

request may be confirmed.19 Reliability coordinators and transmission service providers 

must review composite energy interchange transaction information to ensure that their 

systems can accommodate the energy, generation is available based on start-up 

 19 See INT-005-3, Requirement R1; INT-006-3, Requirement R1 (Response to 

Interchange Authority). 
Docket No. RM09-8-000 - 10 - 

characteristics, and the scheduling path is available on both the local and adjacent 

systems. 

16. The revised INT Reliability Standards facilitate the reliable operation of the BulkPower System by providing WECC entities sufficient time to assess and respond to 

requests for interchange service and by clarifying timing requirements for all affected 

entities. The revisions finalize and improve upon the version 2 changes approved in 

Order No. 713. The Commission agrees that separating the WECC- and EasternInterconnection/ERCOT requirements in the timing tables adds clarity for entities 

operating in the WECC system. NERC’s proposal retains slightly modified versions of 

the prior tables containing timing requirements for the Eastern Interconnection and 

ERCOT. 

17. NERC’s proposal incorporates one important change from the version 2 

requirements. As written, INT-006-002, Requirement R1 requires responsible entities to 

“respond to a request from an Interchange Authority to transition an Arranged 

Interchange to a Confirmed Interchange,” suggesting that a response is required for all 

requests within the designated time periods. In version 3, the requirement clarifies that 

the applicable entity must respond to “on-time” requests for interchange service within a 

given time period, and also to all requests for Emergency interchange service and 

Reliability Adjustment interchange service.20 Entities are required to respond to each of 

these latter two requests regardless of the timelines identified in the timing tables, with 

 20 See INT-006-3, Measure M1. 
Docket No. RM09-8-000 - 11 - 

paperwork to follow later. Time classifications and deadlines apply to both initial 

arranged interchange submittals and any subsequent modifications to the arranged 

interchange. 

18. In light of the fact that the revised INT Reliability Standards were developed to 

address the problem that it was impossible for WECC entities to respond to certain 

requests for interchange service in the given time frame, and that the underlying e-Tags 

for these requests would expire, the Commission finds the clarification acceptable. 

Responsible entities are still required to respond to all on-time requests for interchange 

service, as well as all requests for Emergency interchange service and Reliability 

Adjustment interchange service. Balancing authorities and transmission service 

providers do not have to respond to any other interchange service requests. 

19. In Order No. 713, the Commission approved version 2 of the INT Reliability 

Standards, noting that NERC’s compliance with the Order No. 693 directive to modify 

Reliability Standard INT-006-1, is ongoing.21 While we propose to accept the current 

changes in light of NERC’s efforts to modify the Reliability Standard, we remind NERC 

to ensure that the Commission’s outstanding directives are addressed in future changes to 

the INT Reliability Standards. With this understanding, the Commission proposes to 

accept the revised INT Reliability Standards and associated glossary terms. 

20. The Commission seeks comment on its proposal. 

 21 Order No. 713, 124 FERC ¶ 61,071 at P 67 (citing Order No. 693, FERC Stats. 

& Regs. ¶ 31,242 at P 866). 
Docket No. RM09-8-000 - 12 - 

III. Information Collection Statement 

21. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations require approval of 

certain information collection requirements imposed by agency rules.22 Upon approval 

of a collection(s) of information, OMB will assign an OMB control number and a

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 Paperwork Reduction Act 

(PRA)

n 

 

23 requires each federal agency to seek and obtain OMB approval before 

undertaking a collection of information directed to ten or more persons, or continuing a 

collection for which OMB approval and validity of the control number are about to 

expire.24 The PRA defines the phrase “collection of information” to be the “obtaining, 

causing to be obtained, soliciting, or requiring the disclosure to third parties or the public, 

of facts or opinions by or for an agency, regardless of form or format, calling for either— 

(i) answers to identical questions posed to, or identical reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements imposed on ten or more persons, other than agencies, instrumentalities, or 

employees of the United States; or (ii) answers to questions posed to agencies, 

22 5 CFR 1320.11. 

23 44 U.S.C. 3501-20. 

24 44 U.S.C. 3502(3)(A)(i), 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(3). 
Docket No. RM09-8-000 - 13 - 

instrumentalities, or employees of the United States which are to be used for general 

statistical purposes.”25

22. This NOPR proposes to approve the revised INT Reliability Standards developed 

by NERC as the ERO. Section 215 of the FPA authorizes the ERO to develop and 

enforce Reliability Standards that provide for an adequate level of reliability of the BulkPower System. Pursuant to the statute, the ERO must submit each Reliability Standard 

that it proposes to be made effective to the Commission for approval.26 The proposed 

Reliability Standard revisions do not require responsible entities to file information with 

the Commission. But the Reliability Standards do require responsible entities to develop 

and maintain certain information for a specified period of time, subject to inspection by 

the ERO or Regional Entities. 

23. The proposed requirements are mainly concerned with the timing of responses to 

requests for service rather than the required documentation. The existing documentation 

requirements were established pursuant to OMB control number 1902-0244.27 Under the 

existing requirements, affected entities were required to respond to all requests for 

service covered by the INT Reliability Standards. The proposed rule would clarify that 

entities need not respond to late requests for service (with exceptions for services needed 

 25 44 U.S.C. 3502(3)(A). 

26 See 16 U.S.C. 824o(d). 

27 This OMB control number was issued in Docket No. RM06-16-000, Order No. 

693, FERC Stats. and Regs. ¶ 31,242 at P 1907. 
Docket No. RM09-8-000 - 14 - 

for emergency or reliability purposes). Thus, the proposed rule does not establish any 

significant reporting obligations, but relieves affected entities of the burden of responding 

to late requests for service, other than requests for emergency or reliability service. The 

Commission does not consider this a significant burden. 

24. The Commission is submitting these reporting and recordkeeping requirements to 

OMB for its review and approval under section 3507(d) of the PRA. Comments are 

solicited on the Commission’s need for this information, whether the information will 

have practical utility, the accuracy of provided burden estimates, ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, and any suggested methods 

for minimizing the respondent’s burden, including the use of automated information 

techniques. 

Title: Revised Mandatory Reliability Standards for Interchange Scheduling and 

Coordination. 

Action: Proposed Collection 

OMB Control No.: 1902-0244 

Respondents: Businesses or other for-profit institutions; not-for-profit institutions 

Frequency of Responses: On Occasion 

Necessity of the Information: This proposed rule would approve revised Reliability 

Standards to specify the times for entities to respond to requests for interchange service, 

and clarify that entities need not respond to late requests other than requests for 

emergency or reliability related service. The proposed rule would find the revisions just, 
Docket No. RM09-8-000 - 15 - 

reasonable, not unduly discriminatory or preferential, and in the public interest. In 

addition, this proposed rule would approve new glossary terms. 

Internal review: The Commission has reviewed the requirements pertaining to the 

revised Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System and determined that the 

proposed requirements are necessary to meet the statutory provisions of the Energy 

Policy Act of 2005. These requirements conform to the Commission’s plan for efficient 

information collection, communication and management within the energy industry. The 

Commission has assured itself, by means of internal review, that the revised requirements 

are not likely to increase the informational burden and that any resulting increase over 

existing requirements would be insignificant. 

25. Interested persons may obtain information on the reporting requirements by 

contacting the following: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, N.E. 

Washington, D.C. 20426 [Attention: Michael Miller, Office of the Executive Director, 

Phone: (202) 502-8415, fax: (202) 273-0873, e-mail: michael.miller@ferc.gov] 

26. For submitting comments concerning the collection(s) of information and the 

associated burden estimate(s), please send your comments to the contact listed above and 

to the Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Washington, D.C. 20503 [Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, phone (202) 395-7345, fax: (202) 395-7285, e-mail: 

oira_submission@omb.eop.gov]. 
Docket No. RM09-8-000 - 16 - 

IV. Environmental Analysis

27. 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.28 The Commission has categorically excluded certain 

actions from this requirement as not having a significant effect on the human 

environment. The actions proposed here fall within the categorical exclusion in 

Commission’s regulations for rules that are clarifying, corrective or procedural, fo

information gathering, analysis, and dissemination.

the 

r 

sessment is required. 

29 Accordingly, neither an 

environmental impact statement nor environmental as

V. Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

28. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA)30 generally requires a description 

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

number of small entities. Most of the entities to which the requirements of this rule 

would apply, i.e., interchange authorities, balancing authorities and transmission service 

providers, do not fall within the definition of small entities.31

 28 Regulations Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, Order 

No. 486, FERC Stats. & Regs., Regs. Preambles 1986-1990 ¶ 30,783 (1987). 

29 18 CFR 380.4(a)(5). 

30 5 U.S.C. 601-12. 

31 The RFA definition of “small entity” refers to the definition provided in the 

Small Business Act, which defines a “small business concern” as a business that is 

independently owned and operated and that is not dominant in its field of operation. See 

(continued) 
Docket No. RM09-8-000 - 17 - 

29. The proposed Reliability Standard revisions will not be a burden on the industry 

since most, if not all, of the applicable entities currently coordinate interchange 

information and the proposed Reliability Standard will simply provide a common 

framework for such coordination and responding to requests for service. Many, if not all, 

of the affected entities already have procedures in place to respond to requests for service 

and document such responses. Accordingly, the Commission certifies that the proposed 

INT Reliability Standard revisions will not have a significant adverse impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

30. Based on this understanding, the Commission certifies that this rule will not have a 

significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Accordingly, no 

regulatory flexibility analysis is required. 

VI. Comment Procedures

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

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

proposals that commenters may wish to discuss. Comments are due [insert date that is 

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

Docket No. RM09-8-000, and must include the commenter's name, the organization they 

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

 

15 U.S.C. 632 (2000). According to the SBA, a small electric utility is defined as one 

that has a total electric output of less than four million MWh in the preceding year. 
Docket No. RM09-8-000 - 18 - 

32. 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 

in a scanned format. Commenters filing electronically do not need to make a paper 

filing. 

33. Commenters unable to file electronically must send an original and 14 copies of 

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

Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426. 

34. 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. 

VII. Document Availability

35. 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 FERC's Home Page 

(http://www.ferc.gov) and in FERC's Public Reference Room during normal business 

hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First Street, N.E., Room 2A, 

Washington, D.C. 20426. 

36. From FERC'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 
Docket No. RM09-8-000 - 19 - 

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. 

37. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the FERC’s website during normal 

business hours from FERC 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 40 

Electric power; Reporting and recordkeeping requirements 

By direction of the Commission. 

Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr., 

Deputy Secretary.