Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 80 / Thursday, April 26, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 20723 

1See 18 CFR 141.51. 

PART 141—STATEMENTS AND 

REPORTS (SCHEDULES) 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 141 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 79; 16 U.S.C. 791a–

828c, 2601–2645; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 

7101–7352. 

■ 4. Revise § 141.1(b)(1)(i) to read as 

follows: 

§ 141.1 FERC Form No. 1, Annual report of 

Major electric utilities, licensees and others. 

* * * * * 

(b) Filing requirements—(1) Who must 

file—(i) Generally. Each Major and each 

Nonoperating (formerly designated as 

Major) electric utility (as defined in part 

101 of Subchapter C of this chapter) and 

other entity, i.e., each corporation, 

person or licensee as defined in section 

3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 

792 et seq.), including any agency, 

authority, or other legal entity or 

instrumentality engaged in generation, 

transmission, distribution, or sale of 

electric energy, however produced, 

throughout the United States and its 

possessions, having sales or 

transmission service equal to Major or 

Nonoperating (formerly designated as 

Major) as defined above, whether or not 

the jurisdiction of the Commission is 

otherwise involved, shall prepare and 

file electronically with the Commission 

the FERC Form No. 1 pursuant to the 

General Instructions set out in that form. 

* * * * * 

■ 5. Revise § 141.2(b)(1)(i) to read as 

follows: 

§ 141.2 FERC Form No. 1–F, Annual report 

for Nonmajor public utilities and licensees. 

* * * * * 

(b) Filing Requirements—(1) Who 

Must File—(i) Generally. Each Nonmajor 

and each Nonoperating (formerly 

designated as Nonmajor) public utility 

and licensee as defined by the Federal 

Power Act, which is considered 

Nonmajor as defined in Part 101 of this 

chapter, shall prepare and file with the 

Commission an original and conformed 

copies of FERC Form No. 1–F pursuant 

to the General Instructions set out in 

that form. 

* * * * * 

■ 6. In § 141.400, revise paragraphs 

(b)(1)(i), (b)(2) introductory text, and 

(b)(3) introductory text to read as 

follows: 

* * * * * 

§ 141.400 FERC Form No. 3–Q, Quarterly 

financial report of electric utilities, 

licensees, and natural gas companies. 

* * * * * 

(b) Filing Requirements—(1) Who 

must file—(i) Generally. Each electric 

utility and each Nonoperating (formerly 

designated as Major or Nonmajor) 

electric utility (as defined in part 101 of 

subchapter C of this chapter) and other 

entity, i.e., each corporation, person, or 

licensee as defined in section 3 of the 

Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 792 et 

seq.), including any agency or 

instrumentality engaged in generation, 

transmission, distribution, or sale of 

electric energy, however produced, 

throughout the United States and its 

possessions, having sales or 

transmission service, whether or not the 

jurisdiction of the Commission is 

otherwise involved, must prepare and 

file with the Commission FERC Form 

No. 3–Q pursuant to the General 

Instructions set out in that form. 

* * * * * 

(2) Each Major and Nonoperating 

(formerly designated as Major) (as 

defined in part 101 of subchapter C of 

this chapter) public utility and licensee 

must file the quarterly financial report 

form as follows: 

* * * * * 

(3) Nonmajor and Nonoperating 

(formerly designated as Nonmajor) 

public utilities and licensees must file 

the quarterly financial report form as 

follows: 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. E7–7771 Filed 4–25–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

18 CFR Parts 141 and 385 

[Docket No. RM07–14–000; Order No. 695] 

Electronic Filing of FERC Form No. 714 

Issued April 19, 2007. 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, DOE. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: In this Final Rule, the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission 

(Commission) is amending its 

regulations to provide for electronic 

filing of the FERC Form No. 714, 

Annual Electric Control and Planning 

Area Report. Paper filings will no longer 

be accepted. No substantive changes are 

being made to the information reported 

in the FERC Form No. 714; however, the 

Commission has made minor formatting 

changes to the form to facilitate the 

development of the form submission 

software. Finally, as an administrative 

revision, the term ‘‘Control Area’’ will 

be changed to ‘‘Balancing Authority 

Area,’’ in line with current industry 

practice. In a separate notice, a forty-five 

day extension, to July 16, 2007, will be 

granted this first year under the new 

system to allow additional time to file. 

DATES: Effective Date: The Final Rule 

will become effective May 29, 2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lawrence Greenfield (Legal 

Information), Office of the General 

Counsel—Energy Markets, Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, 

Telephone: (202) 502–6415, E-mail: 

lawrence.greenfield@ferc.gov. 

Patricia W. Morris (Technical 

Information), Division of 

Administration, Budget and Strategic 

Planning, Office of Energy Markets and 

Reliability, Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 

Washington, DC 20426, Telephone: 

(202) 502–8730, E-mail: 

patricia.morris@ferc.gov. 

Craig Hill (Software Information), 

Division of Administration, Budget and 

Strategic Planning, Office of Energy 

Markets and Reliability, Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, 888 First 

Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, 

Telephone: (202) 502–8621, E-mail: 

craig.hill@ferc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Before Commissioners: Joseph T. 

Kelliher, Chairman; Suedeen G. Kelly; 

Marc Spitzer; Philip D. Moeller; and 

Jon Wellinghoff. 

1. The Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission is amending its regulations 

to provide for electronic filing of the 

FERC Form No. 714, Annual Electric 

Control and Planning Area Report (Form 

714).1 Paper filings will no longer be 

accepted. No substantive changes are 

being made to the information reported 

in the Form 714; however, the 

Commission has made minor formatting 

changes to the form to facilitate the 

development of form submission 

software. Finally, as an administrative 

revision, the term ‘‘Control Area’’ will 

be changed to ‘‘Balancing Authority 

Area,’’ in line with current industry 

practice. In a separate notice, a forty-five 

day extension, to July 16, 2007, will be 

granted this first year under the new 

system to allow additional time to file. 

Background 

2. Form 714 gathers utility operating 

and planning information, primarily on 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with RULES
20724 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 80 / Thursday, April 26, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

2 In line with electric industry developments, 

‘‘Control Area’’ will changed to ‘‘Balancing 

Authority Area.’’

3See, e.g., 18 CFR 385.2011. 

4See, e.g., Electronic Filing of FERC Form No. 1, 

Order No. 574,. 60 FR 1716 (Jan. 5, 1995), FERC 

Stats. & Regs. ¶31,013 at 31,257 (1995). 

5 Id. at 31,256–57. 6 5 CFR 1320.11. 

7Regulations Implementing the National 

Environmental Policy Act, Order No. 486, 52 FR 

47897 (Dec. 17, 1987), FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 30,783 

(1987) (codified at 18 CFR Part 380). 8 18 CFR 380.4(a)(2)(ii), (5). 

9 5 U.S.C. 601–12. 10 5 U.S.C. 601(3), citing to section 3 of the Small 

Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 632. Section 3 of the Small 

Business Act defines a ‘‘small business concern’’ as 

a business that is independently owned and 

operated and that is not dominant in its field of 

operation. The Small Business Size Standards 

component of the North American Industry 

Classification System (NAICS) defines a small 

electric utility as one that, including its affiliates, 

is primarily engaged in the generation, 

transmission, and/or distribution of electric energy 

for sale and whose total electric output for the 

preceding fiscal year did not exceed four million 

MWh. 13 CFR 121.201. 

a control area basis,2 for the purpose of 

evaluating utility operations with regard 

to mergers and dispositions, 

jurisdictional services, jurisdictional 

rates, energy market oversight, and 

wholesale market changes in light of 

evolving competitive forces. 

3. Form 714 is submitted annually by 

approximately 173 utilities who operate 

balancing authority areas and planning 

areas. Currently, Form 714 is submitted 

in a paper format. 

Discussion 

4. The Commission’s regulations 

provide for electronic filing, using webenabled software technology, of 

numerous reports currently submitted 

by entities subject to Commission 

jurisdiction, some of which are: FERC 

Form No. 1, Annual Report of Major 

Electric Utilities, Licensees and Others; 

FERC Form No. 516, Electric Quarterly 

Report; FERC Form No. 423, Monthly 

Report of Cost and Quality of Fuels for 

Electric Plants; FERC Form No. 3Q, 

Quarterly Financial Report of Electric 

Utilities, Licensees, and Natural Gas 

Companies; and FERC Form No. 60, 

Annual Report of Centralized Service 

Companies.3 The electronic filing of 

these reports yields significant benefits, 

including reduced cost of data entry and 

retrieval, overall reduction of reporting 

burden, faster and more precise data 

validation, more timely analysis and 

publication of data, and increased data 

analysis capability.4 And, in general, 

filers and users alike agree that 

electronic filing of these reports yields 

significant benefits in terms of process 

simplification and savings of time and 

expense.5

5. With respect to Form 714, the 

Commission seeks similar benefits. The 

Commission, therefore, will require 

utilities to file the Form 714 

electronically, using the Commission’s 

web-enabled software, beginning with 

the 2006 reporting year, to be filed this 

first year by an extended filing date of 

July 16, 2007. 

6. In addition, the term ‘‘Control 

Area’’ will be changed to ‘‘Balancing 

Authority Area’’ in the title and 

throughout the form and instructions in 

keeping with this change in industry. By 

using either term, the Commission is 

referring to the area operator that is 

responsible for matching generation and 

load, that is responsible for maintaining 

scheduled interchange with other 

Balancing Authority Areas, and that is 

responsible for maintaining the 

frequency in real-time of the electric 

power system. 

7. No substantive changes are being 

made to the information reported in 

Form 714. However, the Commission 

will make minor formatting changes to 

Form 714 to facilitate the development 

of the form submission software. These 

minor changes will include updating 

certain attachments so that the data is 

reported in a structured format, 

updating the General Instructions to 

Form 714 to clarify that the respondents 

will no longer file paper copies of Form 

714, but rather the respondents will be 

required to use the Commission’s form 

submission software to file the 

information, and lastly allowing only 

utilities subject to the reporting 

requirements to submit a Form 714 via 

the software. Ergo, the Commission will 

not register the software to a regional 

transmission system organization 

operator who is not a Balancing 

Authority Area operator or Planning 

Area operator. Entities that are neither 

Balancing Authority Area operators nor 

Planning Area operators, but who are 

authorized by their members to compile 

Form 714 data on their behalf, are 

required to make the data available to 

their Balancing Authority Area 

operators or Planning Area operators in 

order that those area operators may file 

the data with the Commission. 

8. In a separate notice, filers will be 

directed to the Commission’s Web site 

where instructions will be provided 

concerning how a utility may register as 

a respondent and download the form 

submission software for use in filing 

Form 714. 

Information Collection Statement 

9. Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) regulations require OMB to 

approve certain information collection 

requirements imposed by an agency.6

The Final Rule will not change the 

reporting requirements in Form 714. 

This rule, therefore, is not subject to 

OMB review. The Commission is 

submitting a copy of the Final Rule to 

OMB for information purposes only. 

When the collection is next up for OMB 

renewal (2009), the Commission will 

report a reduction in burden (1) Due to 

a reduction in the number of filers from 

the previous 250 to the current 173, a 

result of the formation of regional 

transmission organizations (and other 

similar entities) encompassing 

numerous former Control Areas 

(Balancing Authority Areas) and (2) due 

to the switch from a paper and diskette 

filing to an all-electronic filing. 

10. Interested persons may obtain 

information on these reporting 

requirements by contacting the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426 

[Attn: Michael Miller, Information 

Services Division (202) 502–8415, fax: 

(202) 273–0873]. Comments on the 

requirements of this rule can be sent to 

the Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs of OMB [Attn: Desk Officer for 

the Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission; phone, (202) 395–4650, 

fax: (202) 395–7285, e-mail: 

oira_submission@omb.eop.gov]. 

Environmental Analysis 

11. Commission regulations require 

that an Environmental Assessment or an 

Environmental Impact Statement be 

prepared for any Commission action 

that may have a significant adverse 

effect on the human environment.7 The 

Commission has categorically excluded 

certain actions from this requirement as 

not having a significant effect on the 

human environment. No environmental 

consideration is necessary for the 

promulgation of a rule concerning 

information gathering, analysis or 

dissemination, or that is merely 

procedural.8 Because the electronic 

filing requirement for Form 714 adopted 

in this Final Rule concerns information 

gathering, and is procedural, no 

environmental consideration is 

necessary. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification 

12. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 

1980 (RFA) 9 generally requires either a 

description and analysis of a rule that 

will have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small entities 

or a certification that the rule will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

Most utilities to which this Final Rule 

applies would not fall within the RFA’s 

definition of small entity.10


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 80 / Thursday, April 26, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 20725 

11 5 U.S.C. 551–59. 

12 5 U.S.C. 553(B); See, e.g., Mid-Tex Electric 

Cooperative, Inc. v. FERC, 822 F.2d 1123 (D.C. Cir. 

1987). 

13 5 U.S.C. 801. 

14 5 U.S.C. 804(3)(B). 

Consequently, the Commission certifies 

that this Final Rule will not have a 

‘‘significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities.’’

Document Availability 

13. In addition to publishing the full 

text of this document in the Federal 

Register, the Commission provides all 

interested persons an opportunity to 

view and/or print the contents of this 

document via the Internet through the 

Commission’s Home Page (http:// 

www.ferc.gov) and in the Commission’s 

Public Reference Room during normal 

business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Eastern time) at 888 First Street, NE., 

Room 2A, Washington DC 20426. 

14. From the Commission’s Home 

Page on the Internet, this information is 

available in the Commission’s document 

management system, 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. 

15. User assistance is available for 

eLibrary and the Commission’s Web site 

during normal business hours. For 

assistance, please contact FERC Online 

Support at 1–866–208–3676 (toll free) or 

202–502–6652 (e-mail at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov) or the Public 

Reference Room at 202–502–8371, TTY 

202–502–8659 (e-mail at 

public.referenceroom@ferc.gov). 

Administrative Findings and Effective 

Date 

16. The Administrative Procedure Act 

(APA)11 requires rulemakings to be 

published in the Federal Register. The 

APA also mandates that an opportunity 

for comments be provided when an 

agency promulgates regulations. 

However, notice and comment are not 

required under the APA when the 

agency for good cause finds that notice 

and public procedure thereon are 

impracticable, unnecessary or contrary 

to the public interest.12

17. The Commission finds that notice 

and comment are unnecessary for this 

rulemaking. As explained above, this 

Final Rule is merely procedural in 

nature. The Commission is not 

substantively revising the information 

utilities file in the Form 714. The 

Commission is merely requiring 

electronic filing of the Form 714 using 

software analogous to software 

developed by the Commission for the 

collection of other information from the 

same utilities that currently file Form 

714, e.g., Forms 1, 3Q and 516. 

18. This Final Rule is effective May 

29, 2007. 

Congressional Notification 

19. The provisions of the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 199613 regarding 

Congressional review of Final Rules do 

not apply to this Final Rule, because the 

rule concerns agency procedure and 

practice and will not substantially affect 

the substantive rights of non-agency 

parties.14

List of subjects 

18 CFR Part 141 

Electric power, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

18 CFR Part 385 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Electric power, Penalties, 

Pipelines, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

By the Commission. 

Philis J. Posey, 

Deputy Secretary. 

■ In consideration of the foregoing, the 

Commission amends parts 141 and 385, 

Chapter I, Title 18, Code of Federal 

Regulations, as follows: 

PART 141—STATEMENTS AND 

REPORTS (SCHEDULES) 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 141 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 79; 16 U.S.C. 791a–

828c, 2601–2645; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 

7101–7352. 

■ 2. In § 141.51, the section heading, 

and paragraphs (a)(1) and (c) are revised 

to read as follows: 

§ 141.51 FERC Form No. 714, Annual 

Electric Balancing Authority Area and 

Planning Area Report. 

(a) Who must file. (1) Any electric 

utility, as defined by section 3(4) of the 

Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, 

16 U.S.C. 2602, operating a balancing 

authority area, and any group of electric 

utilities, which by way of contractual 

arrangements operates as a single 

balancing authority area, must complete 

and file the applicable schedules in 

FERC Form No. 714 with the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission. 

* * * * * 

(c) What to file. FERC Form No. 714, 

Annual Electric Balancing Authority 

Area and Planning Area Report, must be 

filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission as prescribed in § 385.2011 

of this chapter and as indicated in the 

General Instructions set out in this form. 

PART 385—RULES OF PRACTICE AND 

PROCEDURE 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 385 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 551–557; 15 U.S.C. 

717–717z, 3301–3432; 16 U.S.C.791a–825v, 

2601–2645; 28 U.S.C. 2461; 31 U.S.C. 3701, 

9701; 42 U.S.C. 7101–7352, 16441, 16451–

16463; 49 U.S.C. 60502; 49 App. U.S.C. 1–85 

(1988). 

■ 4. In § 385.2011, paragraph (a)(10) is 

added and paragraph (c)(3) is revised to 

read as follows: 

§ 385.2011 Procedures for filing on 

electronic media (Rule 2011). 

(a) * * * 

(10) FERC Form No. 714, Annual 

Electric Balancing Authority Area and 

Planning Area Report. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(3) With the exception of the FERC 

Form Nos. 1, 2, 2–A, 6, 60, and 714, the 

electronic media must be accompanied 

by the traditional prescribed number of 

paper copies. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. E7–7772 Filed 4–25–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

33 CFR Part 117 

[CGD07–06–050] 

RIN 1625–AA09 

Drawbridge Operation Regulation; 

Venetian Causeway (West) 

Drawbridge, Atlantic Intracoastal 

Waterway, Mile 1088.6, and Venetian 

Causeway (East) Drawbridge, Biscayne 

Bay, Miami, Miami-Dade County, FL; 

Correction 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Final rule; correction. 

SUMMARY: On April 16, 2007, the Coast 

Guard published in the Federal Register 

a final rule that changes the operating 

regulations governing the Venetian 

Causeway (West) drawbridge, Atlantic 

Intracoastal Waterway, mile 1088.6, and 

Venetian Causeway (East) drawbridge, 

Biscayne Bay, Miami, Miami-Dade 

County, Florida. Inadvertently, under 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with RULES