16494 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 55 / Wednesday, March 21, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

1Revised Public Utility Filing Requirements, 

Order No. 2001, 67 FR 31043 (May 8, 2002), FERC 

Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,127, reh’g denied, Order No. 

2001–A, 100 FERC ¶ 61,074, reh’g denied, Order 

No. 2001–B, 100 FERC ¶ 61,342, order directing 

filing, Order No. 2001–C, 101 FERC ¶ 61,314 (2002), 

order directing filing, Order No. 2001–D, 102 FERC 

¶ 61,334, order refining filing requirements, Order 

No. 2001–E, 105 FERC ¶ 61,352 (2003), order on 

clarification, Order No. 2001–F, 106 FERC ¶ 61,060 

(2004), order revising filing requirements, Order No. 

2001–G, 72 FR 56735 (Oct. 4, 2007), 120 FERC 

¶ 61,270, order on reh’g and clarification, Order No. 

2001–H, 73 FR 1876 (Jan. 10, 2008), 121 FERC 

¶ 61,289 (2007), order revising filing requirements, 

Order No. 2001–I, 73 FR 65526 (Nov. 4, 2008), 125 

FERC ¶ 61,103 (2008). 

after the effective date of this AD, whichever 

occurs later. 

(h) Inspection Report 

Submit a report of the findings of the 

inspection required by paragraph (h) of this 

AD to Airbus, at the applicable time specified 

in paragraph (h)(1) or (h)(2) of this AD. 

Submit the report using ‘‘Appendix 01— 

Inspection Report,’’ of Airbus Service 

Bulletin A320–57–1153, Revision 01, dated 

June 28, 2010. 

(1) If the inspection was done on or after 

the effective date of this AD: Submit the 

report within 90 days after the inspection. 

(2) If the inspection was done before the 

effective date of this AD: Submit the report 

within 90 days after the effective date of this 

AD. 

(i) Credit for Previous Actions 

This paragraph provides credit for the 

actions required by paragraph (g) of this AD, 

if the actions were performed before the 

effective date of this AD using Airbus Service 

Bulletin A320–57–1153, including 

Appendices 01, 02, and 03, dated February 

9, 2010. 

(j) Other FAA AD Provisions 

The following provisions also apply to this 

AD: 

(1) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs): The Manager, International 

Branch, ANM–116, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, FAA, has the authority to 

approve AMOCs for this AD, if requested 

using the procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19. 

In accordance with 14 CFR 39.19, send your 

request to your principal inspector or local 

Flight Standards District Office, as 

appropriate. If sending information directly 

to the International Branch, send it to ATTN: 

Sanjay Ralhan, Aerospace Engineer, 

International Branch, ANM–116, Transport 

Airplane Directorate, FAA, 1601 Lind 

Avenue SW., Renton, Washington 98057– 

3356; telephone (425) 227–1405; fax (425) 

227–1149. Information may be emailed to: 

9-ANM-116-AMOC-REQUESTS@faa.gov. 

Before using any approved AMOC, notify 

your appropriate principal inspector, or 

lacking a principal inspector, the manager of 

the local flight standards district office/ 

certificate holding district office. The AMOC 

approval letter must specifically reference 

this AD. 

(2) Airworthy Product: For any requirement 

in this AD to obtain corrective actions from 

a manufacturer or other source, use these 

actions if they are FAA-approved. Corrective 

actions are considered FAA-approved if they 

are approved by the State of Design Authority 

(or their delegated agent). You are required 

to assure the product is airworthy before it 

is returned to service. 

(3) Reporting Requirements: A federal 

agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a 

person is not required to respond to, nor 

shall a person be subject to a penalty for 

failure to comply with a collection of 

information subject to the requirements of 

the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that 

collection of information displays a current 

valid OMB Control Number. The OMB 

Control Number for this information 

collection is 2120–0056. Public reporting for 

this collection of information is estimated to 

be approximately 5 minutes per response, 

including the time for reviewing instructions, 

completing and reviewing the collection of 

information. All responses to this collection 

of information are mandatory. Comments 

concerning the accuracy of this burden and 

suggestions for reducing the burden should 

be directed to the FAA at: 800 Independence 

Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20591, Attn: 

Information Collection Clearance Officer, 

AES–200. 

(k) Related Information 

Refer to MCAI European Aviation Safety 

Agency (EASA) Airworthiness Directive 

2011–0121R1, dated July 13, 2011; and 

Airbus Service Bulletin A320–57–1153, 

Revision 01, including Appendices 01, 02, 

and 03, dated June 28, 2010; for related 

information. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on March 

12, 2012. 

John P. Piccola, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6772 Filed 3–20–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

18 CFR Part 35 

[Docket No. RM01–8–012] 

Revised Public Utility Filing 

Requirements for Electric Quarterly 

Reports 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission (Commission) 

proposes to revise the Electric Quarterly 

Report (EQR) Data Dictionary to add 

‘‘Simultaneous Exchange’’ to the list of 

available Product Names in the EQR. 

This revision would allow for greater 

transparency in wholesale electricity 

markets through a greater understanding 

of these complex transactions. The 

Commission invites comment on this 

proposal. 

DATES: Comments on the proposal are 

due May 21, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on the proposal, identified by Docket 

No. RM01–8–012, by one of the 

following methods: 

• Agency Web Site: http:// 

www.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 

copy of their comments to: Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 

Secretary of the Commission, 888 First 

Street NE., Washington, DC 20426. 

Additional requirements can be found 

on the Commission’s Web site, see, e.g., 

the ‘‘Quick Reference Guide for Paper 

Submissions,’’ available at http://www/ 

ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp, or via 

phone from FERC Online Support at 

202–502–6652 or toll-free at 1–866– 

208–3676. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Andrew Knudsen, Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, Office of the 

General Counsel, 888 First Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502–6527, 

andrew.knudsen@ferc.gov; 

Andrew Weinstein, Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, Office of the 

General Counsel, 888 First Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502–6230, 

andrew.weinstein@ferc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

(Issued March 15, 2012) 

1. The Commission proposes to revise 

the Electric Quarterly Report (EQR) Data 

Dictionary to add ‘‘Simultaneous 

Exchange’’ to the list of available 

Product Names in the EQR. This 

revision would allow for accurate 

reporting of simultaneous exchange 

transactions, which will bolster 

transparency in wholesale electricity 

markets by facilitating a greater 

understanding of these complex 

transactions. The Commission invites 

comment on this proposal. 

I. Background 

A. Order No. 2001 

2. On April 25, 2002, the Commission 

set forth the EQR filing requirements in 

Order No. 2001.1 Order No. 2001 

requires public utilities to electronically 

file EQRs summarizing transaction 

information for short-term and longterm cost-based sales and market-based 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 55 / Wednesday, March 21, 2012 / Proposed Rules 16495 

2Order No. 2001, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,127. 

3 Id. P 13–14. 

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

5Order No. 2001, FERC Stats. & Regs.¶ 31,127 at 

P 31. 

6 Id. P 31. 

7See, e.g., Revised Public Utility Filing 

Requirements for Electric Quarterly Reports, 124 

FERC ¶ 61,244 (2008) (providing guidance on the 

filing of information on transmission capacity 

reassignments in EQRs); Notice of Electric Quarterly 

Reports Technical Conference, 73 FR 2477 (Jan. 15, 

2008) (announcing a technical conference to discuss 

changes associated with the EQR Data Dictionary). 

8Order No. 2001–G, 120 FERC ¶ 61,270. 

9Preventing Undue Discrimination and 

Preference in Transmission Service, Order No. 890, 

72 FR 12266 (Mar. 15, 2007), FERC Stats. & Regs. 

¶ 31,241, at P 817, order on reh’g, Order No. 890– 

A, 73 FR 2984 (Jan. 16, 2008), FERC Stats. & Regs. 

¶ 31,261 (2007), order on reh’g and clarification, 

Order No. 890–B, 73 FR 39092 (July 8, 2008), 123 

FERC ¶ 61,299 (2008), order on reh’g, Order No. 

890–C, 74 FR 12540 (March 25, 2009), 126 FERC 

¶ 61,228 (2009), order on clarification, Order No. 

890–D, 74 FR 61511 (Nov. 25, 2009), 129 FERC 

¶ 61,126. 

10Puget Sound Energy, Inc., 138 FERC ¶ 61,121, 

at P 13 (2012). 

11 Id. P 12. 

12 Id. P 1. 

13 Id. 14 Id. P 16. 

rate sales and the contractual terms and 

conditions in their agreements for all 

jurisdictional services.2 The 

Commission established the EQR 

reporting requirements to help ensure 

the collection of information needed to 

perform its regulatory functions over 

transmission and sales,3 while making 

data more useful to the public and 

facilitating the ability of public utilities 

to fulfill their responsibility under FPA 

section 205(c) 4 to have rates on file in 

a convenient form and place.5 As noted 

in Order No. 2001, the EQR data are 

designed to ‘‘provide greater price 

transparency, promote competition, 

enhance confidence in the fairness of 

the markets, and provide a better means 

to detect and discourage discriminatory 

practices.’’ 6 The requirement to file 

EQRs replaced the requirement to file 

quarterly transaction reports 

summarizing a utility’s market-based 

rate transactions and sales agreements 

that conformed to the utility’s tariff. 

3. In Order No. 2001, the Commission 

also adopted a new section in its 

regulations, 18 CFR 35.10b, which 

requires that the EQRs must conform to 

the Commission’s software and 

guidance posted and available from the 

Commission Web site. This obviates the 

need to revise 18 CFR 35.10b to 

implement revisions to the software and 

guidance. 

4. Since issuing Order No. 2001, the 

Commission has provided guidance and 

refined the reporting requirements, as 

necessary, to simplify the filing 

requirements and to reflect changes in 

the Commission’s regulations.7 For 

instance, in 2007 the Commission 

adopted an Electric Quarterly Report 

Data Dictionary, which provides in one 

document the definitions of certain 

terms and values used in filing EQR 

data.8 Moreover, in 2007, the 

Commission required transmission 

capacity reassignment to be reported in 

the EQR.9 The refinements to the 

existing EQR requirements proposed in 

this NOPR build upon the Commission’s 

prior improvements to the reporting 

requirements and enhance the goals of 

providing greater price transparency, 

promoting competition, instilling 

confidence in the fairness of the 

markets, and providing a better means 

to detect and discourage discriminatory 

and manipulative practices. 

B. Docket No. EL10–71–000 

5. In an order issued on February 16, 

2012, addressing a petition for 

declaratory order filed by Puget Sound 

Energy, Inc. (Puget), the Commission 

expressed concerns that certain 

‘‘simultaneous exchange’’ transactions 

may resemble transmission service 

because they involve a party placing 

power onto the power grid at one 

delivery point and then simultaneously 

receiving power at another delivery 

point.10 The Commission defined 

simultaneous exchanges as: 

Simultaneous exchanges occur when a pair 

of simultaneously arranged (i.e., part of the 

same negotiations) wholesale power 

transactions between the same counterparties 

in which party A sells an electricity product 

to party B at one location and party B sells 

a similar electricity product to party A at a 

different location have an overlapping 

delivery period. The simultaneous exchange 

is the overlapping portion (both in volume 

and delivery period) of these wholesale 

power transactions.11

In addressing Puget’s petition, the 

Commission determined that when a 

simultaneous exchange transaction 

involves the marketing function of a 

public utility transmission provider, the 

public utility must seek prior approval 

from the Commission if the transaction 

involves its affiliated transmission 

provider’s system.12 The Commission 

concluded that all other simultaneous 

exchange transactions do not require 

prior Commission approval beyond the 

necessary authorization under section 

205 of the Federal Power Act for the sale 

for resale of electric energy.13 However, 

due to general concerns regarding the 

potential for simultaneous exchanges to 

provide what amounts to transmission 

service without the reservation of 

service on the transmission system, the 

Commission stated that it would 

consider ways to enhance the 

transparency of these arrangements, 

including potential modifications to the 

EQR reporting requirements.14

II. Discussion 

A. Reporting of Product Name 

6. The Commission proposes to add 

the Product Name ‘‘Simultaneous 

Exchange’’ to the EQR Data Dictionary 

and to require all EQR filers to use this 

term, when appropriate, in the Contract 

Data section and the Transaction Data 

section. The Commission will define 

‘‘Simultaneous Exchange’’ in the EQR 

Data Dictionary as follows: 

Simultaneous exchanges occur when a pair 

of simultaneously arranged (i.e., part of the 

same negotiations) wholesale power 

transactions between the same counterparties 

in which party A sells an electricity product 

to party B at one location and party B sells 

a similar electricity product to party A at a 

different location have an overlapping 

delivery period. The simultaneous exchange 

is the overlapping portion (both in volume 

and delivery period) of these wholesale 

power transactions. 

7. EQR filers engaging in 

simultaneous exchange transactions 

must report each transaction as a 

‘‘Simultaneous Exchange’’ in the 

Transaction Data section. In the 

Contract Data section, appropriate 

reporting of these transactions depends 

on the contractual arrangement that 

governs the particular simultaneous 

exchange. If an EQR filer engages in 

simultaneous exchange arrangements 

under a general power sales contract, 

the EQR filer would not identify such 

general power sales agreements as 

‘‘Simultaneous Exchange’’ in the 

Contract Data section, but rather the 

specific simultaneous exchange 

arrangements under such power sales 

contracts would be reported in the 

Transaction Data section. However, if an 

EQR filer enters into a contract that 

specifically sets forth the terms for 

simultaneous exchange arrangements, 

the EQR filer would categorize the 

contract product as ‘‘Simultaneous 

Exchange’’ in the Contract Data section. 

8. Adding ‘‘Simultaneous Exchange’’ 

to the list of Product Names in the EQR 

Data Dictionary will enhance 

transparency in energy markets. The 

Commission understands that 

simultaneous exchanges occur in both 

organized and unorganized energy 

markets. These transactions are 

complicated and varied. Simultaneous 

exchanges may be executed through 

short-term or long-term contracts; may 

be arranged a day-ahead, many months 

in advance or in real-time; and may 

range in size. The Commission is 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
16496 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 55 / Wednesday, March 21, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

15This assumes that both parties A and B are 

entities that are required to file EQR reports under 

the Commission’s regulations. See 18 CFR 35.10b 

(2011). 

generally concerned that the complexity 

of simultaneous exchanges may obscure 

the true nature of these transactions, 

and may enable market participants to 

circumvent market rules. Thus, in order 

to enhance transparency, the 

Commission believes it is important that 

EQR filers report simultaneous 

exchanges in the EQR. 

B. Reporting of Overlapping 

Transactions 

9. As described above, a simultaneous 

exchange occurs when a pair of 

wholesale power transactions between 

the same counterparties is arranged as 

part of the same negotiations, and 

involves overlapping volumes of power 

purchased and sold and overlapping 

delivery periods for the power 

purchased and sold. Only the 

overlapping portion of a simultaneous 

exchange transaction should be reported 

as a simultaneous exchange. The nonoverlapping portions of the 

arrangements should be reported in a 

separate entry as a power sale. Below 

are two examples of how to report a 

simultaneous exchange transaction 

involving two power sales involving 

overlapping volumes of power sold and 

overlapping periods for the power sold. 

Example A 

Transactions: Party A sells 100 MWh 

to Party B from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at point 

X. Party B sells 50 MWh to Party A from 

1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at point Y. 

There are 2 separate transactions in 

this scenario that must be reported in 

the EQR (as indicated in the graphic). 

(1.) Party A will report a power sale 

of 50 MWh to Party B from 1 p.m. to 2 

p.m. 

(2.) Parties A and B will each report 

a simultaneous exchange of 50 MWh 

from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at points X and 

Y.15

Example B 

Transactions: Party A sells 50 MWh 

to Party B for every hour from 1 p.m. to 

3 p.m. at point X. Party B sells 50 MWh 

to Party A for every hour from 2 p.m. 

to 4 p.m. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 55 / Wednesday, March 21, 2012 / Proposed Rules 16497 

16This assumes that both parties A and B are 

entities that are required to file EQR reports under 

the Commission’s regulations. See 18 CFR 35.10b 

(2011). 

17 In a simultaneous exchange, a party sells power 

at one point in return for power at another point. 

Under current EQR rules, a company reports a ‘‘sale 

price’’ for the point in which it makes a power sale. 

The proposed rules for reporting prices are 

consistent with this existing policy in that they treat 

each filer as a net ‘‘seller,’’ with net buyers 

reporting a negative price spread. 

18There may be transactions in which credits or 

compensation other than the nominal prices are 

negotiated as part of the simultaneous exchange. In 

such cases, all relevant compensation should be 

included in the determination of the price spread. 

19 In a simultaneous exchange, the parties may be 

indifferent to the market price assigned to each 

point of the exchange. Thus, an exchange in which 

the power at point A is assigned a price of $10 and 

the power at point B is assigned a price of $12 is 

economically the same to the parties as an exchange 

where the power at point A is assigned a price of 

$20 and the power at point B is assigned a price 

of $22. 

20EQR filers must select Simultaneous Exchange 

(SIMX) in Field #56 to ensure that Field #57 allows 

for unrestricted text. 

21 5 CFR 1320.8. 

22 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520. 

23OMB’s regulations at 5 CFR 1320.3(c)(4) require 

that ‘‘Any recordkeeping, reporting, or disclosure 

requirement contained in a rule of general 

applicability is deemed to involve ten or more 

persons’’, or ‘‘Any collection of information 

addressed to all or a substantial majority of an 

industry is presumed to involve ten or more 

persons.’’ 

24 44 U.S.C. 3507(d) (2006). 

25 5 CFR 1320.11 (2010). 

26For purposes of calculating the annual average, 

the implementation burden and cost have been 

averaged, spread over the 3-year period, and added 

to the recurring burden and cost. 

There are 3 separate transactions in 

this scenario that must be reported in 

the EQR (as indicated in the graphic). 

(1.) Party A will report a power sale 

of 50 MWh to Party B from 1 p.m. to 2 

p.m. 

(2.) Parties A and B will each report 

a simultaneous exchange of 50 MWh 

from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at points X and 

Y.16

(3.) Party B will report a power sale 

of 50 MWh to Party A from 3 p.m. to 

4 p.m. 

C. Price Reporting of Simultaneous 

Exchanges 

10. The Commission proposes that 

parties reporting simultaneous exchange 

transactions report the price spread for 

these transactions, rather than the price 

assigned by the parties of the individual 

power sales that make up the 

simultaneous exchange.17 The 

Commission proposes that the price 

spread be listed in the Price column 

(Field #64) and be reported as the net 

price that the filing entity receives per 

MWh for the overall simultaneous 

exchange position.18 A simple example 

of determining a price spread is given 

below: 

Company A and Company B enter into a 

simultaneous exchange transaction that 

involves Company A selling 100 MWh to 

Company B at $100/MWh and Company B 

selling 100 MWh back to Company A for 

$110/MWh. This transaction does not 

include any other credits or compensation as 

part of settlement for the simultaneous 

exchange. The price spread for this 

transaction would therefore be $10/MWh. 

Company A would report the price for this 

simultaneous exchange transaction as ¥$10/ 

MWh (because it makes a net payment of $10 

per MWh), and Company B would report the 

price for this locational exchange transaction 

as +$10/MWh (because it receives a net 

payment of $10 per MWh). 

11. The Commission proposes the 

adoption of the price spread reporting 

requirement to provide necessary 

transparency. For the parties to a 

simultaneous exchange transaction, 

prices assigned to the power at either 

point in the transaction (if applicable) 

do not necessarily represent the 

economic values of the power being 

exchanged at those points. Such prices 

are merely nominal, since the parties 

know that any price at one location is 

partially offset by the price at the other 

location. In such cases, the nominal 

prices may be meaningless, and the 

relevant value of the transaction is the 

price spread, i.e., the difference between 

the prices at the points in a 

simultaneous exchange.19 Moreover, in 

some transactions, parties may not 

assign nominal prices to the power at 

either point in the simultaneous 

exchange and may simply negotiate a 

price spread that applies to the 

simultaneous exchange. Thus, to ensure 

the presence of meaningful price 

information in EQR, the Commission 

proposes to adopt the requirement that 

EQR filers report the price spread of 

each simultaneous exchange. 

D. Special Reporting Requirement for 

Simultaneous Exchange Transactions 

12. Because simultaneous exchange 

transactions involve simultaneouslyarranged overlapping power sales, both 

the point of delivery and the point of 

receipt are relevant information that 

should be reported in the EQR. Thus, 

the Commission proposes to require 

each party entering into a simultaneous 

exchange to report both the point of 

delivery and the point of receipt 

associated with the simultaneous 

exchange transaction. 

13. To implement this special 

reporting requirement, the Commission 

proposes to add a ‘‘Simultaneous 

Exchange’’ selection (SIMX) to the Point 

of Delivery Balancing Authority field 

(Field #56) in the Transaction Data 

section of the EQR. After selecting 

Simultaneous Exchange in the Product 

field (Field #62), EQR filers must select 

Simultaneous Exchange (SIMX) in Field 

#56 to ensure that Point of Delivery 

Specific Location field (Field #57) 

allows for unrestricted text. In Field 

#57,20 the entity reporting the 

transaction should specify the points of 

both receipt and delivery. The proposed 

reporting conventions are described and 

illustrated in Appendix B. If no specific 

reporting requirement is indicated for a 

particular field in Appendix B, the 

general reporting requirements 

associated with the EQR Data Dictionary 

apply. 

III. Information Collection Statement 

14. The Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) regulations require 

approval of certain information 

collection requirements imposed by 

agency rules.21 Upon approval of a 

collection of information, OMB will 

assign an OMB control number and an 

expiration date. Respondents subject to 

the filing requirements of an agency 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) 22 requires each 

federal agency to seek and obtain OMB 

approval before undertaking a collection 

of information directed to ten or more 

persons or contained in a rule of general 

applicability or addressed to all or a 

substantial majority of an industry.23

15. The following 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 1995.24 OMB’s 

regulations require approval of certain 

information collection requirements 

imposed by agency rules.25 The 

Commission solicits comments on the 

Commission’s need for this information, 

whether the information will have 

practical utility, the accuracy of the 

burden estimates, ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected or retained, 

and any suggested methods for 

minimizing respondents’ burden, 

including the use of automated 

information techniques. 

16. The Commission’s estimate of the 

additional average annual Public 

Reporting Burden and cost 26 related to 

the proposed rule in Docket RM01–8– 

012 follows. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
16498 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 55 / Wednesday, March 21, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

27 It is assumed that this collection of information 

requires some effort from many types of employees. 

Therefore, the Commission is using an estimate that 

is derived from an average FERC employee cost 

(wages plus benefits), which includes analysts, 

managers, attorneys, administrative staff, and 

others. This methodology assumes that respondent 

entities employee costs are similar to FERC 

employee costs. 

17. In calculating the number of 

respondents per year, the Commission 

looked at only those respondents that 

reported transactions during 2011. 

There were 1,143 respondents that filed 

transaction data in the EQR in 2011; 

therefore, the Commission proposes to 

use 1,143 as the total number of 

respondents. Although the Commission 

estimates the total number of current 

respondents to be 1,143, this figure 

overstates the number of corporate 

families filing the EQR because some of 

the filings were made separately by 

affiliates from the same company. For 

instance, of the 1,143 unique 

respondent names, 72 were affiliates of 

NextEra Energy. This trend is common 

among EQR filers. 

18. The Commission recognizes that 

there will be an increased burden 

involved in the initial implementation 

associated with filing simultaneous 

exchange transactions in the EQR. This 

burden may include modifying the 

utility’s software to capture the 

transaction data from the utility’s 

internal computer systems and to place 

that data into a format that captures the 

new product name ‘‘Simultaneous 

Exchanges’’ and associated data as 

required by this order. It is difficult to 

estimate how many parties use 

simultaneous exchanges. However, we 

believe that many parties currently 

report their simultaneous exchanges 

using the existing Product Name 

‘‘Exchange.’’ Of the 1,143 respondents 

that filed transaction data in 2011, 21 

respondents (or approximately 2 percent 

of the total respondents) filed 

transaction data using the Product Name 

‘‘Exchange.’’ With such a small portion 

of the population of respondents using 

the current ‘‘Exchange’’ Product Name, 

we estimate that fewer than the 1,143 

respondents will be affected if the 

proposed Product Name were adopted. 

In an effort to provide a fair estimate, we 

will assume that the percentage of 

affected respondents will be twice the 

current 2 percent that are reporting 

exchange transactions in the EQR. We 

estimate that 4 percent of the 

respondents, or 46 respondents, will be 

affected by the proposed change. For 

these estimated 46 respondents, we 

estimate that the additional data 

requirement will involve an initial 

burden of 10 hours. 

19. For the recurring effort involved 

in filing the EQR each subsequent 

quarter, we anticipate that the burden 

will be minimal, particularly as filing 

transaction data will be automated for 

companies that have designed their 

systems to account for the required 

format. We have estimated that current 

filers spend about 16 hours to meet the 

existing recurring requirements of filing 

EQRs. With the additional proposed 

Product Name, we estimate that filers’ 

recurring burden will increase by 0.5 

hours. 

Cost to Comply: The Commission has 

projected the cost of compliance to be 

$16,927.77. 

Total Annual Hours for Collection 

245.33 hours @ $69 an hour 27 = 

$16,927.77 

Average cost per entity 16,927.77/46 = 

$368 (rounded). 

Title: FERC–516, Electric Rate 

Schedules and Tariff Filings. 

Action: Proposed Modification to 

Existing Collection. 

OMB Control No. 1902–0096. 

Respondents for this Rulemaking: 

Businesses or other for profit and/or 

not-for-profit institutions. 

Frequency of Information: As 

indicated in the table. 

Necessity of Information: The 

Commission is proposing to revise the 

EQR Data Dictionary to add 

‘‘Simultaneous Exchange’’ to the list of 

available Product Names in the EQR. 

This proposal would allow for greater 

transparency in wholesale electricity 

markets through a greater understanding 

of these complex exchange transactions. 

The Commission is generally concerned 

that the complexity of simultaneous 

exchanges may obscure the true nature 

of these transactions, and may enable 

market participants to circumvent 

market rules. Thus, in order to enhance 

transparency, the Commission believes 

it is important that EQR filers report 

simultaneous exchanges in the EQR. 

Internal Review: The Commission has 

reviewed the proposed changes and has 

determined that the changes are 

necessary. These requirements conform 

to the Commission’s need for efficient 

information collection, communication, 

and management within the energy 

industry. The Commission has assured 

itself, by means of internal review, that 

there is specific, objective support for 

the burden estimates associated with the 

information collection requirements. 

20. Interested persons may obtain 

information on the reporting 

requirements by contacting the 

following: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20426 [Attention: Ellen 

Brown, Office of the Executive Director], 

email: DataClearance@ferc.gov, Phone: 

(202) 502–8663, fax: (202) 273–0873. 

21. Comments on the collections of 

information and the associated burden 

estimates in the proposed rule should be 

sent to the Commission in this docket 

and may also be sent to the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, 

Washington DC 20503 [Attention: Desk 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALSEP21MR12.002</GPH>
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 55 / Wednesday, March 21, 2012 / Proposed Rules 16499 

28Regulations Implementing the National 

Environmental Policy Act, Order No. 486, FERC 

Stats. & Regs. ¶ 30,783 (1987). 

29 18 CFR 380.4(a)(5). 

30 5 U.S.C. 601–612. 

31 13 CFR 121.101. 

32 13 CFR 121.201, Sector 22, Utilities & n.1. 

33The Commission has granted requests for 

waiver of the EQR filing requirements. See Bridger 

Valley Elect. Assoc., Inc., 101 FERC ¶ 61,146 (2002). 

Entities with a waiver will continue to have a 

waiver and will not need to file a new request for 

waiver. 

Officer for the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission]. For security 

reasons, comments to OMB should be 

submitted by email to: 

oira_submission@omb.eop.gov. 

Comments submitted to OMB should 

include Docket Number RM01–8–012 

and OMB Control Number 1902–0096. 

IV. Environmental Analysis 

22. 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 actions taken here 

fall within categorical exclusions in the 

Commission’s regulations for 

information gathering, analysis, and 

dissemination.29 Therefore, an 

environmental assessment is 

unnecessary and has not been prepared 

in this rulemaking. 

V. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

23. 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. The RFA mandates 

consideration of regulatory alternatives 

that accomplish the stated objectives of 

a proposed rule and that minimize any 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

The Small Business Administration’s 

(SBA) Office of Size Standards develops 

the numerical definition of a small 

business.31 The SBA has established a 

size standard for electric utilities, 

stating that a firm is small if, including 

its affiliates, it is primarily engaged in 

the transmission, generation and/or 

distribution of electric energy for sale 

and its total electric output for the 

preceding twelve months did not exceed 

four million megawatt hours.32

24. Since the proposed change may 

affect small entities that file the EQR, 

the EIA Form 861 was analyzed to 

determine the potential impact on these 

filers. Based on EIA data, 198 public 

utilities reported wholesale sales in the 

Form 861. Of those 198 entities, 56 

entities reported a combined total of 

wholesale and retail sales of less than 4 

million MWh. The Commission expects 

that fewer than the identified 56 entities 

will be impacted by this proposed rule. 

While this may be a substantial number, 

the direct, economic cost is estimated at 

$368 per entity. The Commission does 

not consider this a significant impact. 

Furthermore, those small entities that 

may be impacted may have IT systems 

that are capturing the necessary 

information and no modifications to 

those systems may be necessary. 

Finally, we note that public utilities 

may request, on an individual basis, 

waiver from the EQR reporting 

requirements.33

25. Based on the above, the 

Commission certifies this rule will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities, 

and therefore no initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis is required. 

VI. Comment Procedures 

26. 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 60 days from 

publication in the Federal Register. 

Comments must refer to Docket No. 

RM10–12–000, and must include the 

commenter’s name, the organization 

they represent, if applicable, and their 

address in their comments. 

27. 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. 

28. Commenters that are not able to 

file comments electronically must send 

an original and 14 copies of their 

comments to: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, Secretary of the 

Commission, 888 First Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20426. 

29. 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 

30. 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 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First 

Street NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 

20426. 

31. 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 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. User assistance is 

available for eLibrary and the FERC’s 

Web site 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. Email the 

Public Reference Room at public.

referenceroom@ferc.gov. 

By direction of the Commission. 

Dated: March 15, 2012. 

Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr., 

Deputy Secretary. 

Appendix A: Proposed Addition to 

Existing EQR Product Names 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
16500 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 55 / Wednesday, March 21, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

Product name Contract 

product 

Transaction 

product Definition 

SIMULTANEOUS EXCHANGE ....... ✓ ✓ Simultaneous exchanges occur when a pair of simultaneously arranged 

(i.e., part of the same negotiations) wholesale power transactions between the same counterparties in which party A sells an electricity 

product to party B at one location and party B sells a similar electricity product to party A at a different location have an overlapping 

delivery period. The simultaneous exchange is the overlapping portion (both in volume and delivery period) of these wholesale power 

transactions. 

Appendix B: Proposed Special 

Conventions for Reporting 

Simultaneous Exchange Transactions 

The Example column is meant for 

illustrative purposes only and may not reflect 

the actual data to be submitted. 

Field No. Field name Special conventions Example 

46 ............... Transaction Unique ID ....................... ................................................................................. T1. 

47 ............... Seller Company Name ....................... Reporting EQR seller ............................................. Company A. 

48 ............... Customer Company Name ................ Counterparty in the simultaneous exchange ......... Company B. 

49 ............... Customer DUNS Number .................. ................................................................................. 485948157. 

50 ............... FERC Tariff Reference ...................... ................................................................................. FERC Electric Tariff Original Volume 

No. 1. 

51 ............... Contract Service Agreement ID ......... ................................................................................. SE–34. 

52 ............... Transaction Unique Identifier ............. ................................................................................. SE–01122012. 

53 ............... Transaction Begin Date ..................... Begin Date/Time of overlapping transaction .......... 201201120600. 

54 ............... Transaction End Date ........................ End Date/Time of overlapping transaction ............ 201201120800. 

55 ............... Time Zone .......................................... ................................................................................. MS. 

56 ............... Point of Delivery Balancing Authority List ‘‘SIMX’’ to represent simultaneous exchange SIMX. 

57 ............... Point of Delivery Specific Location .... Indicate the receipt point first with the entry ‘‘R:’’ 

Then enter a space followed by the four letter 

abbreviation for the balancing authority of the 

filer’s receipt point followed by a dash (-) and 

the specific location for the receipt point. Then 

enter a slash (‘‘/’’) to separate the receipt and 

delivery point information. Then indicate the filer’s delivery point with the entry ‘‘D:’’ Then 

enter the four letter abbreviation of the balancing authority for the seller’s delivery point, 

followed by a dash (-) and the specific location 

for the delivery point.

R: PACE-Bonanza/D: PACE-Mona. 

58 ............... Class Name ....................................... ................................................................................. NF. 

59 ............... Term Name ........................................ ................................................................................. ST. 

60 ............... Increment Name ................................ ................................................................................. H. 

61 ............... Increment Peaking Name .................. ................................................................................. OP. 

62 ............... Product Name .................................... List ‘‘SIMULTANEOUS EXCHANGE’’ Product 

Name.

SIMULTANEOUS EXCHANGE. 

63 ............... Transaction Quantity .......................... List the amount delivered by the Seller Company. 50. 

64 ............... Price ................................................... List the price spread representing the amount of 

net compensation that the filing party received 

for the simultaneous exchange.

¥10.00. 

65 ............... Rate Units .......................................... ................................................................................. $/MWH. 

66 ............... Total Transmission Charge ................ ................................................................................. 0. 

67 ............... Total Transaction Charge .................. ................................................................................. ¥500 

[FR Doc. 2012–6759 Filed 3–20–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS