9140 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 28 / Friday, February 9, 2024 / Notices 

DATES: Comments, protests, or motions 

to intervene must be submitted on or 

before March 11, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Comments, protests, 

motions to intervene, or requests for 

more information should be addressed 

by electronic mail to 

Electricity.Exports@hq.doe.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christina Gomer, (240) 474–2403, 

Electricity.Exports@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

United States Department of Energy 

(DOE) regulates electricity exports from 

the United States to foreign countries in 

accordance with section 202(e) of the 

Federal Power Act (FPA) (16 U.S.C. 

824a(e)) and regulations thereunder (10 

CFR 205.300 et seq.). Sections 301(b) 

and 402(f) of the DOE Organization Act 

(42 U.S.C. 7151(b) and 7172(f)) 

transferred this regulatory authority, 

previously exercised by the nowdefunct Federal Power Commission, to 

DOE. 

Section 202(e) of the FPA provides 

that an entity which seeks to export 

electricity must obtain an order from 

DOE authorizing that export (16 U.S.C. 

824a(e)). On April 10, 2023, the 

authority to issue such orders was 

delegated to the DOE’s Grid Deployment 

Office (GDO) by Delegation Order No. 

S1–DEL–S3–2023 and Redelegation 

Order No. S3–DEL–GD1–2023. 

On December 28, 2023, the Applicant 

filed an application with DOE 

(Application or App.) to transmit 

electric energy from the United States to 

Mexico for a term of five-years. App. at 

1. 

Altop Energy Trading LLC is a 

Delaware Limited Liability Company 

with its principal place of business in 

Houston, Texas. App. at 1. The 

Applicant is engaged in the trading and 

marketing of both financial and physical 

electricity in the wholesale power 

markets in North America. Id. Altop 

Energy Trading LLC represents that is 

‘‘solely owned by Altop Energy 

Investments LP.’’ Id. Further, the 

Applicant states that it has a MarketBased Rate Authorization from FERC. 

Id. 

The Applicant states it ‘‘has no 

obligation to serve native load, does not 

own or operate any electric distribution 

or transmission facilities, does not own 

or operate any natural gas distribution 

or transmission facilities, and does not 

own or operate any generation assets.’’ 

App. at 1. The Applicant represents that 

the ‘‘electric power will either be 

purchased from the bordering wholesale 

markets of ERCOT or CAISO, or a 

variety of third parties such as power 

marketers, independent power 

producers, electric utilities, or federal 

power marketing entities.’’ Id. at 2. 

Altop Energy Trading LLC asserts that 

its proposed exports would ‘‘be surplus 

to the requirements of the selling 

entities and the overall electrical 

system’’ and ‘‘will not impair the 

reliability of the grid.’’ Id. 

The existing international 

transmission facilities to be utilized by 

the Applicant have been previously 

authorized by Presidential permits 

issued pursuant to Executive Order 

10485, as amended, and are appropriate 

for open access transmission by third 

parties. See App. at Exhibit C. 

Procedural Matters: Any person 

desiring to be heard in this proceeding 

should file a comment or protest to the 

Application at Electricity.Exports@

hq.doe.gov. Protests should be filed in 

accordance with Rule 211 of Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission’s 

(FERC’s) Rules of Practice and 

Procedure (18 CFR 385.211). Any 

person desiring to become a party to this 

proceeding should file a motion to 

intervene at Electricity.Exports@

hq.doe.gov in accordance with FERC 

Rule 214 (18 CFR 385.214). 

Comments and other filings 

concerning Altop Energy Trading LLC’s 

Application should be clearly marked 

with GDO Docket No. EA–505. 

Additional copies are to be provided 

directly to Gebre-Egziabher Gebre, 

Principal, 440 Louisiana Street, Suite 

575, Houston, TX 77002, gebre.gebre@

altopenergy.com. 

A final decision will be made on the 

requested authorization after the 

environmental impacts have been 

evaluated pursuant to DOE’s National 

Environmental Policy Act Implementing 

Procedures (10 CFR part 1021) and after 

DOE evaluates whether the proposed 

action will have an adverse impact on 

the sufficiency of supply or reliability of 

the United States electric power supply 

system. 

Copies of this Application will be 

made available, upon request, by 

accessing the program website at 

https://www.energy.gov/gdo/pendingapplications-0 or by emailing 

Electricity.Exports@hq.doe.gov. 

Signing Authority: This document of 

the Department of Energy was signed on 

January 30, 2024, by Maria Robinson, 

Director, Grid Deployment Office, 

pursuant to delegated authority from the 

Secretary of Energy. That document 

with the original signature and date is 

maintained by DOE. For administrative 

purposes only, and in compliance with 

requirements of the Office of the Federal 

Register, the undersigned DOE Federal 

Register Liaison Officer has been 

authorized to sign and submit the 

document in electronic format for 

publication, as an official document of 

the Department of Energy. This 

administrative process in no way alters 

the legal effect of this document upon 

publication in the Federal Register. 

Signed in Washington, DC on February 6, 

2024. 

Treena V. Garrett, 

Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. 

Department of Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2024–02674 Filed 2–8–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Energy Information Administration 

Agency Information Collection 

Proposed Extension 

AGENCY: U.S. Energy Information 

Administration (EIA), Department of 

Energy (DOE). 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: EIA invites public comment 

on the proposed extension of the 

collection of information for the 

Cryptocurrency Mining Facilities 

Survey, as required under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The 

original collection was approved by the 

Office of Management and Budget on 

January 26, 2024, under the emergency 

approval provisions of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act. 

DATES: EIA must receive all comments 

on this proposed information collection 

no later than April 9, 2024. If you 

anticipate any difficulties in submitting 

your comments by the deadline, contact 

the person listed in the ADDRESSES

section of this notice as soon as 

possible. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be 

sent to Glenn McGrath by email at 

Glenn.McGrath@eia.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Glenn McGrath, EI–23, U.S. Energy 

Information Administration, telephone 

1–202–586–4325, email 

Glenn.McGrath@eia.gov. The form and 

instructions are available at 

www.eia.gov/survey/#eia-862. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments 

are invited on whether or not: (a) The 

proposed collection of information is 

necessary for the proper performance of 

agency functions, including whether the 

information will have a practical utility; 

(b) EIA’s estimate of the burden of the 

proposed collection of information, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used, is 

accurate; (c) EIA can improve the 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 28 / Friday, February 9, 2024 / Notices 9141 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information it will collect; and (d) EIA 

can minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on 

respondents, such as automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. 

This information collection request 

contains: 

(1) OMB No.: 1905–0213; 

(2) Information Collection Request 

Title: Cryptocurrency Mining Facilities 

Survey; 

(3) Type of Request: Three-year 

extension without change; 

(4) Purpose: The mining of 

cryptocurrency is an energy-intensive 

activity that requires substantial 

amounts of electricity. Several 

cryptocurrencies, most notably Bitcoin, 

use a proof of work approach that 

requires cryptocurrency miners to 

validate blocks of transactions by 

solving complex cryptographic puzzles 

that require significant computational 

power. Commercial mining facilities 

typically operate thousands of 

computers that work to add blocks of 

virtual currency transactions to a 

distributed ledger called a blockchain. 

The computational equipment must be 

cooled, which further increases the 

associated electricity consumption. 

Given its high rate of consumption, 

companies, organizations and 

government agencies engaged in the 

electricity business require detailed 

information about how much electrical 

energy is being consumed by 

cryptocurrency miners and where it is 

occurring. The U.S. Energy Information 

Administration (EIA) has engaged in a 

rigorous evaluation of U.S. 

cryptocurrency mining activity using 

publicly available information. EIA 

estimates cryptocurrency mining 

activity demands as much as 2.3% of 

U.S. electricity consumption. 

Furthermore, there is evidence that this 

electricity consumption is growing 

rapidly. The combined effects of 

increased cryptocurrency mining and 

stressed electricity systems create 

heightened uncertainty in electric 

power markets, which could contribute 

to public harm during an unexpected 

event. 

On January 26, 2024, the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) granted 

approval under the emergency approval 

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (PRA) for EIA to immediately begin 

collecting monthly information that will 

inform the public on the impact of 

recent increases in U.S. commercial 

cryptocurrency mining activity on both 

the supply and demand side of the 

electric power system. The 

Cryptocurrency Mining Facilities 

Survey, Form EIA–862, uses facilitylevel reporting to provide a baseline 

snapshot of the cryptocurrency mining 

companies in the sample and their 

energy use, quantify the rate of change 

in cryptocurrency mining activity 

among the companies and their 

facilities, identify electricity sources 

supplying U.S. cryptocurrency mining 

activity, and identify regions in the U.S. 

with concentrated cryptocurrency 

mining activity. 

Due to the need to begin collecting 

this information right away, EIA was 

unable to allow for the time periods 

normally required for clearance under 

the PRA. The approval granted by OMB 

is through July 31, 2024. This approval 

allows EIA to conduct the 

Cryptocurrency Mining Facilities 

Survey for up to 6 months. EIA now 

seeks to extend clearance for the survey 

for an additional three years. 

(5) Annual Estimated Number of 

Respondents: 82; 

(6) Annual Estimated Number of 

Total Responses: 984; 

(7) Annual Estimated Number of 

Burden Hours: 492; 

(8) Annual Estimated Reporting and 

Recordkeeping Cost Burden: The cost of 

the burden hours is estimated to be 

$42,981 (492 burden hours times $87.36 

per hour). EIA estimates that 

respondents will have no additional 

costs associated with the surveys other 

than the burden hours and maintenance 

of the information as part of the normal 

course of business. 

Statutory Authority: 15 U.S. C. 772(b) 

and 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq. 

Signed in Washington, DC, on February 5, 

2024. 

Samson A. Adeshiyan, 

Director, Office of Statistical Methods and 

Research, U. S. Energy Information 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2024–02727 Filed 2–8–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

National Nuclear Security 

Administration 

Minor Construction Threshold Increase 

AGENCY: National Nuclear Security 

Administration, Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice is being issued 

under the authority the Atomic Energy 

Defense Act as amended by the James 

M. Inhofe National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023. 

The Department is adjusting the minor 

construction threshold to account for 

inflation. The threshold is being 

increased from $30 million to $34 

million. 

DATES: The new minor construction 

threshold is effective on February 9, 

2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Thomas Wilson, Office of Infrastructure, 

National Nuclear Security 

Administration, Department of Energy. 

Telephone: (301) 903–2173, or email: 

Thomas.Wilson@nnsa.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The James M. Inhofe National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 

provides the Department of Energy’s 

National Nuclear Security 

Administration (DOE/NNSA) 

Administrator with pilot authority to 

adjust the minor construction threshold 

to account for inflation at any point 

until December 1, 2025. Under this 

authority, the Administrator must 

submit a report to the congressional 

defense committees describing the 

method used to calculate the 

adjustment, wait a period of 30 days, 

and then publish the adjusted threshold 

to the Federal Register before it can take 

effect. 

NNSA submitted the required report 

to the congressional defense committees 

on January 9, 2024. The 30-day waiting 

period ended on February 8, 2024. The 

publication of this notice implements 

the new minor construction threshold of 

$34 million. 

Signing Authority 

This document of Department of 

Energy was signed February 5, 2024, by 

Jill Hruby, Under Secretary for Nuclear 

Security and Administrator, NNSA, 

pursuant to delegated authority from the 

Secretary of Energy. That document 

with the original signature and date is 

maintained by DOE. For administrative 

purposes only, and in compliance with 

requirements of the Office of the Federal 

Register, the undersigned DOE Federal 

Register Liaison Officer has been 

authorized to sign and submit the 

document in electronic format for 

publication as an official document of 

the Department of Energy. This 

administrative Process in no way alters 

the legal effect of this document upon 

publication in the Federal Register. 

Signed in Washington, DC, on February 6, 

2024. 

Treena V. Garrett, 

Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. 

Department of Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2024–02712 Filed 2–8–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 


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