Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 224 / Monday, November 20, 2000 / Notices 69753

with §§ 385.211 or 385.214 of the

FERC’s Rules of Practice and Procedures

(18 CFR 385.211, 385.214). Fifteen

copies of each petition and protest

should be filed with the DOE on or

before the date listed above.

Comments on the Energy Atlantic

request to export to Canada should be

clearly marked with Docket EA–193–A.

Additional copies are to be filed directly

with Michael E. Small, Wendy N. Reed,

Wright & Talisman, P.C., 1200 G Street,

NW., Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005

and Calvin D. Deschene, Director,

Energy Atlantic, L.L.C., PO Box 1148,

Presque Isle, Maine 04769.

DOE notes that the circumstances

described in this application are

virtually identical to those for which

export authority had previously been

granted in FE Order No. EA–193.

Consequently, DOE believes that it has

adequately satisfied its responsibilities

under the National Environmental

Policy Act of 1969 through the

documentation of a categorical

exclusion in the FE Docket EA–193

proceeding.

Copies of this application will be

made available, upon request, for public

inspection and copying at the address

provided above or by accessing the

Fossil Energy Home Page at http://

www.fe.doe.gov. Upon reaching the

Fossil Energy Home page, select

‘‘Electricity,’’ from the Regulatory Info

menu, and then ‘‘Pending Proceedings’’

from the options menus.

Issued in Washington, D.C., on November

14, 2000.

Anthony Como,

Deputy Director, Electric Power Regulation,

Office of Coal & Power Im/Ex, Office of Coal

& Power Systems, Office of Fossil Energy.

[FR Doc. 00–29595 Filed 11–17–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Interstate Electric Transmission

System; Electric Reliability Issues;

Notice of Inquiry

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy

(DOE) is seeking comments on whether

to initiate, pursuant to section 403 of the

DOE Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7173),

a rulemaking for final action to the

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

(FERC) to impose mandatory electric

reliability standards. This is the initial

step in a process in which DOE intends

to examine electric reliability issues and

proposals, and the extent of Federal

authority under existing law, given the

transition to restructured, more

competitive electricity markets. Based

on the results of that examination, DOE

will consider the issuance of a proposed

rulemaking. Any proposed rulemaking

would seek to promote and ensure the

long-term reliability of the interstate

electric transmission system. DOE is

seeking responses to particular

questions posed below, and welcomes

any other comments or proposals

pertinent to an electric reliability

rulemaking.

DATES: Written comments are to be filed

at the address listed below no later than

4:30 p.m., eastern time January 4, 2001.

DOE is requesting a signed original, a

computer diskette (WordPerfect or

Microsoft Word) and 3 copies of the

written comments. Comments can also

be filed electronically by e-mail to:

policy.energy@hq.doe.gov, noting

‘‘Electric Reliability Comments’’ in the

subject line.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be submitted to: Office of Policy, Office

of Economic, Electricity and Natural Gas

Analysis, PO–21, Attention: Electric

Reliability Comments, U.S. Department

of Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 7H–

034, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

John J. Conti, U.S. Department of

Energy, Office of Policy, Office of

Economic, Electricity and Natural Gas

Analysis, Forrestal Building, PO–21,

1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20585, (202) 586–

4767, e-mail: john.conti@hq.doe.gov, or

Lot Cooke, Esq., U.S. Department of

Energy, Office of General Counsel,

Forrestal Building, GC–76, 1000

Independence Ave., SW., Washington,

D.C. 20585, (202) 586–0503, e-mail:

lot.cooke@hq.doe.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 1998

Final Report of the Secretary of Energy

Advisory Board’s Task Force on Electric

System Reliability noted:

* * * the electricity industry is in a

transition from a highly regulated industry

dominated by monopoly utilities to an

industry that will rely, in large part, upon

competitive commercial markets at both the

wholesale and retail levels. The industry is

unbundling, and the old institutions for

reliability are no longer sufficient. We are

already in the middle of our journey toward

a restructured electricity industry. However,

the new policies and institutions needed to

assure electric reliability are not yet in place.

Until such policies and institutions are in

place, substantial parts of North America will

be exposed to unacceptable risks.

The complete report is available at

http://www.hr.doe.gov/seab.

The events of the last two summers

have borne out the Task Force’s

warnings. During the Summer of 1999 a

number of regions of the country

experienced blackouts and brownouts.

Utilities located in other areas narrowly

avoided major reliability-related

problems. This past summer the

California Independent System Operator

declared a record number of ‘‘Stage 2’’

electricity emergencies and was often on

the brink of having to implement rolling

blackouts. Some businesses were forced

to temporarily shut down operations

and millions of people were left to

wonder whether the lights would be on

when they returned home from work in

the evening.

The Report of the Secretary of Energy

Advisory Board’s Task Force, and a

report prepared by the Department of

Energy’s Power Outage Study Team

(available at http://

www.policy.energy.gov/), offered

recommendations on actions that could

be taken to improve the reliability of the

electric grid. Some of these

recommendations focused on efforts to

improve the adequacy of our electricity

supply to ensure that it keeps pace with

demand for power. Other

recommendations attempted to address

some potential problems associated

with the security of the integrated bulk

power grid. Both reports recommended

that all users of the bulk power system

be subject to mandatory reliability rules.

The electric utility industry, through

a tradition of voluntary self-regulation

and cooperation, has historically

performed admirably in maintaining

reliability. That self-regulation was

accomplished under the auspices of the

North American Electric Reliability

Council (NERC). NERC was established

in 1968 as a voluntary membership

organization. NERC develops standards,

guidelines, and criteria for ensuring and

evaluating the electricity system’s

security and adequacy. NERC operates

through ten regional councils and has

been largely successful in maintaining a

high degree of transmission grid

reliability. The reliability councils have

functioned without formal enforcement

powers, relying on voluntary

compliance.

However, in a highly competitive

electricity market, voluntary selfregulation of reliability issues may not

be sufficient. Utilities are under

increasing pressures to cut costs and

maximize the economic value of the

electric transmission grid, to the

possible detriment of electric reliability.

In addition, in a competitive

environment industry participants may

use reliability concerns as a pretext for

anti-competitive behavior.

NERC and other interested parties

have stated that the establishment and

enforcement of mandatory reliability

69754 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 224 / Monday, November 20, 2000 / Notices

standards will be necessary to protect

the reliability of the bulk power system

in a restructured electricity industry.

The Administration’s proposed

comprehensive electricity restructuring

legislation—the Comprehensive

Electricity Competition Act (CECA)

(H.R.1828 and S.1047 in the U.S. House

of Representatives and the U.S. Senate

respectively)—includes a provision that

would amend the Federal Power Act

(FPA) (16 U.S.C. 791a, et seq.) to require

FERC to approve the formation of and

oversee a self-regulating reliability

organization that prescribes and

enforces mandatory reliability

standards. Several other bills introduced

in the 106th Congress included similar

proposals. Although the Senate

approved S. 2071, which authorizes

mandatory reliability standards, on June

30, 2000, the Committee on Commerce

of the House of Representatives failed to

act on this or any other electric

reliability-related legislation.

Because the 106th Congress is likely

to adjourn without enacting legislation

to improve the reliability of the electric

grid, DOE is considering using its

authority under section 403 of the DOE

Organization Act to initiate an electric

reliability rulemaking at FERC. To assist

DOE in its consideration of this issue,

we are requesting comments on the

following questions:

1. Is the existing arrangement of

voluntary compliance with industry

reliability rules sufficient to ensure

reliability of the bulk power

transmission system? If not, why not,

and has reliability been jeopardized by

violations of the existing bulk power

reliability standards?

2. What can FERC do under existing

authorities to address reliability

concerns?

3. If FERC has the authority to

establish and enforce reliability

standards, may FERC delegate such

authority to a self-regulating reliability

organization? Should it do so?

4. Are there elements in CECA, or

other electric reliability legislative

language, which can, with or without

modification, be used in a rulemaking?

5. What should the relationship be

between Regional Transmission

Organizations, as advanced in FERC

Order No. 2000, 65 FR 809 (January 6,

2000), FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31, 089

(2000), and an Electric Reliability

Organization as proposed in CECA?

6. How should the responsibilities

and roles of FERC and the States be

addressed in a rulemaking?

7. Recognizing the international

nature of the interconnected

transmission grid, how could

implementation of mandatory reliability

standards be coordinated with Canada

and Mexico?

In addition to the above, commenters

are encouraged to discuss, comment on,

and make suggestions on other electric

reliability issues that may be relevant to

DOE’s consideration of a rulemaking.

Comments submitted pursuant to the

Notice of Inquiry will be deemed public

and will not be treated as confidential.

Issued in Washington, D.C. on November

15, 2000.

Bill Richardson,

Secretary of Energy.

[FR Doc. 00–29600 Filed 11–17–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. IC01–512–000]

Notice of Proposed Information

Collection and Request for Comments

November 14, 2000.

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of proposed information

collection and request for comments.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the

requirements of Section 3506(c)(2)(a) of

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

(Pub. L. No. 104–13), the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission (Commission) is

soliciting public comment on the

specific aspects of the information

collection described below.

DATES: Consideration will be given to

comments submitted on or before

January 19, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the

proposed collection of information may

be submitted to the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission, Attn: Michael

Miller, Office of the Chief Information

Officer, CI–1, 888 First Street NE.,

Washington, DC 20426.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael Miller may be reached by

telephone at (202) 208–1415, by fax at

(202) 208–2425 and by E-mail at mike.

miller@ferc.fed.us.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Abstract: The FERC–512,

‘‘Application for Preliminary Permit’’

(OMB No. 1902–0073) is used by the

Commission to implement the statutory

provisions of Sections 4(f), 5 and 7 of

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

Sections 791a et seq. & 3301–3432. The

purpose of obtaining a preliminary

permit is to maintain priority of the

application for a license for a

hydroelectric power facility while

examining and surveying to prepare

maps, plans, specifications and

estimates; conducting engineering,

economic and environmental feasibility

studies; and making financial

arrangements. The conditions under

which the priority will be maintained

are set forth in each permit. During the

term of the permit, no other application

for a preliminary permit or application

for a license submitted by another party

can be accepted. The term of a permit

is three years. The information collected

under the designation FERC–512 is in

the form of a written application for a

preliminary permit which is used by

Commission staff to determine the

qualifications of the applicant to hold a

preliminary permit, review the

proposed hydro development for

feasibility and to issue a notice of the

application to solicit public and agency

comments. The Commission

implements these mandatory filing

requirements in the Code of Federal

Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR 4.31–

.33, 4.81–82.

Action: The Commission is requesting

a three-year extension of the current

expiration date, with no changes to the

existing collection of data.

Burden Statement: Public reporting

burden for this collection is estimated

as:

Number of respondents

(1)

Annual responses per

respondent

(2)

Average burden hours per

response

(3)

Total annual

burden hours

(1)×(2)×(3)

45 ................................................................................................................................................. 1 73 3,285

Estimated cost burden to respondents

is $182,186; (i.e., 3,285 hours divided by

2,080 hours per full time employee per

year multiplied by $115,357 per year

equals $182,186). The cost per

respondent is $4,049.