70122 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 218 / Thursday, November 10, 2011 / Notices 

1The regional reliability organizations under FPA 

section 215 are the Florida Reliability Coordinating 

Council, the Midwest Reliability Organization, the 

Northeast Power Coordinating Council, Reliability 

First Corporation, SERC Reliability Corporation, the 

Southwest Power Pool, the Texas Regional Entity 

(TRE), and the Western Electricity Coordinating 

Council. 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Plan for Conduct of 2012 Electric 

Transmission Congestion Study 

AGENCY: Office of Electricity Delivery 

and Energy Reliability, Department of 

Energy (DOE). 

ACTION: Notice of regional workshops 

and request for written comments. 

SUMMARY: Section 216(a)(1) of the 

Federal Power Act (FPA) requires the 

Department of Energy (Department or 

DOE) to complete a study of electric 

transmission congestion every three 

years. DOE issued its first ‘‘National 

Electric Transmission Congestion 

Study’’ (Congestion Study) in August 

2006 and the second early in 2010. The 

Department is now initiating 

preparations for the 2012 Congestion 

Study, and seeks comments on what 

publicly-available data and information 

should be considered, and what types of 

analysis should be performed to identify 

and understand the significance and 

character of transmission congestion. 

DOE will host four regional pre-study 

workshops in early December 2011 to 

receive input and suggestions 

concerning the study. DOE expects to 

release a draft of the study in 2012 for 

a 60-day comment period. After 

reviewing and considering the 

comments received, DOE will publish a 

final version of the study. Interested 

persons may submit comments in 

response to this notice in the manner 

indicated in the ADDRESSES section. 

DATES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section III. Pre-Study Workshops for 

workshop dates and locations. DOE 

recognizes that some commenters may 

wish to draw upon or direct us to 

studies or analyses that are now in 

process. DOE requests that commenters 

submit such materials as they become 

available, but no later than January 31, 

2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit written 

comments to http://energy.gov/oe/ 

congestion-study-2012, or by mail to the 

Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy 

Reliability, OE–20, U.S. Department of 

Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC 20585. The 

following electronic file formats are 

acceptable: Microsoft Word (.doc), Corel 

Word Perfect (.wpd), Adobe Acrobat 

(.pdf), Rich Text Format (.rtf), plain text 

(.txt), Microsoft Excel (.xls), and 

Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt). The 

Department intends to use only data 

that is publicly available for this study. 

Accordingly, please do not submit 

information that you believe is or 

should be protected from public 

disclosure. DOE is responsible for the 

final determination concerning 

disclosure or nondisclosure of 

information submitted to DOE and for 

treating it in accordance with the DOE’s 

Freedom of Information regulations (10 

CFR 1004.11). All comments received 

by DOE regarding the 2012 Congestion 

Study will be posted on http:// 

energy.gov/oe/congestion-study-2012 for 

public review. 

Note: Delivery of the U.S. Postal Service 

mail to DOE continues to be delayed by 

several weeks due to security screening. DOE 

therefore encourages those wishing to 

comment to submit their comments 

electronically by email. If comments are 

submitted by regular mail, the Department 

requests that they be accompanied by a CD 

or diskette containing electronic files of the 

submission. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David Meyer, DOE Office of Electricity 

Delivery and Energy Reliability, (202) 

586–1411, david.meyer@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. 

L. 109–58) (EPAct) added several new 

provisions to the Federal Power Act 

(16 U.S.C. 824p) (FPA), including FPA 

section 216. FPA section 216(a) requires 

the Secretary of Energy to conduct a 

study of electric transmission 

congestion within one year from the 

date of enactment of EPAct and every 

three years thereafter. The 2006 and 

2009 Congestion Studies reviewed 

congestion nationwide except for the 

portion of Texas covered by the 

Electricity Reliability Council of Texas, 

to which FPA section 216 does not 

apply. The 2012 Congestion Study will 

be of a similar scope. FPA section 216(a) 

requires the congestion study be 

conducted in consultation with affected 

States. Also, in exercising its 

responsibilities under Section 216, DOE 

is required to consult regularly with the 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

(FERC), any appropriate regional entity 

referred to in FPA section 215, i.e., the 

regional electric reliability 

organizations,1 and Regional 

Transmission Organizations approved 

by FERC. 

In preparing the 2009 Congestion 

Study, the Department gathered 

historical congestion data obtained from 

existing studies prepared by regional 

reliability councils, regional 

transmission organizations (RTOs) and 

independent system operators (ISOs), 

and regional planning groups. Unlike 

the 2006 Congestion Study, the 

Department did not conduct or support 

studies of projected congestion for the 

2009 Congestion Study. The Department 

did, however, direct the first study of 

publicly available historic congestion 

data in the Eastern Interconnection. As 

part of the data gathering, the 

Department held six public Regional 

Workshops and one public Technical 

Conference. DOE issued the 2009 

Congestion Study in 2010 and requested 

comments within 60 days. 

The 2009 Congestion Study reviewed 

congestion areas from the 2006 

Congestion Study. The two ‘‘Critical 

Congestion Areas’’ (i.e., areas where the 

current and/or projected effects of 

congestion are especially broad and 

severe) identified in 2006 were still 

determined to be areas of critical 

congestion: The Atlantic coastal area 

from metropolitan New York through 

northern Virginia (the Mid-Atlantic 

Critical Congestion Area), and southern 

California (the Southern California 

Critical Congestion Area). Two of the 

‘‘Congestion Areas of Concern’’ (i.e., 

areas where a large-scale congestion 

problem exists or may be emerging but 

more information and analysis appear to 

be needed to determine the magnitude 

of the problem) identified in 2006 also 

remain areas of concern: The San 

Francisco Peninsula and the SeattlePortland area. Two Congested Areas of 

Concern areas, New England and the 

Phoenix-Tucson areas, were found to 

have alleviated or made significant 

progress on alleviating congestion; 

therefore, the 2009 Congestion Study 

did not identify these areas as 

Congestion Areas of Concern. The 2009 

Congestion Study identified Conditional 

Constraint Areas focused on areas of 

potential renewable generation to satisfy 

requirements of the American 

Reinvestment and Recovery Act. 

Conditional Constraint Areas were 

identified in a large area of the Western 

and Eastern Interconnections that could 

support wind (Midwest), solar 

(Southwest) and geothermal (NevadaOregon-Idaho-Utah) generation, and 

areas pertaining to off-shore wind on 

both the east and west coasts, the Gulf 

of Mexico and on the Great Lakes. 

II. Plan for the 2012 Congestion Study 

The 2012 study will draw upon many 

of the same kinds of data, analyses and 

information as the earlier studies, with 

some additions. These sources may 

include, but are not limited to: 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 218 / Thursday, November 10, 2011 / Notices 70123 

Æ Electricity market analyses, 

including locational marginal price 

(LMP) patterns. 

Æ Reliability analyses and actions, 

including transmission loading relief 

(TLR) actions. 

Æ Historic energy flows. 

Æ Current and projected electric 

supply and generation plans. 

Æ Recent, current and planned 

transmission and interconnection 

queues. 

Æ Current and forecast electricity 

loads, including energy efficiency, 

distributed generation (DG) and demand 

response (DR) plans and policies. 

Æ The location of renewable resources 

and state and regional policies with 

respect to renewable development. 

Æ Projected impacts of current or 

pending environmental regulation on 

generation availability. 

Æ Effects of recent or projected 

economic conditions on demand and 

congestion. 

Æ Analytic results from the eastern 

and western interconnection-level 

planning studies undertaken with DOE 

support. 

Æ Filings under FERC Order 890. 

DOE intends to release a draft version of 

the 2012 Congestion Study in 2012 for 

a 60-day comment period. After 

reviewing and considering the 

comments received, DOE will issue a 

final version of the study. 

III. Pre-Study Workshops 

In December 2011, DOE will host four 

regional half-day pre-study workshops 

to receive and discuss input relevant to 

the 2012 Congestion Study, including 

comments on what publicly-available 

data should be considered to identify 

and understand the significance and 

character of transmission congestion. 

Each workshop will consist of panels of 

invited speakers who will present their 

views, followed by a discussion among 

the panelists led by DOE staff. Each 

workshop will begin at 9 a.m. and end 

by 12:30 p.m. 

Workshops: The cities, dates, and 

locations for the technical workshops 

are: 

1. Philadelphia, PA, December 6, 

2011, at the Philadelphia Airport Hilton, 

4509 Island Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 

19153. 

2. St. Louis, MO, December 8, 2011, 

at the St. Louis Airport Hilton, 10330 

Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis, MO 

63134. 

3. Portland, OR, December 13, 2011, 

at the Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel, 

8235 Northeast Airport Way, Portland, 

OR 97220. 

4. San Diego, CA, December 15, 2011, 

at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & 

Marina, 1380 Harbor Island Drive, San 

Diego, CA 92101. 

Additional details about the 

workshops are available at http:// 

energy.gov/oe/congestion-study-2012. 

Public Participation: The workshops 

will be open to the public, and will be 

simulcast over the Internet. Advance 

registration for the Webcasts is required 

by visiting http://www.iian.ibeam.com/ 

events/ener001/26552/. A complete 

archive of each event will be on this 

Web site soon after the conclusion of the 

event, and will be downloadable in 

podcast format. 

Members of the public interested in 

offering oral comments at a pre-study 

workshop may do so on the day of the 

workshop, subject to the time available. 

Approximately one-half hour will be 

reserved for public comments. Time 

allotted per speaker will depend on the 

number who wish to speak but is not 

expected to exceed three minutes. 

Anyone who is not able to attend the 

workshop or has had insufficient time to 

present material is invited to submit a 

written statement in the manner 

indicated in the ADDRESSES section of 

this notice. 

Note: The Department will consult with 

the States and regional reliability 

organizations in the preparation of the 2012 

Congestion Study. DOE recognizes that in 

addition to (or as an alternative to) 

participating in the regional pre-study 

workshops, some States or other 

organizations may wish to discuss congestion 

matters with the Department on a bilateral 

basis. DOE will reserve time at the sites of 

the regional workshops for such bilateral 

discussions, and it invites interested States or 

other organizations to contact the Department 

to identify mutually convenient times. In 

addition, the Department will maintain an 

‘‘open door’’ policy, and will schedule 

congestion meetings at DOE headquarters 

upon request with States, reliability 

organizations, Regional Transmission 

Organizations, Independent System 

Operators, utilities, and other stakeholders. 

IV. Comments in Response to This 

Notice 

All comments filed in response to 

today’s notice should be marked ‘‘Re 

Preparation of the 2012 Congestion 

Study,’’ and sent to the Department in 

the manner indicated in the ADDRESSES

section of this notice. In written 

comments in response to this notice and 

at the regional workshops, DOE requests 

States, utilities, regional transmission 

organizations (RTOs), independent 

system operators (ISOs), and other 

stakeholders to describe changes in their 

respective areas since 2009 that affect 

the location, duration, frequency, 

magnitude, and significance of 

transmission congestion, including 

related transmission constraints. Special 

attention should be given to the 

question of how to gauge the magnitude 

or significance of congestion using 

publicly available data, including FERC 

890 filings. In addition, DOE is 

particularly interested in comments that 

speak to the most appropriate and 

effective methods for distinguishing 

between the effects of technical limits 

on line loadings and possible 

contractual limits on the use of those 

same lines. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on November 4, 

2011. 

Patricia A. Hoffman, 

Assistant Secretary, Office of Electricity 

Delivery and Energy Reliability. 

[FR Doc. 2011–29189 Filed 11–9–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Energy Information Administration 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: U.S. Energy Information 

Administration (EIA), Department of 

Energy (DOE). 

ACTION: Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request. 

SUMMARY: The EIA is soliciting 

comments on the proposed 3-year 

extension of EIA Form EIA–914 Monthly 

Natural Gas Production Report. 

DATES: Comments must be filed by 

January 9, 2012. If you anticipate 

difficulty in submitting comments 

within that period, contact the person 

listed below as soon as possible. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Mr. 

Jeffrey Little. The mailing address is 

Jeffrey Little, EI–24, Forrestal Building, 

U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Ave. SW., Washington, 

DC 20585. To ensure receipt of the 

comments by the due date, submission 

by email (Jeffrey.Little@eia.gov) is 

recommended. Alternatively, Mr. Little 

may be contacted by telephone at (202) 

586–6284. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of any forms and instructions 

should be directed to Mr. Jeffrey Little 

at the contact information listed above. 

The proposed forms and instructions are 

also available on the Internet at: 

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/natural_

gas/survey_forms/nat_survey_forms.

html. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES