Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 51 / Monday, March 17, 1997 / Notices 12625

3F–056, FE–52, Forrestal Building, 1000

Independence Avenue, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ellen Russell at (202) 586–9624.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title II of

the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use

Act of 1978 (FUA), as amended (42

U.S.C. 8301 et seq.), provides that no

new baseload electric powerplant may

be constructed or operated without the

capability to use coal or another

alternate fuel as a primary energy

source. In order to meet the requirement

of coal capability, the owner or operator

of such facilities proposing to use

natural gas or petroleum as its primary

energy source shall certify, pursuant to

FUA section 201(d), to the Secretary of

Energy prior to construction, or prior to

operation as a base load powerplant,

that such powerplant has the capability

to use coal or another alternate fuel.

Such certification establishes

compliance with section 201(a) as of the

date filed with the Department of

Energy. The Secretary is required to

publish a notice in the Federal Register

that a certification has been filed. The

following owner/operator of the

proposed new baseload powerplant has

filed a self-certification in acccordance

with section 201(d).

Owner: Pasadena Cogeneration L.P.

Operator: Pasadena Cogeneration L.P.

Location: Harris County, Texas.

Plant Configuration: Combined cycle,

topping-cycle cogeneration.

Capacity: 240 megawatts.

Fuel: Natural gas.

Purchasing Entities: Philips

Petroleum Co. and Houston Lighting &

Power Co.

In-Service Date: October 31, 1998.

Issued in Washington, D.C., March 11,

1997.

Anthony J. Como,

Director, Electric Power Regulation, Office of

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

systems, Office of Fossil Energy.

[FR Doc. 97–6588 Filed 3–14–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

[Docket No. FE–R–79–43B]

Electric and Gas Utilities Covered in

1997 by Titles I and III of the Public

Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978

and Requirements for State Regulatory

Authorities to Notify the Department of

Energy

AGENCY: Office of Fossil Energy,

Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Sections 102(c) and 301(d) of

the Public Utility Regulatory Policies

Act of 1978 (PURPA) require the

Secretary of Energy to publish a list,

before the beginning of each calendar

year, identifying each electric utility

and gas utility to which Titles I and III

of PURPA apply during such calendar

year. In addition, sections 102(c) and

301(d) of PURPA require each State

regulatory authority to notify the

Secretary of Energy of each electric

utility and gas utility on the list for

which such State regulatory authority

has ratemaking authority. Written

comments are requested on the accuracy

of the list of electric and gas utilities.

This Notice is to announce the

availability of the 1997 list.

The list is available both in hard copy

and electronically. The hard copy

version of the 1997 list is being

provided by mail to all state regulatory

authorities. Other parties interested in

receiving the hard copy list may contact

the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

identified below. In addition, the Office

of Coal & Energy Systems operates an

electronic bulletin board as a service to

commercial and government users, as

well as the general public. The 1997 list

is also available by accessing the

bulletin board.

DATES: Notifications by State regulatory

authorities and written comments must

be received by no later than 4:30 p.m.

on April 16, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Notifications and written

comments should be forwarded to:

Department of Energy, Office of Coal &

Power Im/Ex, FE–52, 1000

Independence Avenue, SW., Room 3F–

070, Docket No. FE–R–79–43B,

Washington, D.C. 20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steven Mintz, Office of Coal & Power

Im/Ex, Fossil Energy, Department of

Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue,

SW, Room 3F–070, FE–52, Washington,

D.C. 20585, Telephone 202/586–9506.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

Pursuant to sections 102(c) and 301(d)

of PURPA, Pub. L. 95–617, 92 Stat. 3117

et seq. (16 U.S.C. 260l et seq.,

hereinafter referred to as the Act) the

Department of Energy (DOE) is required

to publish a list of utilities to which

Titles I and III of PURPA apply in 1997.

State regulatory authorities are

required by the Act to notify the

Secretary of Energy as to their

ratemaking authority over the listed

utilities. The inclusion or exclusion of

any utility on or from the list does not

affect the legal obligations of such

utility or the responsible authority

under the Act.

The term ‘‘State regulatory authority’’

means any State, including the District

of Columbia and Puerto Rico, or a

political subdivision thereof, and any

agency or instrumentality, which has

authority to fix, modify, approve, or

disapprove rates with respect to the sale

of electric energy or natural gas by any

utility (other than such State agency). In

the case of a utility for which the

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has

ratemaking authority, the term ‘‘State

regulatory authority’’ means the TVA.

Title I of PURPA sets forth ratemaking

and regulatory policy standards with

respect to electric utilities. Section

102(C) of Title I requires the Secretary

of Energy to publish a list, before the

beginning of each calendar year,

identifying each electric utility to which

Title I applies during such calendar

year. An electric utility is defined as any

person, State agency, or Federal agency

that sells electric energy. An electric

utility is covered by Title I for any

calendar year if it had total sales of

electric energy, for purposes other than

resale, in excess of 500 million kilowatthours during any calendar year

beginning after December 31, 1975, and

before the immediately preceding

calendar year. An electric utility is

covered in 1997 if it exceeded the

threshold in any year from 1976 through

1995.

Title III of PURPA addresses

ratemaking and other regulatory policy

standards with respect to natural gas

utilities. Section 301(d) of Title III

requires the Secretary of Energy to

publish a list, before the beginning of

each calendar year, identifying each gas

utility to which Title III applies during

such calendar year. A gas utility is

defined as any person, State agency, or

Federal agency, engaged in the local

distribution of natural gas and the sale

of natural gas to any ultimate consumer

of natural gas. A gas utility is covered

by Title III if it had total sales of natural

gas, for purposes other than resale, in

excess of 10 billion cubic feet during

any calendar year beginning after

December 31, 1975, and before the

immediately preceding calendar year. A

gas utility is covered in 1997 if it

exceeded the threshold in any year from

1976 through 1995.

In compiling the list published today,

the DOE revised the 1996 list (60 FR

67133, December 28, 1995) upon the

assumption that all entities included on

the 1996 list are properly included on

the 1997 list unless the DOE has

information to the contrary. In doing

this, the DOE took into account

information included in public

documents regarding entities which

exceeded the PURPA thresholds for the
12626 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 51 / Monday, March 17, 1997 / Notices

first time in 1995. The DOE believes that

it will become aware of any errors or

omissions in the list published today by

means of the comment process called

for by this Notice. The DOE will, after

consideration of any comment and other

information available to the DOE,

provide written notice of any further

additions or deletions to the list.

II. Notification and Comment

Procedures

No later than 4:30 p.m. on April 16,

1997, each State regulatory authority

must notify the DOE in writing of each

utility on the list over which it has

ratemaking authority. Two copies of

such notification should be submitted to

the address indicated in the ADDRESSES

section of this Notice and should be

identified on the outside of the envelope

and on the document with the

designation ‘‘Docket No. FE–R–79–

43B.’’ Such notification should include:

1. a complete list of electric utilities

and gas utilities over which the State

regulatory authority has ratemaking

authority;

2. legal citations pertaining to the

ratemaking authority of the State

regulatory authority; and

3. for any listed utility known to be

subject to other ratemaking authorities

within the State for portions of its

service area, a precise description of the

portion to which such notification

applies.

All interested persons, including State

regulatory authorities, are invited to

comment in writing, no later than 4:30

p.m. on April 16, 1997, on any errors or

omissions with respect to the list. Two

copies of such comments should be sent

to the address indicated in the

ADDRESSES section of this Notice and

should be identified on the outside of

the envelope and on the document with

the designation ‘‘Docket No. FE–R–79–

43B.’’ Written comments should include

the commenter’s name, address, and

telephone number.

All notifications and comments

received by the DOE will be made

available, upon request, for public

inspection and copying in the Freedom

of Information Reading Room, Room

1E–190, 1000 Independence Avenue,

SW, Washington, D.C. 20585, between

the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.,

Monday through Friday, except Federal

holidays.

III. List of Electric Utilities and Gas

Utilities

The 1997 list consists of two parts

(appendices A and B). Each displays a

different tabulation of the utilities that

meet PURPA coverage requirements. As

stated above, the inclusion or exclusion

of any utility on or from the lists does

not affect its legal obligations or those

of the responsible State regulatory

authority under PURPA.

Appendix A contains a list of utilities

which are covered by PURPA. These

utilities are grouped by State and by the

regulatory authority within each State.

Also included in this list are utilities

which are covered by PURPA but which

are not regulated by the State regulatory

authority. This tabulation, including

explanatory notes, is based on

information provided to the DOE by

State regulatory authorities in response

to the December 28, 1995, Federal

Register notice (60 FR 67133) requiring

each State regulatory authority to notify

the DOE of each utility on the list over

which it has ratemaking authority,

public comments received with respect

to that notice, and information

subsequently made available to the

DOE.

The utilities classified in Appendix A

as not regulated by the State regulatory

authority in fact may be regulated by

local municipal authorities. These

municipal authorities would be State

agencies as defined by PURPA and thus

have responsibilities under PURPA

identical to those of the State regulatory

authority. Therefore, each such

municipality is to notify the DOE of

each utility on the list over which it has

ratemaking authority.

In Appendix B, the utilities are listed

alphabetically, subdivided into electric

utilities and gas utilities, and further

subdivided by type of ownership:

investor-owned utilities, publiclyowned utilities, and rural cooperatives.

Those parties interested in accessing

the list electronically require the

following equipment: a personal

computer, communications software

such as PROCOMM, RELAY, or

CROSSTALK; and, a MODUM.

Before dialing the Fuels Programs

Bulletin Board you should set your

communications software to the

following parameters: 1200 or 2400

baud; no parity; 8 data bits; 1 stop bit;

and, full duplex.

The Bulletin Board telephone number

is (202) 586–7853. Calls are limited to

40 minutes of on-line time per day.

The changes to the 1996 list of electric

and gas utilities are as follows:

Additions:

City of Fort Pierce (FL)

City of Jacksonville Beach (FL)

Golden Valley Electric Cooperative (AK)

McPherson Board of Public Utilities

(KS)

Vermont Gas Systems, Inc. (VT)

(Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act

of 1978, Pub. L. 95–617, 92 Stat. 3117

et seq. (16 U.S.C. 2601) et seq.))

Issued in Washington, D.C., on March 5,

1997.

Anthony J. Como,

Manager, Electric Power Regulation, Office

of Coal and Power Im/Ex, Office of Fossil

Energy.

[FR Doc. 97–6589 Filed 3–14–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

Office of Energy Research

[Notice 97–12]

Energy Research Financial Assistance

Program; Atmospheric Chemistry

Program

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice inviting grant

applications.

SUMMARY: The Office of Health and

Environmental Research (OHER) of the

Office of Energy Research, U.S.

Department of Energy (DOE) hereby

announces its interest in receiving

applications to support the continuation

of its Atmospheric Chemistry Program

(ACP). The applications should address

the continuation of experimental and

theoretical study of atmospheric

chemistry processes affected by energyrelated air pollutants (i.e., sulfur oxides,

nitrogen oxides, aerosols, and ozone).

These studies are intended to be in

support of DOE information needs

under the National Energy Policy Act

(Public Law 102–486).

DATES: To permit timely consideration

for awards in Fiscal Year 1998, formal

applications submitted in response to

this notice should be received by 4:30

p.m. E.D.T., June 12, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Formal applications

referencing Program Notice 97–12

should be forwarded to: U.S.

Department of Energy, Office of Energy

Research, Grants and Contracts

Division, ER–64, 19901 Germantown

Road, Germantown, MD 20874–1290,

ATTN: Program Notice 97–12. This

address must also be used when

submitting applications by U.S. Postal

Service Express Mail or any other

commercial overnight delivery service,

or when hand-carried by the applicant.

An original and seven copies of the

application must be submitted;

however, applicants are requested not to

submit multiple application copies

using more than one delivery or mail

service.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Rickey Petty, Environmental Sciences

Division, ER–74, Office of Health and

Environmental Research, Office of

Energy Research, U.S. Department of

Energy, 19901 Germantown Road,