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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 25 (Friday, February 7, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9144-9146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-02357]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC25-6-000]

Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC Form No. 60, 
FERC-61, and FERC-555A); Consolidated Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of information collection and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or 
FERC) is soliciting public comment on the currently approved 
information collections, FERC Form No. 60 (Annual Report of Centralized 
Service Companies), FERC-61 (Narrative Description of Service Company 
Functions), and FERC-555A (Preservation of Records Companies and 
Service Companies Subject to PUHCA).

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due April 8, 2025.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC25-6-
000) by any of the following methods:
    Electronic filing through https://www.ferc.gov, is preferred.
     Electronic Filing: Documents must be filed in acceptable 
native applications and print-to-PDF, but not in scanned or picture 
format.
     For those unable to file electronically, comments may be 
filed by USPS mail or by hand (including courier) delivery:
    [cir] Mail via U.S. Postal Service Only: Addressed to: Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First 
Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.
    [cir] Hand (Including Courier) Delivery: Deliver to: Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852.
    Instructions: All submissions must be formatted and filed in 
accordance with submission guidelines at: https://www.ferc.gov. For 
user assistance, contact FERC Online Support by email at: 
[email protected], or by phone at: (866) 208-3676 (toll-free).
    Docket: Users interested in receiving automatic notification of 
activity in this docket or in viewing/downloading comments and 
issuances in this docket may do so at: https://www.ferc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kayla Williams may be reached by email 
at [email protected] and telephone at (202) 502-8663.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the information collection 
requirements for FERC Form No. 60, FERC-61, and FERC-555A with no 
changes to the current reporting requirements.
    OMB Control Nos. and Titles: 1902-0215 ((FERC Form No. 60 (Annual 
Report of Centralized Service Companies), FERC-61 (Narrative 
Description of Service Company Functions), and FERC-555A (Preservation 
of Records Companies and Service Companies Subject to PUHCA)).
    Abstract: In accordance with the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 
2005), the Commission implemented the repeal of the Public Utility 
Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA 1935) and implemented the provisions 
of a newly enacted Public Utility Holding Company Act 2005 (PUHCA 
2005). Pursuant to PUHCA 2005, the Commission requires centralized 
service companies to file FERC Form No. 60 or FERC-61, and comply with 
FERC-555A's requirements unless the company is exempted or granted a 
waiver pursuant to the Commission's regulations. The information 
collected in FERC Form No. 60 enables better monitoring for cross-
subsidization, and aids the Commission in carrying out its statutory 
responsibilities. In addition, centralized service companies are 
required to follow the Commission's preservation of records 
requirements for centralized service companies.

FERC Form No. 60

    FERC Form No. 60 is an annual reporting requirement for centralized 
service companies set forth in 18 CFR 366.23. The report's function is 
to collect financial information (including balance sheet, assets, 
liabilities, billing and charges for associated and non-associated 
companies) from centralized service companies subject to the 
Commission's jurisdiction. Unless the Commission exempts or grants a 
waiver pursuant to 18 CFR 366.3 and 366.4 to the holding company 
system, every centralized service company in a holding company system 
must prepare and file electronically with the Commission the FERC Form 
No. 60, pursuant to the General Instructions in the form.

FERC-61

    FERC-61 is a filing requirement for service companies in holding 
company systems (including special purpose companies) that are 
currently exempt or granted a waiver of FERC's regulations and would 
not have to file FERC Form No. 60. Instead, those service companies are 
required to file, on an annual basis, a narrative description of the 
service company's functions during the prior calendar year (FERC-61). 
In complying, a holding company may make a single filing on behalf of 
all of its service company subsidiaries.

FERC-555A

    The Commission's regulations prescribe a mandated preservation of 
records requirement for holding companies and service companies (unless 
otherwise exempted by FERC). This requires them to maintain and make 
available to FERC, their books and records. The preservation of records 
requirement provides for uniform records retention by holding companies 
and centralized service companies subject to PUHCA 2005.

[[Page 9145]]

    Data from FERC Form No. 60, FERC-61, and FERC-555A provide a level 
of transparency that: (1) helps protect ratepayers from pass-through of 
improper service company costs, (2) enables the Commission to review 
and determine cost allocations (among holding company members) for 
certain non-power goods and services, (3) aids the Commission in 
meeting its oversight and market monitoring obligations, and (4) 
benefits the public, both as ratepayers and investors. In addition, the 
Commission's audit staff uses these records during compliance audits, 
reviews and special analyses.
    If data from FERC Form No. 60, FERC-61, and FERC-555A were not 
available, it would be difficult for the Commission to meet its 
statutory responsibilities under EPAct 1992, EPAct of 2005, and PUHCA 
2005, and the Commission would have fewer of the regulatory mechanisms 
necessary to ensure transparency and protect ratepayers.
    Type of Respondent: Centralized service companies.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \1\ The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden and cost (rounded in the tables) for the 
information collections as: \2\
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    \1\ Burden is defined as the total time, effort, or financial 
resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, 
disclose, or provide information to or for a Federal agency. For 
further explanation of what is included in the information 
collection burden, refer to 5 CFR 1320.3. The burden hours and costs 
are rounded for ease of presentation.
    \2\ The cost for the Form 60 and FERC-61 is based on FERC's 2024 
Commission-wide average salary cost (salary plus benefits) of $100/
hour. The Commission staff believes the FERC FTE (full-time 
equivalent) average cost for wages plus benefits is representative 
of the corresponding cost for the industry respondents.
    For the FERC-555A, the $39.53 hourly cost figure comes from the 
average cost (wages plus benefits) of a file clerk (Occupation Code 
43-4071) as posted on the BLS website (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm).

                                                             FERC-60--Annual Burden Estimate
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                                         C. Annual
                                         number of       D. Total number of    E. Average burden hours   F. Total annual burden
      B. Number of respondents         responses per         responses           & cost per response          hours & cost        G. Cost per respondent
                                        respondent
                                                        (column B x column C)                           (column D x column E)..    (column F / column B)
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37..................................               1                       37  78 hrs.; $7,800........  2,886 hrs.; $288,600...                   $7,800
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                                                             FERC-61--Annual Burden Estimate
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                                         C. Annual
                                         number of       D. Total number of    E. Average burden hours   F. Total annual burden
      B. Number of respondents         responses per         responses           & cost per response          hours & cost        G. Cost per respondent
                                        respondent
                                                        (column B x column C)                           (column D x column E)..    (column F / column B)
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14 \3\..............................               1                       14  0.5 hrs.; $50..........  7 hrs.; $700...........                      $50
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                                                            FERC-555A--Annual Burden Estimate
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                                         C. Annual
                                         number of       D. Total number of    E. Average burden hours   F. Total annual burden
      B. Number of respondents         responses per         responses           & cost per response          hours & cost        G. Cost per respondent
                                        respondent
                                                        (column B x column C)                           (column D x column E)..    (column F / column B)
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51..................................               1                       51  1,080 hrs.; $42,692.40.  55,080 hrs.;                          $42,692.40
                                                                                                         $2,177,312.40.
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                                           FERC-555A--Record Retention
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                                                               Total number of      Cost per       Total annual
                                                                  responses        respondent          cost
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Electronic Storage...........................................              51           $10.00             $510
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    Total Annual Cost: $2,468,472.40 [$288,600 (FERC Form No. 60) + 
$700 (FERC-61) + $2,177,312.40 (FERC-555A)] (Labor Cost) + $510 (Record 
Retention storage cost) = $2,468,472.40.]
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    \3\ Previously, the Commission estimated the number of FERC-61 
respondents by including the potential for a holding company to file 
for a group of companies. In contrast, the current estimate is 
updated to instead reflect the actual number of filers filing the 
FERC-61, as opposed to the potential number of companies represented 
by the population of filers. The current approach is more precisee 
as it can be confirmed by reviewing the most recent number of FERC-
61 filers. It is also consistent with the manner in which the number 
of respondents is estimated for other Commission collections. The 
varying corporate sizes and complexities inherent in the filing 
community is already taken into account via the burden hours 
estimate that is based on average filer burden.
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    A more granular breakdown of the FERC-60/61/555A cost categories 
follows:
    Labor Cost: The total estimated annual cost for labor burden to 
respondents is $2,466,612.40 [$288,600 (FERC Form No. 60) + $700 (FERC-
61) + $2,177,312.40 (FERC-555A)].
    FERC Form No. 60: 37 respondents x $7,800 per respondent = 
$288,600.
    FERC-61: 14 respondents x $50 per respondent = $700.
    FERC-555A: 51 respondents x $42,692.40 per respondent = 
$2,177,312.40.
    We expect the labor cost of FERC-555A record keeping to trend 
downward over time as companies move their

[[Page 9146]]

records almost entirely to electronic record keeping and storage.
    Storage Cost: \4\ In addition to the FERC-555A labor (burden cost 
provided above), there are additional costs that represent record 
retention and storage costs. Previously, the estimate included paper 
storage costs, but firms no longer rely on paper storage to maintain 
the majority of their records, therefore the Commission is removing the 
costs for paper storage. For electronic storage, the Commission 
estimates $10.00 per respondent annually. Total annual electronic 
storage cost to industry ($10.00 x 51 respondents): $510. This 
calculation estimates storage of 1GB per year at $10.00. We expect that 
this estimate should continue to trend downward over time as the cost 
of electronic storage technology, including cloud storage, continues to 
decrease. For example, external hard drives of approximately 1,000 GB 
are available for approximately $75. In addition, cloud storage plans 
from multiple providers for 1TB of storage (with a reasonable amount of 
requests and data transfers) are available for less than $7 per month.
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    \4\ Internal analysis assumes 100% electronic storage.
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    Comments: Comments are invited on: (1) whether the collections of 
information are necessary for the proper performance of the functions 
of the Commission, including whether the information will have 
practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the 
burden and cost of the collections of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collections; and 
(4) ways to minimize the burden of the collections of information on 
those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.

    Dated: January 27, 2025.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025-02357 Filed 2-6-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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