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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 16 (Monday, January 27, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8208-8209]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01736]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC25-8-000]

Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-725D); 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 a renewal of currently approved 
information collection, FERC-725D (Facilities Design, Connections and 
Maintenance Reliability Standards). This notice for the transfer of 
FAC-003-5 (725M) and FAC-008-5 (725A) to 725D.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due March 28, 
2025.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC25-8-
000) by one 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 other delivery methods:
    [cir] Mail via U.S. Postal Service Only: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE, 
Washington, DC 20426.
    [cir] All other delivery services: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, Secretary of the 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], telephone at (202) 502-6468.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: FERC-725D, Facilities Design, Connections and Maintenance 
Reliability Standards.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0247.
    Type of Request: Three-year approval of the FERC-725D information 
collection requirements, with changes to the reporting or recordkeeping 
requirements. (There are adjustments to the estimates to update the 
totals to add in the FAC-003-5 and FAC-008-5).
    Abstract: On August 8, 2005, The Electricity Modernization Act of 
2005, which is Title XII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005), 
was enacted into law. EPAct 2005 added a new section 215 to the Federal 
Power Act (FPA), which requires a Commission-certified Electric 
Reliability Organization (ERO) to develop mandatory and enforceable 
Reliability Standards, subject to Commission review and approval. Once 
approved, the Reliability Standards may be enforced by the ERO, subject 
to Commission oversight, or by the Commission independently. In 2006, 
the Commission certified NERC (now called the North American Electric 
Reliability Corporation) as the ERO pursuant to section 215 of the FPA. 
On March 16, 2007 (pursuant to section 215(d) of the FPA), the 
Commission issued Order No. 693, approving 83 of the 107 initial 
Reliability Standards filed by NERC. In the intervening years, numerous 
changes have been made to update, eliminate, or establish various 
Reliability Standards.
    The information collected by FERC-725D is required to implement the

[[Page 8209]]

statutory provisions of section 215 of the Federal Power Act (FPA) (16 
U.S.C. 824c). Pursuant to section 215 of the Federal Power Act 
(FPA),\1\ in Order 836,\2\ the Commission approved the following 
standards: FAC-003-5 is set out to maintain a reliable electric 
transmission system by using a defense-in-depth strategy to manage 
vegetation located on transmission rights of way (ROW) and minimize 
encroachments from vegetation located adjacent to the ROW, thus 
preventing the risk of those vegetation-related outages that could lead 
to Cascading. FAC-003-5 is applicable to TOs and GOs and NERC has 
incorporated Applicability Sections 4.2.2 and 4.3.1.2 of FAC-003-5 to 
replace references to ``elements of an IROL under NERC Standard FAC-014 
by the Planning Coordinator'' with references to facilities:
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    \1\ 16 U.S.C. 824(o).
    \2\ Order 836 in Docket No. RM16-13 was issued on 9/20/2017 and 
is posted at https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/opennat.asp?fileID=14684897.
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    ``Identified by the Planning Coordinator or Transmission Planner, 
per its Planning Assessment of the Near-Term Transmission Planning 
Horizon as a Facility that if lost or degraded are expected to result 
in instances of instability, Cascading, or uncontrolled separation that 
adversely impacts the reliability of the Bulk Electric System for a 
planning event.''
    Reliability Standard FAC-008-5 ensures that Facility Ratings used 
in the reliable planning and operation of the Bulk Electric System 
(BES) are determined based on technically sound principles. A Facility 
Rating is essential for the determination of System Operating Limits.
    Type of Respondents: TO& GO.\3\
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    \3\ TO = Transmission Owner; GO = Generator Owner.
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    Estimate of Annual Burden \4\ and Cost: The Commission estimates an 
increase (adjustment) in the annual public reporting burden for the 
FERC-725D. In an effort to target similar NERC Reliability Standards by 
family the following manhours associated with two FAC (Facilities) 
Reliability Standards (FAC-008-5 and FAC-003-5) is being transferred 
from 725A (1902-0244) to the 725D (1902-0247), where other FAC 
standards are collected, as shown below in the table:
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    \4\ Burden is defined as the total time, effort, or financial 
resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or 
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 Code of Federal Regulations 1320.3.

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                                                   Number of                     Average number
                                  Number of         annual       Total number   of burden hours    Total burden
                                  entity \5\     responses per   of responses     per response        hours
                                                    entity                            \6\
                               (1)............             (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4)............  (3) * (4) = (5)
                                                                           (3)
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                                     Transferred from FERC-725M to FERC-725D
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Annual Review and Record       191(TO)........               1             191  1.91 hrs.;       364.81 hrs.;
 Retention.                    731(GO)........               1             731   $134.98/hrs.     $25,781.12.
                                                                                .48 hrs.;        349.41 hrs.;
                                                                                 $33.92 hrs.      $24,728.14.
Carryover from RD22-2 Exp.     1,393..........               4           5,572  8 hrs.; $565.36  44,576 hrs.;
 2026.                                                                                            $3,150,185.92.
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    Total for FAC-003-5......  ...............  ..............           6,494  ...............  45,290.22 hrs.;
                                                                                                  $3,200,659.85.
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                                                   Number of                     Average number
                                  Number of         annual       Total number   of burden hours    Total burden
                                  entity \7\     responses per   of responses     per response        hours
                                                    entity                            \8\
                               (1)............             (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4)............  (3) * (4) = (5)
                                                                           (3)
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                                     Transferred from FERC-725A to FERC-725D
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Annual review and record       324 (TO).......               1             324  200 hrs.;        64,800 hrs.;
 retention.                    1210 (GO)......               1           1,210   $70.67/hrs.      $4,579,416.
                                                                                80 hrs.; $70.67/ 96,800 hrs.;
                                                                                 hrs.             $6,840,856.
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    Total for FAC-008-5......  ...............  ..............           1,534  ...............  161,600 hrs.;
                                                                                                  $11,420,272.
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    Comments: Comments are invited on: (1) whether the collection of 
information is 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 estimate of the burden and 
cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
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    \5\ These values were derived from the NERC Compliance data of 
April 16, 2024, using only unique United States registered entities.
    \6\ The estimated hourly cost (salary plus benefits) is a 
combination based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as of 
2024, for 75% of the average of an Electrical Engineer (17-2071) 
$79.31/hr., 79.31 x .75 = 59.4825 ($59.48-rounded) ($59.48/hour) and 
25% of an Information and Record Clerk (43-4199) $44.74/hr., $44.74 
x .25% = 11.185 ($11.19 rounded) ($11.19/hour), for a total ($59.48 
+ $11.19 = $70.67/hour).
    \7\ These values were derived from the NERC Compliance data of 
April 16, 2024, using only unique United States registered entities.
    \8\ The estimated hourly cost (salary plus benefits) is a 
combination based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as of 
2024, for 75% of the average of an Electrical Engineer (17-2071) 
$79.31/hr., 79.31 x .75 = 59.4825 ($59.48-rounded) ($59.48/hour) and 
25% of an Information and Record Clerk (43-4199) $44.74/hr., $44.74 
x .25% = 11.185 ($11.19 rounded) ($11.19/hour), for a total ($59.48 
+ $11.19 = $70.67/hour).

    Dated: January 17, 2025.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025-01736 Filed 1-24-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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