Document ID: FERC-2011-0629-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Availability of E-Tag Information to Commission Staff
Posted Date: 2011-04-27T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 81 (Wednesday, April 27, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 23516-23520]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-10119]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

18 CFR Part 366

[Docket No. RM11-12-000]

Availability of E-Tag Information to Commission Staff

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Energy.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) proposes 
to revise its regulations to require the Commission-certified Electric 
Reliability Organization to make available to Commission staff, on an 
ongoing basis, access to complete electronic tagging data used to 
schedule the transmission of electric power in wholesale markets. This 
information will aid the Commission in market monitoring and preventing 
market manipulation, help assure just and reasonable rates, and aid in 
monitoring compliance with certain business practice standards adopted 
by the North American Energy Standards Board and incorporated by 
reference into its regulations and public utility tariffs by the 
Commission. The Commission is also considering making this information 
available to entities involved in market monitoring functions and 
invites comments on this option.

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule are due June 27, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket No. RM11-12-
000, by one of the following methods:
     Agency Web Site: http://ferc.gov. Follow the instructions 
for submitting comments via the eFiling link found in the Comment 
Procedures Section of the preamble.
     Mail: Commenters unable to file comments electronically 
must mail or hand deliver an original of their comments to the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First 
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. Please refer to the Comment 
Procedures Section of the preamble for additional information on how to 
file paper comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Maria Vouras (Technical Information), Office of Enforcement, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 
20426. (202) 502-8062, E[dash]mail: maria.vouras@ferc.gov.
William Sauer (Technical Information), Office of Enforcement, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 
20426. (202) 502-6639, E-mail: william.sauer@ferc.gov.
Gary D. Cohen (Legal Information), Office of the General Counsel, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20426. Telephone: (202) 502-8321, E-mail: 
gary.cohen@ferc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

(April 21, 2011)

    1. In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR), the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission (Commission) proposes, pursuant to Sec.  307(a) 
and Sec.  309 of the Federal Power Act (FPA),\1\ to amend its 
regulations to require the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) 
certified by the Commission under Sec.  39.3 of the Commission's 
regulations \2\ to make available to Commission staff, on an ongoing 
basis, access to the complete electronic tags (e-Tags) used to schedule 
the transmission of electric power interchange transactions in 
wholesale markets.\3\ The Commission proposes to require the ERO to 
provide access to e-Tags, rather than requiring individual market 
participants to provide such access, so as to avoid imposing this 
burden on market participants of submitting e-Tags with both the ERO 
and the Commission.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 16 U.S.C. 791a, et seq.
    \2\ 18 CFR 39.3 (2010).
    \3\ For purposes of this NOPR, ``complete e-Tags'' refers to (1) 
e-Tags for interchange transactions scheduled to flow into, out of 
or within the United States' portion of the Eastern or Western 
Interconnections, or into or out of the Electric Reliability Council 
of Texas and into or out of the United States' portion of the 
Eastern or Western Interconnections, and (2) information on every 
aspect of the e-Tag, including all applicable e-Tag-IDs, transaction 
types, market segments, physical segments, profile sets, 
transmission reservations, and energy schedules.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I. Background

    2. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), 
formerly known as the North American Electric Reliability Council, was 
established in 1968, in response to the 1965 electricity blackout in 
the northeast. At that time, the industry-created council included nine 
regional reliability groups, began regional planning coordination, and 
developed voluntary operations criteria and guides. Over the years, 
NERC modified its membership rules and governing structure and, in 
2006, the Commission approved NERC's application to become the ERO for 
the United States.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ North American Electric Reliability Corporation, 116 FERC ] 
61,062 (2006), order on reh'g, 117 FERC ] 61,126 (2006), order on 
compliance, 118 FERC ] 61,030 (2007).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 23517]]

    3. The North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) is a non-
profit standards development organization established in January 2002 
that serves as an industry forum for the development of business 
practice standards. NAESB has developed a number of business practice 
standards that the Commission has incorporated by reference into its 
regulations, thus making compliance with these standards a mandatory 
Commission requirement.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ See, e.g., Standards for Business Practices and 
Communication Protocols for Public Utilities, Order No. 676, FERC 
Stats. & Regs., Regulations Preambles ] 31,216 (2006), reh'g denied, 
Order No. 676-A, 116 FERC ] 61,255 (2006).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    4. NERC and NAESB coordinate the development of business practices 
and reliability standards for the wholesale electric industry. The 
members and staff of NERC and NAESB actively participate in both 
organizations, and NERC is a member of the NAESB Wholesale Electric 
Quadrant. NAESB representatives participate in NERC technical 
committees and regularly attend meetings of the Member Representatives 
Committee and Board of Trustees.
    5. NERC and NAESB use a joint coordination procedure to ensure 
tight integration of their respective standards development processes 
where reliability and commercial needs are closely related. Some 
examples where such coordination has been required are electronic 
tagging, transmission loading relief (TLR) procedures, and 
determination of available transfer capability. This coordination 
includes joint meetings, inter-organizational reviews of standards and 
comments, and often jointly developed filings.
    6. E[dash]Tags, also known as Requests for Interchange, are used to 
schedule interchange transactions \6\ in wholesale markets.\7\ NERC 
and/or Regional Entities (such as WECC) collect all e[dash]Tag data in 
near real-time to assist Reliability Coordinators in identifying 
transactions that need to be curtailed for relieving overload when 
transmission constraints occur. E[dash]Tags are included in the 
business practice standards adopted by NAESB and incorporated by 
reference into its regulations and public utility tariffs by the 
Commission.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ NERC's Glossary of Terms Used in Reliability Standards 
(updated April 20, 2009) defines an interchange transaction as 
``[a]n agreement to transfer energy from a seller to a buyer that 
crosses one or more Balancing Authority Area boundaries.'' See 
http://www.nerc.com/files/Glossary_2009April20.pdf (page 10 of 21) 
(last visited on March 23, 2011).
    \7\ E-Tag Transaction Tags are part of the Interchange 
Distribution Calculator and Websas that are used in the TLR 
procedure IRO-006-4.1 and WECC Unscheduled Flow Standard IRO-STD-
006-0 for the Eastern and Western Interconnection, respectively.
    \8\ NAESB Wholesale Electric Quadrant (WEQ) Business Practice 
Requirement 004-2 states that the ``primary method of submitting the 
Request for Interchange (RFI) to the Interchange Authority shall be 
an e[dash]Tag using protocols in compliance with the Electronic 
Tagging Functional Specification, Version 1.8.'' See NAESB Wholesale 
Electric Quadrant (WEQ) Business Practice Standards (Version 002.1), 
published March 11, 2009. More recently, NERC has updated its 
tagging specifications, see infra n.12, but this update is not 
reflected in the WEQ Version 002.1 business practice standards 
incorporated by reference by the Commission.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    7. Currently, the Commission and its staff do not have access to 
the complete e[dash]Tags used for interchange transactions. We believe 
that access to this information would enhance the Commission staff's 
efforts to monitor market developments and prevent market manipulation, 
assure just and reasonable rates, and in monitoring compliance with 
certain NAESB business practice standards.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ Having access to e[dash]Tags would allow Commission staff to 
electronically download, receive and store data, as necessary and 
appropriate. Under the NOPR proposal, Commission staff would gain 
access to the e[dash]Tag data that is currently being collected and 
stored in databases by private vendors under contract with NERC.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    8. Accordingly, in this NOPR, the Commission proposes to require 
the Commission-certified ERO to make available to Commission staff on 
an ongoing, non-public basis the complete e[dash]Tags used to schedule 
the transmission of electric power in wholesale markets. In addition, 
while not specifically proposed in this NOPR, the Commission is 
inviting comments on whether the Commission should require that 
complete e[dash]Tags be made available to entities involved in market 
monitoring of RTOs and ISOs. Commenters should consider this broader 
availability option as within the scope of options being considered in 
this rulemaking.

II. Discussion

    9. In this NOPR, the Commission proposes to require the ERO to 
provide Commission staff with access to the e[dash]Tags used to 
schedule interchange transactions in wholesale markets on a non-public 
basis. Under the FPA, the Commission has authority over public 
utilities that make wholesale power sales or that provide wholesale 
transmission service to report the details of their transactions, 
including complete e[dash]Tag data. Additionally, under Sec.  307(a) of 
the FPA, the Commission has, among its powers, authority to investigate 
any facts, conditions, practices, or matters it may deem necessary or 
proper to determine whether any person, electric utility, transmitting 
utility or other entity may have violated or might violate the FPA or 
the Commission's regulations, or to aid in the enforcement of the FPA 
or the Commission regulations, or to obtain information about wholesale 
power sales or the transmission of power in interstate commerce.
    10. The Commission proposes to require the ERO (NERC) rather than 
individual market participants to provide access to the e[dash]Tag data 
to avoid burdening market participants with a requirement to file the 
same data with both NERC and the Commission. In addition, obtaining 
access from one entity (i.e., NERC) will avoid burdening the Commission 
with developing and maintaining a new system to capture such data from 
individual market participants.
    11. E-Tagging was first implemented by NERC on September 22, 1999, 
as a process to improve the speed and efficiency of the tagging 
process, which had previously been accomplished by e-mail, facsimile, 
and telephone exchanges.\10\ E-Tags require that, prior to scheduling 
transactions, one of the market participants involved in a transaction 
must submit certain transaction-specific information, such as the 
source and sink control areas (now referred to as Balancing Authority 
Areas) and control areas along the contract path, as well as the 
transaction's level of priority and transmission reservation Open 
Access Same-Time Information System reference numbers, to control area 
operators and transmission operators on the contract path.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ Open-Access Same-Time Information System and Standards of 
Conduct, 90 FERC ] 61,070, at 61,258-59 (2000) (Order Denying Cease 
and Desist Order).
    \11\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    12. Communication, submission, assessment, and approval of an e-Tag 
must be completed before the interchange transaction is 
implemented.\12\ The Interchange Scheduling and Coordination (INT) 
group of Reliability Standards sets forth requirements for implementing 
interchange transactions through e-Tags. E-Tags are submitted pursuant 
to the business practices set forth by NAESB.

[[Page 23518]]

Those business practices set forth the requirements for a proper e-Tag 
to permit an Interchange Authority to accept and process the e-Tag. 
NERC collects all e-Tags in near real-time that are used in the 
congestion management tools to identify which transaction tags must be 
curtailed to mitigate the overload when transmission constraints occur.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ See Mandatory Reliability Standards, Order No. 693, FERC 
Stats. & Regs. ] 31,242 at P 795, order on reh'g, Order No. 693-A, 
120 FERC 61,053 (2007); see also Revised Mandatory Reliability 
Standards for Interchange Scheduling, Coordination, Order No. 730 at 
P 7 & n.19. E-Tags are implemented through the requirements set 
forth in the NAESB Electronic Tagging Functional Specifications, 
Version 1.8.1 (Oct. 27, 2009).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    13. Two early cases addressed the issue of whether public utilities 
would need to comply with NERC's e-Tag requirements as a precondition 
to making wholesale power sales.\13\ In Coalition Against Private 
Tariffs, 83 FERC ] 61,015, reh'g denied, 84 FERC ] 61,050 (1998), the 
Commission dismissed a motion requesting it to order public utilities 
to cease and desist from requiring compliance with NERC's tagging plan 
as a condition to scheduling transactions.\14\ In addition, the 
Commission found that ``the information required to be submitted by the 
NERC tagging plan is consistent with the information already required 
to be submitted under a Transmission Provider's compliance tariff,'' 
\15\ so that the tagging plan did not require a change to terms and 
conditions of OATTs on file with the Commission.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \13\ We note, however, that the use of e-Tags is not limited to 
transactions involving public utilities.
    \14\ 83 FERC at 61,039.
    \15\ 84 FERC at 61,235.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    14. In another early order involving e-Tags,\16\ the Commission 
denied a motion for a cease and desist order and found that the e-Tag 
system has generally improved the reliability and efficiency of the 
transmission system and facilitates the access of system transmission 
operators to critical information that can be used to analyze ``the way 
in which a particular transaction may impact transmission system 
stability''.\17\ Moreover, the Commission found that the e-Tag system 
is an important element of Next Hour Market Service.\18\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ Open Access Same-Time Information Systems and Standards of 
Conduct, 90 FERC ] 61,070, at 61,260-62 (2000) (Order Denying Cease 
and Desist Order).
    \17\ Id., 90 FERC at 61,262.
    \18\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    15. We believe that obtaining access to complete e-Tag data will 
help the Commission to detect anti-competitive or manipulative behavior 
or ineffective market rules, monitor the efficiency of the markets, and 
better inform Commission policies and decision-making. Thus, the 
Commission proposes to require the ERO to provide access to complete e-
Tag data on a non-public basis to Commission staff. For example, by 
using e-Tag data, in coordination with other resources,\19\ the 
Commission will be able to better identify interchange schedules that 
appear anomalous or inconsistent with rational economic behavior. In 
this regard, access to e-Tag data would allow the Commission's staff to 
examine more effectively situations where interchange schedules are 
absent even when transmission capacity is available and pricing 
differences between the two locations ought to be sufficient to 
encourage transactions between those locations. Such a circumstance 
could signal a market issue or other problem. In addition, Commission 
access to e-Tags would help facilitate Commission audits or 
investigations in cases where e-Tags are relevant.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \19\ For instance, in Docket No. RM10-12-000, the Commission is 
issuing a NOPR concurrently with this NOPR, whereby the Commission 
proposes that e-Tag IDs be included in the transaction details 
reported in Electric Quarterly Reports.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    16. In light of the various Commission uses for e-Tag data, we 
propose to locate this requirement within Sec.  366.2 of our 
regulations, which governs Commission access to books and records. 
Thus, we propose to revise Sec.  366.2 of our regulations to 
redesignate the current paragraph (d) as paragraph (e), and to add a 
new paragraph (d) establishing a formal requirement for the ERO to make 
this information available on an ongoing basis to the Commission's 
Staff. By establishing this requirement as part of Sec.  366.2, it is 
clear that, under the newly designated paragraph (e), the information 
would be kept confidential and would not be made publicly available, 
except as directed by the Commission, or a court with appropriate 
jurisdiction.\20\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \20\ In a NOPR on Electricity Market Transparency Provisions of 
Section 220 of the Federal Power Act, in Docket No. RM10-12-000, 
being issued concurrently with this NOPR, the Commission proposes to 
require individual market participants to file, if applicable, e-Tag 
IDs as part of their publicly-available Electric Quarterly Report 
(EQR). An e-Tag ID is a subset of the information in a complete e-
Tag that contains information about the source Balancing Authority 
in which the generation is located; a unique transaction identifier 
assigned by the e-Tag system when transmission service to 
accommodate the transaction is reserved; and the sink Balancing 
Authority in which the load is located. The Commission believes that 
the information contained in e-Tag IDs is not privileged or 
confidential.
    Unlike the public availability of e-Tag ``ID'' information 
proposed in Docket No. RM10-12-000, in the instant proceeding in 
Docket No. RM11-12-000, the Commission is proposing to keep all 
other (``non-ID'') e-Tag data non-public. We note that persons could 
file a request to obtain such data through a request under the 
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The Commission, however, is of 
the view that these data would be covered by exemption 4 of FOIA, 
which protects ``trade secrets and commercial or financial 
information obtained from a person [that is] privileged or 
confidential.'' 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) (2006), amended by OPEN 
Government Act of 2007, Public Law 110-175, 121 Stat. 2524. 
Accordingly, these data would not be obtainable under the FOIA in 
that circumstance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    17. Currently, the access of market monitoring units (MMUs) for 
RTOs and ISOs to e-Tag data is often limited to schedules with contract 
paths in the market that the MMU is tasked with monitoring.\21\ 
Allowing MMUs access to complete e-Tag data may improve their ability 
to monitor loop flows and their corresponding market impacts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \21\ See Electronic Tagging Functional Specifications, Version 
1.8.1 (Oct. 27, 2009), Joint Electric Scheduling Subcommittee, North 
American Energy Standards Board--Wholesale Electric Quadrant, at 9, 
23, and 64.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    18. Accordingly, the Commission invites comment on whether this 
information should be made available to MMUs. If so, should the data be 
provided to MMUs on a real-time basis? The Commission also invites 
comment on whether making the data available to MMUs would raise 
confidentiality issues or require specific confidentiality provisions. 
For example, should such entities sign a confidentiality agreement in 
order to access the information? In addition, the Commission invites 
comment on what would be the benefit(s) or drawback(s) to the 
Commission obtaining this information from individual market 
participants rather than NERC.

III. Information Collection Statement

    19. The following collection of information contained in this 
proposed rule is being submitted to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review under section 3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507(d). The Commission solicits comments on the 
Commission's need for this information, whether the information will 
have practical utility, the accuracy of the provided burden estimate, 
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected, and any suggested methods for minimizing respondents' 
burden, including the use of automated information techniques. 
Respondents subject to the filing requirements of this rule will not be 
penalized for failing to respond to this collection of information 
unless the collections of information display a valid OMB Control 
number.
    20. The proposed rule makes information available to Commission 
staff, but does not require, as part of the proposals in this NOPR, 
that NERC collect any new information, repackage the information into 
any kind of report, or make any computations or adjustments to the raw 
information. This being the case, the Commission estimates that the 
reporting burden

[[Page 23519]]

associated with compliance with this proposed rule is de minimis, and 
is limited to reviewing the Commission ruling and providing permission 
for staff to access the information.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Number of          Number of
      Data collection FERC-740           respondents       responses per        Hours per        Total  annual
                                           annually          respondent          response         burden hours
                                                   (1)                (2)                (3)        (1)x(2)x(3)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NERC................................                 1                  1                  7                  7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total Annual Hours for Collection

    Reporting = 7 hours.
    Information Collection Costs: The Commission seeks comments on the 
costs to comply with these requirements. It has projected the average 
annualized cost to be the following:
    Total Annualized Cost = $840 (7 hours @ $120/hr \22\).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \22\ This is a composite figure taking into account legal ($200/
hr) and technical ($40/hr) staff.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    21. OMB regulations \23\ require OMB to approve certain information 
collection requirements imposed by agency rule. The Commission is 
submitting notification of this proposed rule to OMB. These information 
collections are mandatory requirements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \23\ 5 CFR 1320.11.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Title: (Proposed) FERC-740, Availability of e-Tag Information to 
Commission Staff.
    Action: Proposed collection.
    OMB Control No.: To be determined.
    Respondent: NERC.
    Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
    Necessity of the Information: This proposed rule, if implemented, 
would aid the Commission in market monitoring and preventing market 
manipulation, in assuring just and reasonable rates, and in monitoring 
compliance with certain business practice standards adopted by NAESB 
and incorporated by reference by the Commission.
    22. The information collection requirements of this proposed rule 
are based on NERC reviewing the documents in this proceeding and 
providing permission for Commission staff to access to the complete e-
Tag data reported to NERC.
    23. Internal Review: The Commission has made a preliminary 
determination that the proposed revisions are necessary to assure 
compliance with Commission-incorporated business practice standards, to 
monitor market transactions to determine if entities are engaged in 
market manipulation, and to assure just and reasonable rates. The 
Commission has assured itself, by means of its internal review, that 
there is specific, objective support for the burden estimate associated 
with the information requirements.
    24. Interested persons may obtain information on the reporting 
requirements by contacting the following: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, Attn: Ellen Brown, Information Collection Officer, 888 
First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. E-mail: 
DataClearance@ferc.gov. Phone: (202) 502-8663, fax: (202) 273-0873.
    25. Comments concerning the information collections proposed in 
this NOPR and the associated burden estimates, should be sent to the 
Commission in this docket and may also be sent to the Office of 
Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Washington, DC 20503 [Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission]. For security reasons, comments should be sent 
by e-mail to OMB at the following e-mail address: oira_submission@omb.eop.gov. Please reference FERC-740 and Docket No. RM11-
12-000 in your submission.

IV. Environmental Analysis

    26. The Commission is required to prepare an Environmental 
Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement for any action that may 
have a significant adverse effect on the human environment.\24\ The 
Commission has categorically excluded certain actions from these 
requirements as not having a significant effect on the human 
environment.\25\ The actions proposed here fall within categorical 
exclusions in the Commission's regulations for rules that are 
clarifying, corrective, or procedural, for information gathering, 
analysis, and dissemination, and for sales, exchange, and 
transportation of electric power that requires no construction of 
facilities.\26\ Therefore, an environmental assessment is unnecessary 
and has not been prepared in this NOPR.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \24\ Regulations Implementing the National Environmental Policy 
Act, Order No. 486, 52 FR 47,897 (Dec. 17, 1987), FERC Stats. & 
Regs., Regulations Preambles ] 30,783 (1987).
    \25\ 18 CFR 380.4.
    \26\ See 18 CFR 380.4(a)(2)(ii), 380.4(a)(5), 380.4(a)(27).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

V. Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    27. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) \27\ generally 
requires a description and analysis of final rules that will have 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
Section 601(3) of the RFA defines a ``small business'' as having the 
same meaning as ``small business concern'' under section 3 of the Small 
Business Act. This term includes any firm that is ``independently owned 
and operated'' and is ``not dominant in its field of operation.'' The 
regulations proposed here impose requirements only on NERC,\28\ which, 
as the single ERO for the United States, is not a small business.\29\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \27\ 5 U.S.C. 601-612.
    \28\ According to the NERC Web site, http://www.nerc.com (under 
fast facts), (last visited on March 23, 2011), NERC is ``an 
international, independent, not-for-profit organization, whose 
mission is to ensure the reliability of the bulk power system in 
North America.'' The Web site also states that ``NERC oversees 
reliability for a bulk power system that:
    \29\ 15 U.S.C. 632. The Small Business Administration has 
developed size standards to carry out the purposes of the Small 
Business Act and those size standards can be found in 13 CFR 
121.201. A firm is small if, including its affiliates, it is 
primarily engaged in the generation, transmission, and/or 
distribution of electric energy for sale and its total electric 
output for the preceding fiscal year did not exceed 4 million 
megawatt hours.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Provides electricity to 334 million people
     Has a total electricity demand of 830 gigawatts (830,000 
megawatts)
     Has 211,000 miles or 340,000 km of high-voltage 
transmission line (230,000 volts and greater)
     Represents more than $1 trillion (U.S.) worth of assets.''
    We also note that, in North American Electric Reliability 
Corporation, 133 FERC ] 61,062, at P 15, 19 (2010), the Commission 
conditionally approved NERC's 2011 budget, which exceeds $53 million.
    28. The Commission has followed the provisions of the RFA 
concerning potential impact on small business and

[[Page 23520]]

other small entities. As this rulemaking, if implemented, would impose 
no burden on small entities, the Commission hereby certifies, pursuant 
to section 605(b) of the RFA,\30\ that the regulations proposed herein 
will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \30\ 5 U.S.C. 605(b).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

VI. Comment Procedures

    29. The Commission invites interested persons to submit comments on 
the matters and issues proposed in this notice to be adopted, including 
any related matters or alternative proposals that commenters may wish 
to discuss. Comments are due June 27, 2011. Comments must refer to 
Docket No. RM11-12-000, and must include the commenter's name, the 
organization they represent, if applicable, and their address.
    30. The Commission encourages commenters to file electronically via 
the eFiling link on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov. 
The Commission accepts most standard word processing formats and 
commenters may attach additional files with supporting information in 
certain other file formats. Commenters filing electronically do not 
need to make a paper filing.
    31. Commenters unable to file comments electronically must mail or 
hand deliver an original copys of their comments to: Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street, 
NE., Washington, DC, 20426. These requirements can be found on the 
Commission's Web site, see, e.g., the ``Quick Reference Guide for Paper 
Submissions,'' available at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp 
or via phone from FERC Online Support at (202) 502-6652 or toll-free at 
1-866-208-3676.
    32. All comments will be placed in the Commission's public files 
and may be viewed, printed, or downloaded remotely as described in the 
Document Availability section below. Commenters on this proposal are 
not required to serve copies of their comments on other commenters.

VII. Document Availability

    33. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the 
Internet through FERC's Home Page (http://www.ferc.gov) and in FERC's 
Public Reference Room during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
Eastern time) at 888 First Street, NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426.
    34. From FERC's Home Page on the Internet, this information is 
available in the eLibrary. The full text of this document is available 
in the eLibrary both in PDF and Microsoft Word format for viewing, 
printing, and/or downloading. To access this document in eLibrary, type 
the docket number excluding the last three digits of this document in 
the docket number field.
    35. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the FERC's Web 
site during our normal business hours. For assistance contact FERC 
Online Support at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll-free at (866) 208-
3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659.

List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 366

    Electric power, and Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    By direction of the Commission.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
    In consideration of the foregoing, the Commission proposes to 
revise Chapter I, Title 18, part 366 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations, as follows:

PART 366--BOOKS AND RECORDS

    1. The authority citation for part 366 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 717 et seq., 16 U.S.C. 791a et seq., and 42 
U.S.C. 16451-16463.

    2. In Sec.  366.2, redesignate paragraph (d) as paragraph (e) and 
add a new paragraph (d) to read as follows:

Sec.  366.2  Commission access to books and records.

* * * * *
    (d) Electric Reliability Organization. The Electric Reliability 
Organization certified by the Commission under Sec.  39.3 of this 
chapter will make available to Commission staff, on an ongoing basis, 
access to the complete electronic tags (e-Tags), or any successor to e-
Tags, used to schedule the transmission of electric power in wholesale 
markets. The complete e-Tag data to be made available under this 
section shall consist of e-Tags for interchange transactions scheduled 
to flow into, out of or within the United States' portion of the 
Eastern or Western Interconnections, or into or out of the Electric 
Reliability Council of Texas and into or out of the United States' 
portion of the Eastern or Western Interconnections.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2011-10119 Filed 4-26-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P