Document ID: FERC-2020-0662-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Commission Service Delivery
Posted Date: 2020-05-29T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 104 (Friday, May 29, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32378-32380]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-11583]

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

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC20-11-000]

Commission Information Collection Activities; Comment Request for 
Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on 
Commission Service Delivery

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of information collection and request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission 
or FERC) is soliciting public comment on the currently approved 
information collection, FERC-153, ``Generic Clearance for the 
Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Commission Service Delivery'' and 
submitting the information collection to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review. Any interested person may file comments 
directly with OMB and should address a copy of those comments to the 
Commission as explained below.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due June 29, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments on FERC-153 to OMB through 
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission Desk Office. Please identify the OMB control number (1902-
0293) in the subject line. Your comments should be sent within 30 days 
of publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
    A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Commission 
(identified by Docket No. IC20-11-000) by either of the following 
methods:
     eFiling at Commission's Website: http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp.
     Mail/Express Services: Persons unable to file 
electronically may mail similar pleadings to the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426. Hand 
delivered submissions in docketed proceedings should be delivered to 
Health and Human Services, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 
20852.

Instructions

    OMB submissions must be formatted and filed in accordance with 
submission guidelines at www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain; Using the 
search function under the ``Currently Under Review field,'' select 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; click ``submit'' and select 
``comment'' to the right of the subject collection.
    FERC submissions must be formatted and filed in accordance with 
submission guidelines at: http://www.ferc.gov/help/submission-guide.asp. For user assistance, contact FERC Online Support by email at 
ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, 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 http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/docs-filing.asp.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Brown may be reached by email at 
DataClearance@FERC.gov, telephone at (202) 502-8663.

[[Page 32379]]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: FERC-153, Generic Clearance for the Collection of 
Qualitative Feedback on Commission Service Delivery.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0293.
    Type of Request: Generic information collection.
    Abstract: On March 17, 2020, the Commission published a Notice in 
the Federal Register (85 FR 15159) in Docket No. IC20-11-000 requesting 
public comments. The Commission received no public comments and is 
indicating that in the related submittal to OMB. This information 
collection provides a means to garner qualitative customer and 
stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely manner, in accordance with 
the Administration's commitment to improving service delivery. By 
qualitative feedback, we mean data that provides useful insights on 
perceptions and opinions but are not statistical surveys that yield 
quantitative results that can be generalized to the population of 
study. This feedback will provide insights into customer or stakeholder 
perceptions, experiences, and expectations, provide an early warning of 
issues with service, or focus attention on areas where communication, 
training or changes in operations might improve delivery of products or 
services. This collection will allow for ongoing, collaborative and 
actionable communications between FERC and its customers and 
stakeholders. It will also allow feedback to contribute directly to the 
improvement of program management.
    The solicitation of feedback will target areas such as: Timeliness, 
appropriateness, accuracy of information, courtesy, efficiency of 
service delivery, and resolution of issues with service delivery. 
Responses will be assessed to plan and inform efforts to improve or 
maintain the quality of service offered to the public. If this 
information is not collected, vital feedback from customers and 
stakeholders on the Commission's services will be unavailable.
    The Commission will only submit a collection for approval under 
this generic clearance if it meets the following conditions:
     The collections are voluntary;
     The collections are low burden for respondents (based on 
considerations of total burden hours, total number of respondents, or 
burden hours per respondent) and are low-cost for both the respondents 
and the Federal Government;
     The collections are non-controversial and do not raise 
issues of concern to other Federal agencies;
     The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions 
from respondents who have experience with the program or may have 
experience with the program soon;
     Personal identifiable information (PII) is collected only 
to the extent necessary and is not retained;
     Information gathered is intended to be used only 
internally for general service improvement and program management 
purposes and is not intended for release outside of the Commission (if 
released, the Commission must indicate the qualitative nature of the 
information);
     Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of 
substantially informing influential policy decisions; and
     Information gathered will yield qualitative information; 
the collections will not be designed or expected to yield statistically 
reliable results or used as though the results are generalizable to the 
population of study.
    Feedback collected under this generic clearance provides useful 
information, but it does not yield data that can be generalized to the 
overall population. This type of generic clearance for qualitative 
information will not be used for quantitative information collections 
that are designed to yield reliably actionable results, such as 
monitoring trends over time or documenting program performance. Such 
data uses require more rigorous designs that address: The target 
population to which generalizations will be made, the sampling frame, 
the sample design (including stratification and clustering), the 
precision requirements or power calculations that justify the proposed 
sample size, the expected response rate, methods for assessing 
potential non-response bias, the protocols for data collection, and any 
testing procedures that were or will be undertaken prior to fielding 
the study.
    As a general matter, this information collection will not result in 
any new system of records containing privacy information and will not 
ask questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and 
attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly 
considered private.
    This information collection is subject to the PRA. The Commission 
generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and 
the public is generally not required to respond to an information 
collection, unless it is approved by the OMB under the PRA and displays 
a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any 
other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to 
penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information which 
does not display a valid OMB Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.6(a). OMB 
authorization for an information collection cannot be for more than 
three years without renewal.
    On March 17, 2020, the Commission published a Notice in the Federal 
Register in Docket No. IC20-11-000 requesting public comments. The 
Commission received no public comments.
    Type of Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and households; 
Businesses or other for-profit and not-for-profit organizations; State, 
Local, or Tribal government.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \1\ The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden and cost for the information collection as:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 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.

                                               Estimated Annual Burden for Generic Clearance for FERC-153
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Number of
                                            Number of     responses per   Total number      Average burden minutes per          Total burden hours
                                           respondents     respondent     of responses               response
                                                    (1)             (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4)............................  (3) * (4) = (5)
                                                                                    (3)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Generic Clearance......................          27,000               1          27,000  10 minutes.....................  4,500 hours.\2\
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 32380]]

    Comments: Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's estimate of the burden of 
the collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; (d) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology; and (e) estimates of capital or start-
up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services 
to provide information.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ 4,500 hours = 270,000 minutes.

    Dated: May 22, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-11583 Filed 5-28-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P