82 FR 20475 - Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-523); Comment Request; Revision and Extension

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 83 (May 2, 2017)

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 revision to the information collection, FERC-523, (Application for Authorization for the Issuance of Securities or the Assumption of Liabilities) which will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for a review of the information collection requirements.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 83 (Tuesday, May 2, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20475-20476]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-08808]


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

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC17-12-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-523); Comment 
Request; Revision and Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of revised information collection and request for 
comments.

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

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 revision to the information 
collection, FERC-523, (Application for Authorization for the Issuance 
of Securities or the Assumption of Liabilities) which will be submitted 
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for a review of the 
information collection requirements.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due July 3, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket No. IC17-12-000 
by either of the following methods:
     eFiling at Commission's Web site: http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp.
     Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20426.
    Instructions: All 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 [email protected], or by phone at: (866) 208-3676 
(toll-free), or (202) 502-8659 for TTY.
    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 [email protected], telephone at (202) 502-8663, and fax at 
(202) 273-0873.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: FERC-523, Application for Authorization for the Issuance of 
Securities or the Assumption of Liabilities.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0043.
    Type of Request: Three-year approval of the FERC-523 information 
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting 
requirements.
    Abstract: The information collected by FERC-523 is required to 
implement the statutory provisions of section 204 of the Federal Power 
Act (FPA) (16 U.S.C. 824c). Under section 204 of the FPA no public 
utility or licensee shall issue any security, or assume any obligation 
or liability as guarantor, endorser, surety, or otherwise in respect of 
any security of another person, until the public utility applies for 
and receives Commission approval by order authorizing the issue or 
assumption of the liability. The Commission issues an order if it finds 
that such issue or assumption (a) is for lawful object, within the 
corporate purposes of the applicant and compatible with the public 
interest, which is necessary or appropriate for or consistent with the 
proper performance by the applicant as a public utility, and which will 
not impair its ability to perform that service, and (b) is reasonably 
necessary or appropriate for such purposes.
    The Commission uses the information contained in filings to 
determine its acceptance and/or rejection of applications for 
authorization to either issue securities or to assume an obligation or 
liability by the public utilities and their licensees who submit these 
applications.
    The specific application requirements and filing format are found 
at 18 CFR Part 34; and 18 CFR 131.43 and 131.50. This information is 
filed electronically.
    Type of Respondents: Public utilities subject to the Federal Power 
Act.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \1\ The Commission estimates the 
reduction in the annual public reporting burden for the FERC-523, as 
follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \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.

[[Page 20476]]



         FERC-523, Applications for Authorization for Issuance of Securities or Assumption of Liability
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  Annual  number                      Average      Total  annual
     Information collection          Number of     of  responses   Total  number   burden  hours  burden hours &
          requirements              respondents         per        of  responses    & cost per     total annual
                                        \2\         respondent                     response \3\        cost
                                             (1)             (2)     (1) * (2) =             (4)     (3) * (4) =
                                                                             (3)                             (5)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FERC-523........................             145               1             145              70          10,150
                                                                                          $5,355        $776,475
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ The number of respondents is derived from the actual number 
of applications processed.
    \3\ The Commission staff thinks that the average respondent for 
this collection is similarly situated to the Commission, in terms of 
salary plus benefits. Based upon FERC's 2017 annual average of 
$158,754 (for salary plus benefits), the average hourly cost is 
$76.50/hour.

    Dated: April 26, 2017.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-08808 Filed 5-1-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P