Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-725S); Comment Request; Extension
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 cur...
Notice of 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 the currently approved information collection FERC-725S: (Emergency Preparedness and Operations (EOP) Reliability Standards). There are no proposed changes to the reporting requirements.
DATES:
Comments on the collection of information are due July 20, 2026.
ADDRESSES:
Please submit comments via email to
DataClearance@FERC.gov.
You must specify the Docket No. (IC26-25-000) and the FERC Information Collection number (FERC-735S) in your email. If you are unable to file electronically, comments may be filed by USPS mail or by hand (including courier) delivery:
( printed page 29476)
Mail via U.S. Postal Service only, addressed to:
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.
Hand (including courier) delivery to:
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852.
Kayla Williams may be reached by email at
DataClearance@FERC.gov,
or by telephone at (202) 502-6468.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title:
FERC-725S, Emergency Preparedness and Operations (EOP) Reliability Standards.
OMB Control No.:
1902-0270.
Type of Request:
Three-year approval of the FERC-725S information collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting requirements.
Abstract:
The Electricity Modernization Act of 2005, which is Title XII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005), includes section 215 to the Federal Power Act (FPA).[1]
FPA section 215 requires a Commission-certified Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) to develop mandatory and enforceable Reliability Standards, subject to Commission review and approval. Section 215 of the FPA requires a Commission-certified ERO to develop mandatory and enforceable Reliability Standards, subject to Commission review and approval. In 2006, the Commission certified the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) as the ERO pursuant to section 215 of the FPA. FERC-725S consists of the following Emergency Preparedness and Operations (EOP) Reliability Standards, EOP-004-4 (Event Reporting), EOP-005-3 (System Restoration from Blackstart Resources), EOP-006-3 (System Restoration Coordination), EOP-008-2 (Loss of Control Center Functionality), EOP-010-1 (Geomagnetic Disturbance Operations), EOP-011-4 (Emergency Operations), and EOP-012-3 (Extreme Cold Weather Preparedness and Operations).
These Reliability Standards enhance reliability by:
(1) providing accurate reporting of events to NERC's event analysis group to analyze the impact on the reliability of the bulk electric system, staff estimates that for EOP-004-4, fifty percent of the applicable entities will have an annual reporting burden, and this is captured in the associated table below.
(2) delineating the roles and responsibilities of entities that support system restoration from blackstart resources which generate power without the support of the bulk electric system (Reliability Standard EOP-005-3).
(3) clarifying the procedures and coordination requirements for reliability coordinator personnel to execute system restoration processes (Reliability Standard EOP-006-3).
(4) refining the required elements of an operating plan used to continue reliable operations of the bulk electric system in the event that primary control center functionality is lost (Reliability Standard EOP-008-2).
(5) addressing the effects of operating Emergencies by ensuring each Transmission Operator and Balancing Authority has developed Operating Plan(s) to mitigate operating Emergencies, and that those plans are coordinated within a Reliability Coordinator Area (EOP-010-1).
(6) streamlining the requirements for Emergency operations of Bulk Electric System. Attachment 1, which is incorporated into Requirements R2 and R6, provides the process and descriptions of the levels used by the Reliability Coordinator when communicating the condition of a Balancing Authority that is experiencing an Energy Emergency (EOP-011-4).
(7) addressing the effects of operating in extreme cold weather by ensuring each Generator Owner has developed and implemented plan(s) to mitigate the reliability impacts of extreme cold weather on its applicable generating units (EOP-012-3).
The applicable entities for different standards within the EOP family of standards include balancing authorities (BA, distribution providers (DP), distribution providers-underfrequency load shed (DP-UFLS), generator operators (GOP), generator owners (GO), reliability coordinators (RC), transmission operators (TOP) and transmission owners (TO). Estimate entity counts are taken from April 20, 2026, NERC Compliance Registration information.
Type of Respondents:
Public utilities subject to the FPA.
Estimate of Annual Burden[2] and cost
: [3]
With the exception of adjustments due to the Commission's recent experience with this information collection, the Commission estimates there will be no changes in the annual public reporting burden for the FERC-725S, as follows:
FERC-725S—EOP-004-4
[Event reporting]
Reliability standard and associated requirement
Number of
respondents 45
Annual
number of
responses per
respondent
Total number
of responses
Average burden &
cost per response
Total annual burden &
total annual cost
Cost per
respondent
($)
(1)
(2)
(1) * (2) = (3)
(4)
(3) * (4) = (5) rounded
(5) ÷ (1)
Annual review and record retention for EOP-004-4
6 (RC)
1
6
8 hrs.; $508.16
48 hrs.; $3,049
$508.16
49 (BA)
1
49
8 hrs.; $508.16
392 hrs.; $24,900
508.16
171 (TO)
1
171
8 hrs.; $508.16
1,368 hrs.; $86,896
508.16
( printed page 29477)
85 (TOP)
1
85
8 hrs.; $508.16
680 hrs.; $43,194
508.16
689 (GO)
1
689
8 hrs.; $508.16
5,512 hrs.; $350,122
508.16
508 (GOP)
1
508
8 hrs.; $508.16
4,064 hrs.; $258,145
508.16
150 (DP)
1
150
8 hrs.; $508.16
1,200 hrs.; $76,224
508.16
Total EOP-004-4
830
13,264 hrs.; $842,530
FERC-725S—EOP-005-3
[Event reporting]
Reliability standard and associated requirement
Number of
respondents
Annual
number of
responses per
respondent
Total number
of responses
Average burden &
cost per response
Total annual burden &
total annual cost
Cost per
respondent
($)
(1)
(2)
(1) * (2) = (3)
(4)
(3) * (4) = (5) rounded
(5) ÷ (1)
Annual review and record retention for EOP-005-3
1,016 (GOP)
1
1,016
16 hrs.; $1,016.32
16,256 hrs.; $1,032,581
$1,016.32
170 (TOP)
1
170
24 hrs.; $1,524.48
4,080 hrs.; $259,162
11,524.48
341 (TO)
1
341
16 hrs.; $1,016.32
5,456 hrs.; $346,565
1,016.32
299 (DP)
1
299
16 hrs.; $1,016.32
4,784 hrs.; $303,880
1,016.32
Total EOP-005-3
1,838
30,576 hrs.; $1,942,188
FERC-725S—EOP-006-3
[Event reporting]
Reliability standard and associated requirement
Number of
respondents
Annual
number of
responses per
respondent
Total number
of responses
Average burden &
cost per response
Total annual burden &
total annual cost
Cost per
respondent
($)
(1)
(2)
(1) * (2) = (3)
(4)
(3) * (4) = (5) rounded
(5) ÷ (1)
Annual review and record retention for EOP-006-3
12 (RC)
1
12
48 hrs.; $3,048.96
576 hrs.; $36,588
$3,048.96
Total EOP-006-3
12
576 hrs.; $36,588
FERC-725S—EOP-008-2
[Event reporting]
Reliability standard and associated requirement
Number of
respondents
Annual
number of
responses per
respondent
Total number
of responses
Average burden &
cost per response
Total annual burden &
total annual cost
Cost per
respondent
($)
(1)
(2)
(1) * (2) = (3)
(4)
(3) * (4) = (5) rounded
(5) ÷ (1)
Annual review and record retention for EOP-008-2
12 (RC)
1
12
24 hrs.; $1,524.48
288 hrs.; $18,294
$1524.48
170 (TOP)
1
170
24 hrs.; $1,524.48
4,080 hrs.; $259162
1524.48
( printed page 29478)
98 (BA)
1
98
24 hrs.; $1,524.48
2,352 hrs.; $149,399
1524.48
Total EOP-008-2
280
6,720 hrs.; $426,854
FERC-725S—EOP-010-1
[Event reporting]
Reliability standard and associated requirement
Number of
respondents
Annual
number of
responses per
respondent
Total number
of responses
Average burden &
cost per response
Total annual burden &
total annual cost
Cost per
respondent
($)
(1)
(2)
(1) * (2) = (3)
(4)
(3) * (4) = (5) rounded
(5) ÷ (1)
Annual review and record retention for EOP-010-1
12 (RC)
1
12
20 hrs.; $1,270.40
240 hrs.; $15,245
$1,270.40
170 (TOP)
1
170
20 hrs.; $1,270.40
3,400 hrs.; $215,968
$1,270.40
Total EOP-010-1
182
3,620 hrs.; $231,213
FERC-725S—EOP-011-4
[Event reporting]
Reliability standard and associated requirement
Number of
respondents
Annual
number of
responses per
respondent
Total number
of responses
Average burden &
cost per response
Total annual burden &
total annual cost
Cost per
respondent
($)
(1)
(2)
(1) * (2) = (3)
(4)
(3) * (4) = (5) rounded
(5) ÷ (1)
Annual review and record retention for EOP-011-4
12 (RC)
1
12
40 hrs.; $2,540.80
480 hrs.; $30,490
$2,540.80
98 (BA)
1
98
40 hrs.; $2,540.80
3,920 hrs.; $248,998
2,540.80
341 (TO)
1
341
40 hrs.; $2,540.80
13,640 hrs.; $866,413
2,540.80
170 (TOP)
1
170
40 hrs.; $2,540.80
6,800 hrs.; $431,936
2,540.80
72 (DP-UFLS)
1
72
20 hrs.; $1,270.40
1,440 hrs.; $91,469
1,270.40
299 (DP)
1
299
40 hrs.; $2,540.80
11,960 hrs.; $759,699
2,540.80
Total EOP-011-4
992
38,240 hrs.; $2,429,005
( printed page 29479)
FERC-725S—EOP-012-3
[Event reporting]
Reliability standard and associated requirement
Number of
respondents
Annual
number of
responses per
respondent
Total number
of responses
Average burden &
cost per response
Total annual burden &
total annual cost
Cost per
respondent
($)
(1)
(2)
(1) * (2) = (3)
(4)
(3) * (4) = (5) rounded
(5) ÷ (1)
Annual review and record retention for EOP-012-3
1378 (GO)
1
1,378
40 hrs.; $2,540.80
55,120 hrs.; $3,501,222
$2,540.80
1016 (GOP)
1
1,016
50 hrs.; $3,176.00
50,800 hrs.; $3,226,816
3,176.00
Total EOP-012-3
2,394
105,920 hrs.; $6,728,038
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.
Dated: May 15, 2026.
Carlos D. Clay,
Deputy Secretary.
Footnotes
1.
16 U.S.C. 824o.
The approved Reliability Standards are available on the Commission's eLibrary document retrieval system on the NERC website,
www.nerc.com.
2.
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.
3.
The estimated hourly cost (salary plus benefits) is a combination of the following categories from the BLS website,
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm:
75% of the average of an Electrical Engineer (17−2071) $71.19/hr., × .75 = 53.3925 ($53.39-rounded) ($53.39/hour); and 25% of an Information and Record Clerk (43−4199) $40.51/hr., $40.51 × .25 = 10.1275 ($10.13 rounded) ($10.13/hour), for a total ($53.39 + $10.13 = $63.52/hour)
4.
The number of respondents is based on NERC compliance registration information as of April 20, 2026.
5.
For EOP-004-4 it is estimated that fifty percent of applicable entity will have an annual reporting burden and values in the table reflect that consideration (rounded up).