OMB files this
comment in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.11(c) of the Paperwork
Reduction Act and is withholding approval of this collection at
this time. This OMB action is not an approval to conduct or sponsor
an information collection under the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995. The agency shall examine public comment in response to the
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and will include in the supporting
statement of the next ICR, to be submitted to OMB at the final rule
stage, a description of how the agency has responded to any public
comments on the ICR. This action has no effect on any current
approvals.
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
07/31/2015
36 Months From Approved
07/31/2015
2,040
0
2,040
1,827,313
0
1,827,313
126,725
0
126,725
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 FPA, which requires a Commission-certified
Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) to develop mandatory and
enforceable Reliability Standards, which are subject to Commission
review and approval. Once approved the Reliability Standards may be
enforced by the ERO, subject to Commission oversight. On March 16,
2007, in Order No. 693, pursuant to section 215(d) of the FPA, the
Commission approved 83 of 107 proposed Reliability Standards, six
of the eight proposed regional differences, and the NERC Glossary
of Terms Used in Reliability Standards (NERC Glossary), which
includes NERC's FAC-003-1 Transmission Vegetation Management
Program. In approving FAC-003-1, the Commission directed the ERO to
make or consider directives in the next version of the standard.
The ERO was to determine the minimum clearance distance needed to
prevent sustained vegetation outages, appropriate inspection
cycles, applicability of sub 200kV transmission lines such as to
not to impose a great burden on transmission owners . On December
22, 2011, NERC submitted a petition pursuant to directives
associated with Order No. 693 for FAC-003-2 Transmission Vegetation
Management. NERC's petition requested the Commission approve
FAC-003-2 and its implementation plan. As part of the Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR), building on the material filed by NERC,
several actions will be needed by transmission owners. With the
proposed FAC-003-2, transmission owners will need to review their
existing policy/procedures to determine how they may change with
the new version of the standard. Also, the applicability of
FAC-003-2 will add additional sub 200kV lines that are part of an
Interconnection Reliability Operating Limit (IROL) or part of a
Major WECC Transfer Path. With the new applicability, transmission
owners will need to add those lines to their inspection programs
and record keeping obligations. The quarterly reporting on
sustained vegetation transmission outage will continue under the
new standard as a compliance obligation. Failure to follow
requirements and compliance of proposed FAC-003-2 could lead to
additional sustained outages due to tree-line contact and
identification of trends through responsible reporting. These types
of failures could jeopardize system reliability. Vegetation contact
with transmission lines were major factors in two significant
blackouts in WECC territory in 1996 and August 2003 northeast
blackout.
The Commission proposes to
adopt FAC-003-2 which will cause an increase in burden. The
increase in burden is necessary to ensure that all transmission
lines identified as important to system reliability are protected
against encroachment of vegetation that could lead to sustained
outage. The exact method of providing the protection against
encroachments is left to the discretion of the transmission owners.
Through the addition of new applicable transmission lines, yearly
right of way inspections, and accurate recordkeeping, the
occurrence of sustained outages due to vegetation will remain low
and when they do occur they will be properly recorded. These tasks
are deemed necessary in order to maintain the reliable operation of
nation's transmission lines.
$1,588
No
No
No
No
No
Uncollected
David O'Conner 202
502-6695
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
NERC Petition and Proposed Standard December 21 2011.pdf
FINAL Supporting Statement for RM12-4 NOPR.docx
Commission Norris statement on GMD and FAC-003_10-18-12.doc
FERC-725A, Mandatory Reliability Standards for Bulk-Power System