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
09/30/2014
36 Months From Approved
09/30/2014
238
0
238
1,238
0
1,238
0
0
0
Under sections 205 and 206 of the
Federal Power Act (FPA) the Commission is charged with ensuring
just and reasonable electric transmission rates and charges as well
as ensuring that jurisdictional providers do not subject any person
to any undue prejudice or disadvantage. The lack of consistent and
readily accessible terms and conditions for connecting resources to
the grid led to a large number of disputes between jurisdictional
transmission providers and small generators in the late 1990s and
early 2000s. In response, the Commission directed transmission
providers to include Commission-approved, standard, pro-forma
interconnection procedures (small generator interconnection
procedures or SGIP) and a single uniformly applicable
interconnection agreement (small generator interconnection
agreement or SGIA) in their open-access transmission tariffs
(OATTs). The requirement to create and file these documents was
instituted August 12, 2005, by Commission Order 2006 and is
codified in 18 CFR 35.28(f). This collection is necessary because
it sets and maintains a standard in OATTs for consistent
consideration and processing of interconnection requests by
transmission providers. Since the issuance of Order No. 2006, many
aspects of the energy industry have changed, including the growth
of small generator interconnection requests and the growth in solar
photovoltaic (PV) installations, driven in part by state renewable
energy goals and policies. For example, when Order No. 2006 was
issued in 2005, only 79 MW of grid-connected PV were installed. By
2011, grid-connected PV had reached approximately 4,000 MW. The
Commission believes these market changes necessitate a reevaluation
of the SGIP and SGIA to ensure that they continue to facilitate
Commission-jurisdictional interconnections in a just and reasonable
and not unduly discriminatory or preferential manner. The
additional estimated public reporting burden for the proposed
reporting requirements of the Proposed Rule are associated with
amending the pro forma SGIP and SGIA to: (1) incorporate provisions
that would provide an Interconnection Customer with the option of
requesting from the Transmission Provider a pre-application report
providing existing information about system conditions at a
possible Point of Interconnection; (2) revise the supplemental
review following failure of the Fast Track screens so that the
supplemental review is performed at the discretion of the
Interconnection Customer and includes minimum load and other
screens to determine if a Small Generating Facility may be
interconnected safely and reliably; and (3) revise the pro forma
SGIP Facilities Study Agreement to allow the Interconnection
Customer the opportunity to provide written comments to the
Transmission Provider on the upgrades required for
interconnection.
The burden is increasing due to
the addition of the pre-application report, the revision to the
supplemental review, and the addition of the review of required
upgrades in the SGIP. The proposed pre-application report would
require the transmission provider to provide existing information
about system conditions at a possible point of interconnection to
the interconnection customer. The proposed supplemental review
includes minimum load and other screens to be performed by the
transmission provider at the discretion of the interconnection
customer to determine if a small generator may be interconnected
safely and reliably after failing the screens in section 2.2.1 of
the SGIP. The proposed revisions to the SGIA would allow the
interconnection customer the opportunity to provide written
comments to the transmission provider on the upgrades required for
interconnection. FERC is also adjusting the number of responses for
the existing burden for the FERC-516A from 238 to 278. FERC staff
found in the most recent renewal cycle of this collection that the
number of respondents had been input incorrectly. There was no
error to the total existing burden hours.
$220,927
No
No
No
No
No
Uncollected
Leslie Kerr 202
502-8540
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.
RM13-2 NOPR Supporting Statement.doc
FERC News Release on RM13-2 NOPR.pdf
Standardization of Small Generator Interconnection Agreements and Procedures