FERC-65, 65A, 65B 60-day_Issued

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. IC21-27-000]

COMMISSION INFORMATION COLLECTION ACTIVITIES

(FERC-65, FERC-65A, AND FERC-65B)

CONSOLIDATED COMMENT REQUEST; EXTENSION

(April 29, 2021)

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: 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 collections, FERC-65 (Notice of Holding Company Status), FERC-65A (Exemption Notification of holding Company Status), and FERC-65B (Waiver Notification of Holding Company Status), 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 [Insert Date 60 days after date of publication in the Federal Register].

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC21-27-000) by either of the following methods:

Electronic filing through http://www.ferc.gov, is preferred.

• Electronic Filing: Documents must be filed in acceptable native applications and print-to-PDF, but not in scanned or picture format.

• For those unable to file electronically, comments may be filed by USPS mail or by hand (including courier) delivery:

  • Mail via U.S. Postal Service Only: Addressed to: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20426.

  • Hand (including courier) delivery to: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852.

Instructions: All submissions must be formatted and filed in accordance with submission guidelines at: http://www.ferc.gov. For user assistance, contact FERC Online Support by e-mail 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.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: FERC-65 (Notice of Holding Company Status), FERC-65A (Exemption Notification of Holding Company Status), and FERC-65B (Waiver Notification of Holding Company Status).

OMB Control No.: 1902-0218

Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-65, FERC-65A and FERC-65B information collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting requirements.

Abstract:

FERC-65 (Notice of Holding Company Status)

The Pursuant to section 366.4 of the Commission’s rules and regulations, persons who meet the definition of a holding company shall provide the Commission notification of holding company status. The FERC-65 is a one-time informational filing outlined in the Commission’s regulations at 18 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 366.4. The FERC-65 must be submitted within 30 days of becoming a holding company¹. While the Commission does not require the information to be reported in a specific format, the filing needs to consist of the name of the holding company, the name of public utilities, the name of natural gas companies in the holding company system, and the names of service companies. In addition, the Commission requires the filing to include the names of special-purpose subsidiaries (which provide non-power goods and services) and the names of all affiliates and subsidiaries (and their corporate interrelationship) to each other. Filings may be submitted in hardcopy or electronically through the Commission’s eFiling system.

FERC-65A (Exemption Notification of Holding Company Status)

While noting the previously outlined requirements of the FERC-65, the Commission has allowed for an exemption from the requirement of providing the Commission with a FERC-65 if the books, accounts, memoranda, and other records of any person are not relevant to the jurisdictional rates of a public utility or natural gas company; or if any class of transactions is not relevant to the jurisdictional rates of a public utility or natural gas company. Persons seeking this exemption file the FERC-65A, which must include a form of notice suitable for publication in the Federal Register. Those who file a FERC-65A in good faith will have a temporary exemption upon filing, after 60 days if the Commission has taken no action, the exemption will be deemed granted. Commission regulations within 18 CFR 366.3 describe the criteria in more specificity.

FERC-65B (Waiver Notification of Holding Company Status)

If an entity meets the requirements in 18 CFR 366.3(c), they may file a FERC-65B waiver notification pursuant to the procedures outlined in 18 CFR 366.4. Specifically, the Commission waives the requirement of providing it with a FERC-65 for any holding company with respect to one or more of the following: (1) single-state holding company systems; (2) holding companies that own generating facilities that total 100 MW or less in size and are used fundamentally for their own load or for sales to affiliated end-users; or (3) investors in independent transmission-only companies. Filings may be made in hardcopy or electronically through the Commission’s website.

Type of Respondent: Public utility companies, natural gas companies, electric wholesale generators, foreign utility holding companies.

Estimate of Annual Burden²: The Commission estimates the annual public reporting burden for the information collection as:

FERC-65 (Notification of Holding Company Status), FERC-65A (Exemption Notification of Holding Company Status), and FERC-65B (Waiver Notification of Holding Company Status)
	Number of Respondents (1)	Annual Number of Responses per Respondent (2)	Total Number of Responses (1)*(2)=(3)	Average Burden & Cost Per Response3 (4)	Total Annual Burden Hours & Total Annual Cost ($) (3)*(4)=(5)	Cost per Respondent ($) (5)÷(1)
FERC-65	12	1	12	3 $249.00	36 $2,988	$249.00
FERC-65A	4	1.25	5	1 $83.00	5 $415.00	$103.75
FERC-65B	4	1.75	7	1 $83.00	7 $581.00	$145.25
TOTAL			24		48 $3,984.00

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.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.

1 Persons that meet the definition of a holding company as provided by §366.1 as of February 8, 2006 shall notify the Commission of their status as a holding company no later than June 15, 2006. Holding companies formed after February 8, 2006 shall notify the Commission of their status as a holding company, no later than the latter of June 15, 2006 or 30 days after they become holding companies.

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. Refer to 5 CFR 1320.3 for additional information.

3 The Commission staff estimates that the average respondent for this collection is similarly situated to the Commission, in terms of salary plus benefits. Based on FERC’s 2020 annual average of $172,329 (for salary plus benefits), the average hourly cost is $83/hour.