FERC-556, Certification of Qualifying Facility (QF) Status for a Small Power Production or Cogeneration Facility

Forms and Documents

Document Name	Status
Form 556 FERC-556, Certification of Qualifying Facility (QF) Status for a Small Power Production or Cogeneration Facility Form and Instruction	Modified
FINAL 556 Supporting Statment 2012_5-2-13.doc Supporting Statement A	2013-05-02
Example Filing for Form 556.pdf Supplementary Document	2013-03-18
USCODE-2011-title16-chap12-subchapII-sec824a-3.pdf Supplementary Document	2013-03-14
USCODE-2011-title16-chap46-sec2602.pdf Supplementary Document	2013-03-14
CFR-2012-title18-vol1-part292.pdf Supplementary Document	2013-03-14
CFR-2012-title18-vol1-sec131-80.pdf Supplementary Document	2013-03-14

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Document Title	Status
23017	FERC-556, Certification of Qualifying Facility (QF) Status for a Small Power Production or Cogeneration Facility Form and Instruction	Modified

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 1902-0075	ICR Reference No: 201303-1902-006
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 201003-1902-001
Agency/Subagency: FERC	Agency Tracking No: FERC-556
Title: FERC-556, Certification of Qualifying Facility (QF) Status for a Small Power Production or Cogeneration Facility
Type of Information Collection: Extension without change of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved with change	Conclusion Date: 05/03/2013
	Date Received in OIRA: 03/20/2013
Terms of Clearance: In accordance with 5 CFR 1320, the information collection is approved for three years.

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	05/31/2016	36 Months From Approved	05/31/2013
Responses	1,874	0	504
Time Burden (Hours)	6,340	0	2,156
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	251,541

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Abstract: To encourage small power and cogeneration production, the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) confers benefits on small power and cogeneration facilities that meet certain ownership and technical criteria. The Commission uses the Form No. 556 to implement the statutory provisions in Federal Power Act (FPA) section 3 (16 USC 792-828c) and sections 201 and 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) of 1978 (16 USC 2601). These statutes authorize the Commission to encourage cogeneration and small power production and to prescribe such rules as necessary in order to carry out these statutory directives. Commission regulations pertaining to FERC-556 can be found in 18 CFR 131.80 and 18 CFR Part 292. The information collected from Form No. 556 under 18 CFR Section 131.80 and 18 CFR Part 292 is used by the Commission to determine whether an application for certification meets the criteria for a qualifying small power production facility or a qualifying cogeneration facility under its regulations and is eligible to receive the benefits available to it under PURPA.

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Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 16 USC 792-828c Name of Law: Federal Power Act (FPA)
   US Code: 16 USC 2601 Name of Law: Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) of 1978
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

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Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	77 FR 77067	12/31/2012
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	78 FR 16487	03/15/2013
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
FERC-556, Certification of Qualifying Facility (QF) Status for a Small Power Production or Cogeneration Facility	556	Certification of Qualifying Facility (QF) Status for a Small Power Production or Cogeneration Facility

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ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	1,874	504	0	0	1,370	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	6,340	2,156	0	0	4,184	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	251,541	0	0	-251,541	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: The increase in the number of Form No. 556 filings results primarily from the Administration's encouraging a greater role for renewable energy resources in the American energy mix. With the clearance package, the cost to industry is displayed using the unit of burden hours. In accordance with the ROCIS HOW TO Guide for Agency Users of the Information Collection Request (ICR) Module, users should not report as a dollar cost any burden reported in hours. Therefore, Commission staff corrected the industry's annual cost burden within the ROCIS metadata to show that the Commission associates no cost to capital investment or other non-labor costs. The Commission estimates the monetary cost related to the burden hours in #12 (above). This was done erroneously in previous Form No. 556 supporting statements. Commission staff corrected the error within the current proposed clearance package.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $288,668

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Is the Supporting Statement intended to be a Privacy Impact Assessment required by the E-Government Act of 2002? No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? Uncollected

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Common Form ICR:  No

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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:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(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;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

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.

Certification Date: 03/20/2013

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