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OMB Control No: 1902-0082	ICR Reference No: 200802-1902-003
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 200708-1902-003
Agency/Subagency: FERC	Agency Tracking No: FERC-519
Title: Application Under Federal Power Act Section 203
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 06/20/2008
Retrieve Notice of Action (NOA)	Date Received in OIRA: 02/29/2008
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	06/30/2011	36 Months From Approved	06/30/2009
Responses	134	0	134
Time Burden (Hours)	52,930	0	52,930
Cost Burden (Dollars)	6,141,000	0	6,141,000

Abstract: FERC is obligated by statute to regulate key economic aspects of the electric, natural gas and oil industries. The law requires the Commissions economic regulatory activity because the transmission of electricity, natural gas, and oil has often been a natural monopoly. In enacting Part II of the Federal Power Act (FPA) in 1935, one of the primary Congressional goals was to protect electric ratepayers from abuses of market power. To accomplish this goal, Congress directed the FERC to oversee sales for resale and transmission service provided by public utilities in interstate commerce. Under Section 203 of the FPA, the FERC must review proposed mergers, acquisitions and dispositions of jurisdictional facilities by public utilities, if the value of facilities exceeded $50,000, (now $10 million for certain transactions due to EPACT 2005, see above) and must approve such transactions if they are consistent with the public interest. Today, one of FERCs overarching goals is to promote competition in wholesale power markets, having determined that effective competition, as opposed to traditional forms of price regulation, can best protect the interests of ratepayers. Market power, however, can be exercised to the detriment of effective competition and exercise of market power in bulk power markets.The Final Rule adopts the proposal in the Blanket Authorization NOPR to pre-authorize a public utility to dispose of less than 10 percent of its voting securities to a public utility holding company if, after the disposition, the holding company and any associate or affiliate companies in aggregate will own less than 10 percent of the outstanding voting interests of that public utility. Based on comments to the Blanket Authorization NOPR, the Final Rule also provides four additional blanket authorizations under section 203(a)(1). Market power can be created or enhanced by mergers. Mergers can eliminate a competitor from the market and concentrate control of generating assets. Mergers can also enhance vertical market power, by giving the merged company a new or increased ability or incentive to restrict inputs to power production. The Commission considers market power issues in reviewing applications for mergers or other jurisdictional acquisitions or dispositions of assets. If a merger will create market power or enhance the applicants market power significantly, mitigation of these effects is required in order to ensure that the merger is consistent with the public interest. Section 203 of the FPA provides that FERC approval is required for transactions in which a public utility disposes of jurisdictional facilities, merges such facilities with facilities owned by another person, or acquires the securities of another public utility. Under the statute, FERC must find that the proposed transaction will be consistent with the public interest. The filing requirements under review and define the terms of information necessary to investigate the possible impact of the proposed transaction on public interest. The basis for current practices with respect to Section 203 applications is Federal Power Commission Opinion No. 507 issued in the 1966 Commonwealth Edison Company, proceeding, 36 FPC 907. In that proceeding FERC set forth the criteria to be applied when determining whether the proposed transaction is consistent with the public interest. This proposed rule proposes codification of a limited blanket authorization under FPA section 203(a)(1), providing for a category of jurisdictional transactions under section 203(a)(1) for which the Commission would not require applications seeking before-the-fact approval.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 16 USC 824b Name of Law: Federal Power Act

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: PL: Pub.L. 109 - 58 1289 Name of Law: Energy Policy Act of 2005

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
1902-AD40	Final or interim final rulemaking	73 FR 11003	02/29/2008

Federal Register Notices & Comments
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? Yes

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

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Application Under Federal Power Act Section 203,

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved
Annual Number of Responses	134	134
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	52,930	52,930
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	6,141,000	6,141,000

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:

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $1,013,634

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]? Uncollected

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? Uncollected

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? Uncollected

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? Uncollected

Agency Contact: Roshini Thayaparan 202-502-6857 roshini.thayaparan@ferc.gov

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