Notice

Agency Information Collection Extension

A Notice by the Energy Information Administration on 03/23/2026

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• Public Inspection Published Document: 2026-05643 (91 FR 13837) Document Headings ###### Department of Energy

Energy Information Administration

AGENCY:

U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

EIA submitted an information collection request for extension as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The information collection requests a three-year extension with changes to the Electric Power Surveys (EPS), OMB Control Number; 1905-0129. EPS consists of ten surveys, including annual, monthly and one daily survey. These surveys collect data from entities involved in the production, transmission, delivery, and sale of electricity, and in maintaining the reliable operation of the power system. The data collected are the primary source of information on the nation's electric power system.

DATES:

Comments on this information collection must be received no later than April 22, 2026. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Debra Coaxum, EIA Clearance Officer, at (202) 586-7876 or by email at EIA-FRNcomments@eia.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This information collection request contains:

(1) OMB No.: 1905-0129;

(2) Information Collection Request Title: Electric Power Surveys;

(3) Type of Request: Three-year extension with changes;

(4) Purpose: EIA's EPS consists of the following ten surveys:

Form EIA-860 Annual Electric Generator Report collects data on existing and planned electric generation plants, and associated equipment including generators, boilers, cooling systems, and environmental control systems. Data are collected from all existing units and from planned units scheduled for initial commercial operation within ten years of the specified reporting period (depending on the type of power plant).

Form EIA-860M Monthly Update to the Annual Electric Generator Report collects data on the status of proposed new generators scheduled to begin commercial operation within the future 12-month period; and existing generators that have proposed modifications that are scheduled for completion within one month. The information is needed to ensure a complete and accurate inventory of the nation's generating fleet, for such purposes as reliability and environmental analysis. ( printed page 13838)

Form EIA-861 Annual Electric Power Industry Report collects annual information on the retail sale, distribution, transmission, and generation of electric energy in the United States and its territories. The data includes related activities such as energy efficiency and demand response programs. In combination with Form EIA-861S short form and the monthly Form EIA-861M, this annual survey provides coverage of sales to ultimate customers of electric power and related activities.

Form EIA-861S Annual Electric Power Industry Report (Short Form) collects a limited set of information annually from small companies involved in the retail sale of electricity. A complete set of annual data are collected from large companies on Form EIA-861. The small utilities that currently report on Form EIA-861S are required to complete Form EIA-861 once every eight years to provide updated information for the statistical estimation of uncollected data.

Form EIA-861M Monthly Electric Power Industry Report collects monthly information from a sample of electric utilities, energy service providers, and distribution companies that sell or deliver electric power to end users. Data included on this form includes sales and revenue for end-use sectors—residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation. This survey is the monthly complement to the annual data collection from the universe of respondents that report on Form EIA-861 and Form EIA-861S.

Form EIA-923A Annual Power Plant Operations Report collects annual information from electric power plants in the United States but not reporting on the EIA-923M. This data includes electric power generation, energy source consumption, end of reporting period fossil fuel stocks, as well as the quality and cost of fossil fuel receipts.

Form EIA-923M Monthly Power Plant Operations Report collects monthly information from electric power plants in the United States on electric power generation, energy source consumption, end of reporting period fossil fuel stocks, as well as the quality and cost of fossil fuel receipts.

Form EIA-923S Supplemental Power Plant Operations Report collects information from a subset of EIA-923M electric power plants in the United States on non-utility source and disposition of electricity and environmental data.

Form EIA-930 Balancing Authority Operations Report collects hourly electric power operating data from the 63 Balancing Authorities (BAs) in the contiguous United States, including demand, forecast demand, net generation, and interchange data.

Form EIA-930A Balancing Authority Generator Inventory Report collects an inventory of electric generating units from the 63 Balancing Authorities (BAs) in the contiguous United States on an annual basis.

Pretesting Interviews: EIA can conduct 100 pretesting interviews each year for testing purposes. These methodologies test or evaluate new terminology, unclear questions in surveys, unclear instructions, or questions that may be added to the Electric Power Surveys. This will help improve ongoing surveys and reduce errors due to respondent confusion.

(4a) Proposed Changes to the Information Collection:

EIA will discontinue Form EIA-63B, Photovoltaic Module Shipments Report. EIA has determined that the value of the data collected by the survey no longer exceeds the burden of collecting and publishing it.

EIA is adding five additional questions on spinning reserves at a time of unprecedented increases in electricity demand. In January 2026, EIA forecasted that electricity demand would increase in both 2026 and 2027. The basis for adding these questions is a heightened interest in making an important reliability metric more accessible to the industry, providing stakeholders with clearer insights into grid stability and operational readiness during these periods of increased demand. The following questions have been added to EIA-930A, Schedule 5. Target Spinning Reserve:

1. Does your Balancing Authority (BA) or your Reserve Sharing Group (RSG) have a target spinning reserve?

2. What is the spinning reserve target?

3. Over the past calendar year, how many hours did your system operate with spinning reserves below your target level?

4. What was the minimum spinning reserve actually held during the past calendar year?

5. How many times were spinning reserves deployed during the past calendar year?

The instructions for Schedule 5, Target Spinning Reserve, of Form EIA-930A have been updated to reflect the addition of these questions, and now include the following:

For Question 1, “Does your Balancing Authority (BA) or your Reserve Sharing Group (RSG) have a target spinning reserve?”, respond “Yes” or “No”.

If you answered “Yes” to Schedule 5, Question 1, then answer questions 2 through 5. If you answered “No” to Schedule 5, Question 1, you may skip questions 2 through 5.

For Question 2. “What is the spinning reserve target?”, provide your answer in megawatts (MW). If your BA is part of a reserve sharing group (RSG), then provide your BA's portion of your RSG's Spinning Reserve Target?

For Question 3. “Over the past calendar year, how many hours did your system operate with spinning reserves below your target level?”, specify the number of hours (HH:00-HH:59) that experienced a moment when your system operated with spinning below your target level. If your BA is part of a Reserve Sharing Group (RSG), this question only applies to the portion of the spinning reserve target allocated to your BA and the portion of spinning reserves managed by your BA.

For Question 4. “What was the minimum spinning reserve actually held during the past calendar year?”, provide your answer in megawatts (MW). If your BA is part of a reserve sharing group (RSG), this question only applies to the portion of the spinning reserves managed by your BA.

For Question 5. “How many times were spinning reserves deployed during the past calendar year?”, if your BA is part of a reserve sharing group (RSG), this question only applies to the portion of the spinning reserves managed by your BA.

EIA is making changes to the frame size for EIA-860A, EIA-860M, EIA-923A, and EIA-923M to ensure that all new generating units are accounted for. These frame size changes and resulting increases in the estimates for the number of respondents, number of total responses, and number of burden hours are reflected in the below annual estimates values.

In response to feedback received during the 60-day Federal Register Notice comment period, EIA made specific revisions to the instructions for Form EIA-861, under Schedule 3, Part B. These changes aim to enhance clarity for respondents calculating System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) and System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI). The original third bullet point stated “Report both the Annual Distribution SAIDI Including Major Event Days excluding events where the reliability event was initiated from loss of supply (e.g. resulted from an event on the distribution system, not from the high-voltage system) the Annual Distribution SAIDI Excluding Major Event Days excluding events where the reliability event was initiated from loss of supply on line 4”. The language was updated to “Report both the Annual Distribution ( printed page 13839) SAIDI including Major Event Days but excluding events that were initiated by a loss of supply from the high-voltage system on line 4.” The original sixth bullet point stated “Report both the Annual Distribution SAIFI Including and Excluding Major Event Days excluding events where the reliability event was initiated from loss of supply on line 6.” The updated sixth bullet point was changed to, “Report both the Annual Distribution SAIFI including Major Event Days but excluding events that were initiated by a loss of supply from the high-voltage system on line 6.” These modifications streamline the language to more precisely define the reporting requirements for reliability events not originating from the high-voltage system.

(5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 29,989.

Form EIA-860A (without schedule 6) is estimated to have 6,700 respondents;

Form EIA-860A (with schedule 6) is estimated to have 811 respondents;

Form EIA-860M is estimated to have 508 respondents;

Form EIA-861A is estimated to have 1,735 respondents;

Form EIA-861S is estimated to have 1,692 respondents;

Form EIA-861M is estimated to have 650 respondents;

Form EIA-923A is estimated to have 11,142 respondents;

Form EIA-923S is estimated to have 2,946 respondents;

Form EIA-923M is estimated to have 3,579 respondents;

Form EIA-930 is estimated to have 63 respondents;

Form EIA-930A is estimated to have 63 respondents;

Pretesting has 100 respondents;

(6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 101,177;

(7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 251,176;

(8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: EIA estimates that there are no capital and start-up costs associated with this data collection. The information is maintained during the normal course of business. The cost of the burden hours is estimated to be $23,846,649.44 (251,176 burden hours times $94.94 per hour). Other than the cost of burden hours, EIA estimates that there are no additional costs for generating, maintaining, and providing this information.

Statutory Authority: 15 U.S.C. 772(b) and 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.

Signed in Washington, DC, on 03/19/2026.

Debra Coaxum,

Assistant Administrator for Energy Statistics, U.S. Energy Information Administration.

[FR Doc. 2026-05643 Filed 3-20-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450-01-P

Published Document: 2026-05643 (91 FR 13837)