[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 67 (Thursday, April 7, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-8301]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: April 7, 1994]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

18 CFR Part 284

[Docket No. RM93-4-000]

 

Standards for Electronic Bulletin Boards Required Under Part 284 
of the Commission's Regulations

Issued April 1, 1994.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION: Final rule; order accepting data sets and implementation guide.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: On December 23, 1993, the Commission issued a final rule in 
this proceeding requiring pipelines to implement standards and 
protocols by June 1, 1994. The Commission is accepting standardized 
data sets providing information related to released capacity and an 
implementation guide for downloading this information using Electronic 
Data Interchange according to standards promulgated by the American 
National Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited Standards Committee 
(ASC) X12.

DATES: Pipelines must implement the data sets and implementation guide 
by June 1, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North Capitol 
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Goldenberg, Office of the 
General Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North 
Capitol Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 208-2294.
Marvin Rosenberg, Office of Economic Policy, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 825 North Capitol Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 
208-1283.
Brooks Carter, Office of Pipeline and Producer Regulation, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North Capitol Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 208-0666.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In addition to publishing the full text of 
this document in the Federal Register, the Commission also provides all 
interested persons an opportunity to inspect or copy the contents of 
this document during normal business hours in room 3104, 941 North 
Capitol Street NE., Washington, DC 20426.
    The Commission Issuance Posting System (CIPS), an electronic 
bulletin board service, provides access to the texts of formal 
documents issued by the Commission. CIPS is available at no charge to 
the user and may be accessed using a personal computer with a modem by 
dialing (202) 208-1397. To access CIPS, set your communications 
software to use 300, 1200, or 2400 bps, full duplex, no parity, 8 data 
bits, and 1 stop bit. CIPS can also be accessed at 9600 bps by dialing 
(202) 208-1781. The full text of this notice will be available on CIPS 
for 30 days from the date of issuance. The complete text on diskette in 
WordPerfect format may also be purchased from the Commission's copy 
contractor, La Dorn Systems Corporation, also located in room 3104, 941 
North Capitol Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.

Order Accepting Data Sets and Implementation Guide

Issued April 1, 1994.

    On December 23, 1993, the Commission issued a final rule in this 
proceeding requiring pipelines to implement standards and protocols by 
June 1, 1994.1 The rule required pipelines to provide information 
included in standardized data sets on their Electronic Bulletin Boards 
and to permit users to download this information using Electronic Data 
Interchange according to standards promulgated by the American National 
Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\Standards For Electronic Bulletin Boards Required Under part 
284 Of The Commission's Regulations, Order No. 563, 59 FR 516 (Jan. 
5, 1994), III FERC Stats. & Regs. Preambles  30,988 (Dec. 23, 
1993).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In the rule, the Commission recognized that as pipelines began the 
implementation process, they might discover that changes or 
modifications to the standardized data sets were necessary. The 
Commission also recognized that an ASC X12 implementation guide would 
need to be developed to correspond with the final data sets. The 
revisions to the data sets and the implementation guide were to be 
developed by the industry Working Groups that had been working on these 
standards, and the Working Groups were to provide the required 
documents to the Commission in sufficient time to permit implementation 
by June 1, 1994.
    On March 4, 1994, Working Groups 1 & 2 filed revised capacity 
release data sets and an implementation guide for downloading these 
data sets using Electronic Data Interchange according to ASC X12 
standards. Public notice of this filing was issued on March 7, 1994, 
with comments due by March 15, 1994. Only one comment was received, 
from the National Registry of Capacity Rights, Inc., which supported 
acceptance of the data sets.
    The Commission is accepting the data sets and implementation guide 
to be implemented by the pipelines by June 1, 1994, subject to the 
order on rehearing in this proceeding. Pipelines should not delay 
implementation of the data sets until the Commission's rehearing order. 
Should the Commission grant rehearing and eliminate any data elements, 
those fields simply would be left blank. If the Commission determines 
to add fields to the data sets, the Commission will not require those 
fields to be implemented by June 1, 1994. The Working Groups would be 
given the opportunity to design the new data fields for later 
implementation. The data sets will be made available at the 
Commission's Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 941 North 
Capitol Street as soon as is possible.
    In the final rule, the Commission required pipelines to provide 
downloads using a standard ASCII format. On March 10, 1994, public 
notice was given of an ASCII file structure submitted by Enron Gas 
Service, with comments due by March 17, 1994. On March 18, 1994, the 
Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) filed a comment 
to clarify that the ASCII file structure was not a consensus product of 
the Working Group. INGAA also asserts work is underway on an 
alternative approach that would make ASCII files available to users 
without requiring the pipelines to maintain two separate standards, ASC 
X12 and ASCII. Numerous parties also have sought rehearing of the 
requirement to provide ASCII downloads.
    The Commission will determine whether to require an ASCII download, 
and the implementation date if it is required, in the rehearing order. 
If the industry or Working Groups formulate an alternative approach, 
they should inform the Commission of that approach as soon as possible.

The Commission Orders

    The data sets and implementation guide filed on March 4, 1994, in 
this proceeding are accepted to be implemented by June 1, 1994, subject 
to the order on rehearing in this docket.

    By the Commission.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-8301 Filed 4-6-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P