[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 188 (Thursday, September 29, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-24120]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: September 29, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

18 CFR Part 284

[Docket No. RM93-4-004; Order No.     563-C]

 

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

Issued September 23, 1994.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION: Final rule; Order Accepting Modifications to the Transaction 
Point Common Code Data Base.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is 
issuing an order making changes to the transaction point common code 
data base. The Commission's order revises its ``Standardized Data Sets 
and Communication Protocols,'' available at the Commission's Public 
Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, to add three additional fields 
to improve the clarity of the data and the management of the data base.

DATES: This order was issued on September 23, 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) 208-0292

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 Modifications to the Transaction Point Common Code 
Data Base

    Before Commissioners: Elizabeth Anne Moler, Chair; Vicky A. 
Bailey, James J. Hoecker, William L. Massey, and Donald F. Santa, 
Jr.

    On July 29, 1994, the Electronic Bulletin Board (EBB) Working Group 
submitted proposed modifications to the transaction point common code 
data base that the Commission had accepted in Order No. 563.\1\ The 
Commission hereby adopts the proposed modifications, with one exception 
discussed below.
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    \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), 
order on reh'g, Order No. 563-A, 59 FR 23624 (May 6, 1994), III FERC 
Stats. & Regs. Preambles 30,994 (May 2, 1994), reh'g denied, Order 
No. 563-B, 68 FERC 61,002 (1994).
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    On December 23, 1993, the Commission issued a Final Rule in this 
proceeding requiring pipelines to implement standards and protocols 
relating to the electronic dissemination of information. The standards 
and protocols accepted by the Commission reflected agreements reached 
by industry Working Groups consisting of members from all segments of 
the gas industry. The standards and protocols are described in a 
document entitled ``Standardized Data Sets and Communication 
Protocols,'' available at the Commission's Public Reference and Files 
Maintenance Branch.
    In the Final Rule, the Commission accepted a consensus approach for 
developing a common code data base that would identify pipeline 
transaction points, such as receipt and delivery points. Under the 
accepted approach, pipelines were required to provide the Petroleum 
Information Corporation (PI) with information on their transaction 
points, and PI then would prepare a computerized data base cross-
referencing the pipelines' proprietary codes for identifying 
transaction points with a discrete common code assigned to each point. 
The data base is to be available by November 1, 1994.\2\ The data sets 
summarizing the information to be included in the common code data base 
were included in the Standardized Data Sets and Communication Protocols 
adopted by the Commission.
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    \2\The Commission, however, did provide that pipelines that do 
not maintain the geographic location of receipt points in an easily 
accessible form may request an extension until May 1, 1995, to 
complete the process of confirming their points to PI.
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    In the Final Rule, the Commission recognized that the EBB 
standardization efforts would be an on-going process that required a 
flexible procedure for making timely revisions or modifications to the 
standards and protocols as the industry obtained experience with them 
and at the same time preserved the opportunity for the industry to 
comment on proposed changes. The Commission adopted a process in which 
the industry Working Groups would file their proposed changes with the 
Commission, and the filing would then be noticed with an opportunity 
for the industry to file comments.
    On July 29, 1994, the industry Working Group filed a consensus 
proposal to modify the data sets for the common code data base by 
adding three new fields: ``facility type,'' which provides a standard 
text description of the facility; ``transaction code,'' which informs 
users whether a record is an addition, change, or deletion; and ``data 
reference number,'' which is a unique number that identifies each data 
base record. The Working Group states that the addition of these fields 
will improve the clarity of the data and the management of the data 
base.
    Public notice of the Working Group filing was issued on August 4, 
1994, with comments due by August 15, 1994. The notice further provided 
that issues relating to these proposed changes could be raised at an 
EBB conference to be held on August 11, 1994.
    No comments have been received regarding the proposed changes, and 
the Commission will accept them to be implemented according to the 
schedule established in Order Nos. 563 and 563-A.\3\ The ``Standardized 
Data Sets and Communication Protocols'' will be modified accordingly 
and made available at the Commission's Public Reference and Files 
Maintenance Branch.
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    \3\The complete data set is contained in Appendix A. The 
Commission notes that, for informational purposes, the Working Group 
attached to its July 29, 1994 report a copy of Table 1 of its 
October 12, 1993 filing showing the data sets it initially proposed. 
That table lists the point locator field as optional. However, in 
Order No. 563, the Commission required the point locator field to be 
mandatory. Order No. 563, III FERC Stats. & Regs. Preambles at 
31,014; Order No. 563-A, III FERC Stats. & Regs. Preambles at 
31,046. Accordingly, the point locator field in the attached 
appendix is listed as mandatory in conformity with the requirements 
of Order Nos. 563 and 563-A.
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The Commission orders:

    The data sets in Appendix A are accepted to be implemented 
according to the schedule established in Order Nos. 563 and 563-A.

    By the Commission.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.

Appendix A

                                 Common Code Data Set for Gas Transaction Points                                
                       [I. Data Elements of the Gas Transaction Point Common Code Record]                       
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 Line No.           Field name              Description of field         Status      Data type and explanation  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.          Owner/operator name......  The legal name of entity that   M           A Text field provided by the 
                                        owns and/or operates the                    owner/operator that is      
                                        transaction point.                          responsible for conducting  
                                                                                    business at the point.      
2.          Owner/Operator Company     The company code of the entity  M           An alpha-numeric field       
             Code.                      that owns/operates the gas                  containing a code that      
                                        transaction point.                          uniquely identifies the     
                                                                                    owner/operator of the point.
3.          Point Code...............  The code assigned by the owner/ M           An alpha-numeric field       
                                        operator to the transaction                 containing the point code   
                                        point.                                      for the gas transaction     
                                                                                    point that is used by the   
                                                                                    owner/operator.             
4.          Point type indicator.....  An indicator for the type of    M           A positive integer field     
                                        facility at the point. For                  containing codes to identify
                                        example, ``01'' could                       the type of facilities      
                                        indicate an interconnect.                   located at gas transaction  
                                                                                    points. (These codes will be
                                                                                    developed on a consensus    
                                                                                    basis between the Code      
                                                                                    Assignor and the Data       
                                                                                    Provider).                  
5.          Flow indicator...........  An indicator to determine the   C           A single position alpha field
                                        direction of gas flow in the                that would be completed only
                                        case of interconnects and                   if the point type indicator 
                                        storage: R=receipt or flow                  of the facility is either an
                                        into the pipeline only                      interconnect or storage     
                                        D=delivery or flow out of the               facility.                   
                                        pipeline only B=both receipt                                            
                                        and delivery.                                                           
6.          Point name...............  The name assigned to the point  M           A text field provided by the 
                                        by the owner/operator.                      owner/operator of the gas   
                                                                                    transaction point.          
7.          State....................  The state in which the gas      M           A text field containing the  
                                        transaction point is located.               name of the state.          
8.          County...................  The county in which the gas     M           A text field containing the  
                                        transaction point is located.               name of the county.         
9.          Point Locator............  A unique locator for the        M           An alpha-numeric field       
                                        transaction point.                          containing the geographic   
                                                                                    coordinates, survey         
                                                                                    coordinates or pipeline line
                                                                                    number and mile marker.     
10.         Up/downstream entity name  The name of the entity that     O           A text field containing the  
                                        controls capacity upstream or               legal name of the entity    
                                        downstream of the point,                    that owns/operates the      
                                        e.g., at an interconnect.                   facility that is either     
                                                                                    upstream or downstream from 
                                                                                    the point. This field would 
                                                                                    be completed only if the    
                                                                                    information is available.   
11.         Up/downstream point name.  The point name as assigned by   O           A text field provided by the 
                                        the entity that controls                    owner/operator of the gas   
                                        capacity upstream or                        transaction point. This     
                                        downstream of the gas                       field would be completed    
                                        transaction point, e.g., at                 only if the information is  
                                        an interconnect.                            available.                  
12.         Up/downstream point code.  The point code as assigned by   O           An alpha-numeric/numeric code
                                        the entity that controls                    assigned by the up/         
                                        capacity upstream or                        downstream owner/operator   
                                        downstream of the gas                       that uniquely defines the   
                                        transaction point, e.g., at                 gas transaction point. This 
                                        an interconnect.                            field would be completed    
                                                                                    only if the information is  
                                                                                    available.                  
13.         Joint ownership indicator  An indicator to determine if    M           A single-position alpha field
                                        the point has joint owners:                 to alert the common Code    
                                        Y=yes N=no.                                 Assignor that other Data    
                                                                                    Providers might be reporting
                                                                                    this point.                 
14.         Non-operator point.......  An indicator to determine if    M           An alpha-numeric field to    
                                        the point is operated by                    indicate whether the gas    
                                        another party, other than the               transaction point is        
                                        Data Provider: Y=yes, N=no.                 operated by a party other   
                                                                                    than Data Provider.         
15.         Point common Code........  A standard common code to be    M           An alpha-numeric field       
                                        assigned by the Code Assignor               containing the common code  
                                        to uniquely identify the gas                that is assigned by the Code
                                        transaction point.                          Assignor.                   
16.         Confirmation code........  A code to indicate the current  M           A single-position alpha field
                                        status of the common code.                  that contains either a      
                                        The code would be ``Pending''               P=``Pending,''              
                                        (P) if the transaction point                V=``Verified,'' D=``Declined
                                        data is waiting for                         To Verify,'' or             
                                        verification by the owner/                  R=``Rejected'' to indicate  
                                        operator providing the data;                the status of the common    
                                        ``Verified'' (V) after the                  code and its data record.   
                                        verification process has been                                           
                                        completed; ``Declined To                                                
                                        Verify'' (D) if the owner/                                              
                                        operator has declined to                                                
                                        verify the data; or                                                     
                                        ``Rejected'' (R) if the owner/                                          
                                        operator rejects to verify                                              
                                        the data because it is not a                                            
                                        valid transaction point.                                                
17.         Date active..............  The date on which the           M           A date field in a format that
                                        transaction point becomes or                is machine-processable. The 
                                        became active. A default                    owner/operator would use    
                                        value equivalent to January                 this field to notify the    
                                        1, 1960 would be used for all               Code Assignor of date the   
                                        points that are currently                   data based record           
                                        active.                                     representing the proprietary/
                                                                                    common code cross-reference 
                                                                                    becomes active.             
18.         Date inactive............  The date on which the           C           A date field in format that  
                                        transaction point is, will                  is machine-processable. The 
                                        be, or became inactive. The                 owner/operator would use    
                                        owner/operator would use this               this field to notify the    
                                        field to notify the Code                    Code Assignor of date the   
                                        Assignor of points that will                data base record            
                                        be permanently inactive on a                representing the proprietary/
                                        future date. This is not                    common code cross-reference 
                                        intended to be used to                      becomes inactive. This data 
                                        indicate temporary closure                  element is conditional,     
                                        due to such factors as                      based on whether the owner/ 
                                        maintenance.                                operator changes, whether   
                                                                                    the proprietary code or name
                                                                                    changes, whether other data 
                                                                                    elements change, or whether 
                                                                                    the point is permanently    
                                                                                    removed from service.       
19.         Facility type............  A standard facility type name   M           A text field containing a    
                                        assigned by the Code Assignor               standard facility type      
                                        which also indicates flow                   assigned by the Code        
                                        direction.                                  Assignor.                   
20.         Last update..............  The date on which the           M           A date field in a format that
                                        transaction point common code               is machine-processable. The 
                                        record has been changed.                    Code Assignor would use this
                                                                                    field to indicate either    
                                                                                    when the record was created,
                                                                                    modified, or made inactive. 
21.         Transaction code.........  A code assigned by the Code     M           A single-position alpha field
                                        Assignor to indicate whether                assigned by the Code        
                                        the record is an (A)dd,                     Assignor for transactional  
                                        (C)hange, or (D)elete.                      purposes.                   
22.         Data reference number....  A random, non-intelligent       M           A positive integer field     
                                        number assigned by the Code                 assigned by the Code        
                                        Assignor. In conjunction with               Assignor to help process    
                                        ``Date active'' and ``Date                  transactions.               
                                        inactive'' this acts as a                                               
                                        file key.                                                               
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[FR Doc. 94-24120 Filed 9-28-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P