[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 101 (Wednesday, May 26, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28468-28469]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-13121]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. RM93-11-000]


Revisions to Oil Pipeline Regulations Pursuant to the Energy 
Policy Act of 1992

May 18, 1999.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Dept. of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of annual change in the producer price index for 
finished goods, minus one percent.

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SUMMARY: The Commission is issuing the index that oil pipelines must 
apply to their July 1, 1998-June 30, 1999 rate ceiling levels to 
compute their rate ceiling levels for the period July 1, 1999 through 
June 30, 2000, in accordance with 18 CFR 342.3(d). This index, which is 
the percent change (expressed as a decimal) in the annual average 
Producer Price Index for Finished Goods from 1997 to 1998, minus one 
percent, is a negative 0.018346. Oil pipelines must multiply their July 
1, 1998-June 30, 1999 rate ceiling levels by 0.981654 to compute their 
rate ceiling levels for the period July 1, 1999 through June 30, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Ulevich, Office of Pipeline 
Regulation, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, 
NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 208-0678.

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 the Public Reference Room 
at 888 First Street, NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426.
    The Commission Issuance Posting System (CIPS) provides access to 
the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission from November 
14, 1994 to the present. CIPS can be accessed via Internet through 
FERC's Home Page (http://www.ferc.fed.us) using the CIPS Link or the 
Energy Information Online icon. Documents will be available on CIPS in 
ASCII and WordPerfect 6.1 format. User assistance is available at 202-
208-2474 or by E-mail to [email protected].
    This document is also available through the Commission's Records 
and Information Management System (RIMS), an electronic storage and 
retrieval system of documents submitted to and issued by the Commission 
after November 16, 1981. Documents from November 1995 to the present 
can be viewed and printed. RIMS is available in the Public Reference 
Room or remotely via Internet through FERC's Home Page using the RIMS 
link or the energy Information Online icon. User assistance is 
available at 202-208-2222, or by E-mail to [email protected].
    Finally, the complete text on diskette in WordPerfect format may be 
purchased from the Commission's copy contractor, RVJ International, 
Inc. RVJ International, Inc. is located in the Public Reference Room at 
888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
    The Commission's regulations include a methodology for oil 
pipelines to change their rates through use of an index system that 
establishes ceiling levels for such rates. The index system as set 
forth at 18 CFR 342.3 is based on the annual change in the Producer 
Price Index for Finished Goods (PPI-FG), minus one percent. The 
regulations provide that each year the Commission will publish an index 
reflecting the final change in the PPI-FG, minus one percent, after the 
final PPI-FG is made available by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in May 
of each calendar year.
    The annual average PPI-FG index figure for 1997 was 131.8 and the 
annual average PPI-FG index figure for 1998 was 130.7.\1\ Thus, the 
percent change (expressed as a decimal) in the annual average PPI-FG 
from 1997 to 1998, minus one percent, is a negative 0.018346.\2\ Oil 
pipelines must multiply their July 1, 1998-June 30, 1999 rate ceiling 
levels by 0.981654 \3\ to compute their rate ceiling levels for the 
period July 1, 1999, through June 30, 2000, in accordance with 18 CFR 
342.3(d).
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    \1\ The final figure for the annual average PPI-FG is published 
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in mid-May of each year. This 
figure is publicly available from the Division of Industrial Prices 
and Price Indexes of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, at (202) 606-
7705, and is available in print in August in Table 1 of the annual 
data supplement to the BLS publication Producer Price Index. The PPI 
data are also available via the Internet. The Internet address is 
<http://www.fedstats.gov. This site contains data from a number of 
government agencies; to obtain the BLS data, click on agencies, then 
click on Bureau of Labor Statistics, then click on data, Most 
Requested Series, scroll to Producer Price Indexes-Commodities 
(Finished Goods), for the latest available data.
    \2\ [130.7-131.8]/131.8 = -0.008346 - .01 = -0.018346.
    \3\ 1 + (-0.018346) = 0.981654.
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    To obtain July 1, 1999-June 30, 2000 ceiling levels, pipelines must 
first calculate their ceiling levels for the January 1, 1995-June 30, 
1995 index period, by multiplying their December 31, 1994 rates by 
1.002175. Pipelines must then multiply those ceiling levels by 0.996415 
to obtain the July 1, 1995-June 30, 1996 ceiling levels. Then, 
pipelines must multiply their July 1, 1995-June 30, 1996 ceiling levels 
by 1.009124 to obtain the July 1, 1996-June 30, 1997 ceiling levels, 
and multiply the July 1, 1996-June 30, 1997 ceiling levels by 1.016583 
to obtain the July 1, 1997-June 30, 1998 ceiling levels. Pipelines then 
must multiply the July 1, 1997-June 30, 1998 ceiling levels by 0.993808 
to obtain the July 1, 1998-June 30, 1999

[[Page 28469]]

ceiling levels. finally, pipelines must multiply the July 1, 1998-June 
30, 1999 ceiling levels by 0.981654 to obtain the July 1, 1999-June 30, 
2000 ceiling levels. See Explorer Pipelines Company, 71 FERC 61,416 at 
n.6 (1995) for an explanation of how ceiling levels must be calculated.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-13121 Filed 5-25-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M