[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 210 (Monday, October 30, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64691-64693]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-27743]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of Energy 
(DOE).

ACTION: Agency information collection activities: proposed collection; 
comment request.

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SUMMARY: The EIA is soliciting comments on the proposed new Form EIA-
910, ``Monthly Natural Gas Marketer Survey.''

DATES: Comments must be filed on or before December 29, 2000. If you 
anticipate difficulty in submitting comments within that period, 
contact the person listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Roy Kass (EI-44), ATTN: Form EIA-910, 
Forrestal Building, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C. 20585. 
Alternatively, Mr. Kass may be reached by telephone at 202-586-4790, by 
FAX at 202-586-4420 or by e-mail at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
a copy of the form and instructions should be directed to Mr. Kass at 
the address listed above. The proposed forms and instructions are also 
available on the Internet at http://www.eia.doe.gov/smg/eia910.pdf.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background
II. Current Actions
III. Request for Comments

I. Background

    The Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 (FEA Act) (Pub. L. 
93-275, 15 U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the DOE Organization Act (Pub. L. 
95-91, 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) require the EIA to carry out a 
centralized, comprehensive, and unified energy information program. 
This program collects, evaluates, assembles, analyzes, and disseminates 
information on energy resource reserves, production, demand, 
technology, and related economic and statistical information. To carry 
out this program, section 13(b) of the FEA Act (15 U.S.C. 772(b)) 
states that ``All persons owning or operating facilities or business 
premises who are engaged in any phase of energy supply or major energy 
consumption shall make available to the (Administrator) such 
information and periodic reports, records, documents, and other data, 
relating to the purposes of this Act, * * *''
    Under the authorities granted, EIA conducts mandatory surveys of 
companies involved in energy supply and consumption. EIA's current 
surveys of energy suppliers include monthly surveys of petroleum 
product resellers and retailers, electric power supply and marketing 
companies, and natural gas supply companies. Collecting information 
from all types of energy supply companies provides EIA with information 
used to accurately estimate energy prices and quantities. Users of 
EIA's information include analysts in Federal, State, and local 
governments, as well as analysts in energy trade associations, energy 
companies, the media, consultants, and other private organizations.

[[Page 64692]]

    The EIA, as part of its effort to comply with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), provides 
the general public and other Federal agencies with opportunities to 
comment on collections of energy information conducted by or in 
conjunction with the EIA. Any comments received help the EIA to prepare 
data requests that maximize the utility of the information collected, 
and to assess the impact of collection requirements on the public. 
Also, the EIA will later seek approval by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) of the collections under Section 3507(a) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995.
    EIA's coverage of natural gas prices is declining in states with 
active customer choice programs as customers choose to purchase gas 
from marketers rather than local distribution companies. There are 
significant variations in energy prices paid in different states and by 
different economic sectors within states. Data on the price of natural 
gas sold by marketers to residential and commercial customers by state 
are required to assess the gas industry's performance and to meet the 
needs of EIA's data users. (See http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/natural_gas/ng2/ng2main.html for more information on EIA's natural gas 
data requirements.) The data requirements were developed with careful 
consideration of the public policy and economic issues through a series 
of focus groups conducted by EIA with representatives from the natural 
gas industry, State and Federal government representatives, and through 
cognitive interviews with industry representatives. The requirements 
have also been reconsidered based on comments received in response to 
an earlier Federal Register notice (65 FR 44524 issued on July 18, 
2000) for proposed Form EIA-905, ``Monthly Natural Gas Biller Survey.''
    Based upon these activities, EIA revised the scope of the survey to 
collect information necessary for developing accurate estimates of 
state-level prices paid by commercial and residential consumers of 
natural gas. These revisions should significantly reduce the reporting 
requirements and associated reporting burdens for the survey 
respondents, while at the same time providing the information needed by 
EIA and its data users.
    Changes from the earlier proposed survey are: (1) Revenue and 
operational data will only be required from natural gas marketers, 
instead of the earlier proposal requesting billing and operational data 
from marketers, local distribution companies, and their associated 
billing agents, and (2) respondent burden for completing the survey has 
been significantly lowered by reducing the amount of data to be 
reported and by requesting data at the state level rather by service 
area within each state (or jurisdiction).
    In the EIA-910 survey, initially data will only be requested for 
both the residential and commercial sectors in five states (Georgia, 
Maryland, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania). EIA conducted additional 
research to ensure that the proposed survey would not duplicate 
reliable information that EIA could obtain through other means. 
Preliminary research conducted of public service/utilities commissions 
in the five states indicate that monthly revenue data are unavailable, 
except in Georgia where marketers report revenue for the residential 
sector only. Thus, requesting respondents to complete this form will 
not be a duplicate effort in these five states.

II. Current Actions

    The proposed survey will collect state-level monthly data for both 
the residential and commercial sectors. Specifically, respondents will 
report the number of customers, volumes of natural gas sold (in either 
therms or thousand cubic feet), and revenues. The data will be 
collected in states with active customer choice programs. Respondents 
will be provided with options for reporting by the submission of paper 
forms and electronic reporting. In the first year, data will be 
collected only for Georgia, Maryland, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. 
The survey may be expanded in later years to require reporting for 
additional states as participation in customer choice programs rises 
and as EIA identifies increasing coverage problems in its natural gas 
price data.
    Information collected in the proposed EIA-910 will be treated as 
confidential and will not be disclosed to the public to the extent 
permitted by law that the information satisfies the criteria for 
exemption in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552, the 
DOE regulations 10 CFR 1004.11, implementing the FOIA, and the Trade 
Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. 1905. This is the same treatment given to 
confidential data collected in other EIA surveys of energy companies.
    The data collected from marketers who sell natural gas to 
residential and commercial customers will be compiled and incorporated 
into EIA's monthly and annual natural gas publications. The data will 
also be used in EIA's modeling and analytical efforts, and to answer 
questions from Federal policymakers, Congress, and the general public. 
The data are not intended to be collected for regulatory purposes and 
no rulemaking is involved.

III. Request for Comments

    Prospective respondents and other interested parties should comment 
on the actions discussed in item II. The following guidelines are 
provided to assist in the preparation of comments.

General Issues

    A. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency and does the 
information have practical utility? Practical utility is defined as the 
actual usefulness of information to or for an agency, taking into 
account its accuracy, adequacy, reliability, timeliness, and the 
agency's ability to process the information it collects.
    B. What enhancements can be made to the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected?

As a Potential Respondent to the Request for Information

    A. Are the instructions and definitions clear and sufficient? If 
not, which instructions need clarification?
    B. Can the information be submitted by the due date?
    C. Initially, it is expected that potential survey respondents will 
require 40 hours to prepare for this new survey. After that, reporting 
burden is estimated to average 2 hours per month for each state for 
which a marketer reports. This is similar to the burden estimates for 
other energy supply monthly surveys that EIA conducts. EIA expects that 
all information needed for reporting should be part of the normal 
business records of the potential respondents. The estimated burden 
includes the total time necessary to provide the requested information. 
In your opinion, how accurate are the burden estimates?
    D. EIA estimates that the only cost to a respondent is for the time 
it will take to prepare for and complete the survey. Will a respondent 
incur any other start-up costs for reporting, or any recurring annual 
costs for operation, maintenance, and purchase of services associated 
with the information collection?
    E. What additional actions could be taken to minimize the burden of 
this collection of information? Such actions may involve the use of 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    F. Does any other Federal, State, or local agency collect similar 
information

[[Page 64693]]

that would be useful for developing the accurate and independent 
natural gas data that would be available from the proposed survey? If 
so, specify the agency, the data element(s), the methods of collection, 
and the name and phone number of someone that EIA may contact for 
additional information.

As a Potential User of the Information to be Collected

    A. Is the information useful at the levels of detail to be 
collected?
    B. For what purpose(s) would the information be used? Be specific.
    C. Are there alternate sources for the information and are they 
useful? If so, please specify the sources and their weaknesses and/or 
strengths?
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the form. The 
comments also will become a matter of public record.

    Statutory Authority: Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. No. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

    Issued in Washington, DC, October 23, 2000.
Stanley R. Freedman,
Acting Director, Statistics and Methods Group, Energy Information 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 00-27743 Filed 10-27-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P