[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 222 (Thursday, November 16, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 69251-69252]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-29330]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

18 CFR Parts 125, 225, and 356

[Docket No. RM99-8-001; 
Order No. 617-A]


Preservation of Records of Public Utilities and Licensees, 
Natural Gas Companies, and Oil Pipeline Companies; Order Denying 
Rehearing

Issued November 9, 2000.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE

ACTION: Order denying rehearing.

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SUMMARY: Edison Electric Institute (EEI) filed a request for rehearing 
seeking revision of the Commission's Final Rule in Order No. 617, 
Preservation of Records of Public Utilities and Licensees, Natural Gas 
Companies, and Oil Pipeline Companies. The Commission denies rehearing.

ADDRESSES: Office of the Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:   
Mary C. Lauermann (Technical Information), Office of the Executive 
Director, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, D.C. 20426, (202) 208-0087
Julia A. Lake (Legal Information), Office of the General Counsel, 888 
First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 208-2019.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    In this order, the Commission addresses a request for rehearing of 
Order No. 617, the final rule on the preservation of records of public 
utilities and licensees, natural gas companies, and oil pipeline 
companies.\1\ In Order No. 617, the Commission amended Parts 125, 225, 
and 356 \2\ of its regulations in order to update, reduce, and clarify 
records retention requirements for jurisdictional public utilities and 
licensees, natural gas companies and oil pipeline companies. Order No. 
617 is part of the Commission's ongoing program to update and eliminate 
burdensome and unnecessary requirements. These changes significantly 
reduce the burden of maintaining records for regulated companies.
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    \1\ 65 FR 48148 (Aug. 7, 2000); III FERC Stats. & Regs. para. 
31,105 (Jul. 21, 2000). The Commission issued a correction notice on 
August 15, 2000. See 65 FR 50638 (Aug. 21, 2000).
    \2\ 18 CFR Parts 125, 225, and 356.
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    For the reasons stated below, the Commission denies rehearing.

II. Background

    On July 27, 2000, the Commission issued Order No. 617, revising the 
Commission's records retention regulations, which included revising the 
general instructions, revising the records retention periods, and 
removing all but two retention reserve items. Order No. 617, effective 
January 1, 2001, is part of the Commission's ongoing program to update 
and eliminate burdensome and unnecessary requirements.
    A timely request for rehearing was filed by Edison Electric 
Institute (EEI) requesting: (1) Reduction of one retention period, and 
(2) revision of one section of regulatory text. These issues are 
addressed separately below.

III. Discussion

1. Reduction of Retention Period

    Under the final rule, utilities and licensees must maintain plant 
records for as long as the plant is included in the company's 
accounting records.\3\ EEI argues that the new record retention period 
for schedule item 8(b)(1) of 25 years represents an increase in the 
retention period. EEI requests the Commission to reduce the record 
retention period for schedule item 8(b)(1) back to 6 years, as required 
under the prior regulations.
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    \3\ 18 CFR 125.2(g) and 18 CFR 125.3 item 8(b)(1).
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    The Commission has not increased the record retention period for 
schedule item 8(b)(1). The record retention period has always been a 
minimum of 25 years.\4\ The revised schedule item 8(b)(1) clarifies 
this 25-year retention period. The Commission recognized, however, that 
many plant items have a useful life longer than 25 years, and that 
other plant items are sold or retired in less than 25 years. The 
Commission is

[[Page 69252]]

requiring companies to keep plant records until the facilities are 
permanently removed from service and retired from the accounting 
records. This revision recognizes that it is possible for companies to 
maintain plant records for shorter or longer periods than 25 years. The 
Commission, therefore, denies EEI's request for a reduction of the 
retention period for schedule item 8(b)(1).
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    \4\ See former 17 CFR 125.2(j) (``* * * records related to plant 
shall be retained a minimum of 25 years.'').
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2. Revision of New Sec. 125.2(i)

    Section 125.2(i) of the final rule requires public utilities and 
licensees to assure that supporting cost information is available for 
services performed by or for associated or affiliated companies, 
including detailed information regarding the nature of the transaction, 
the amounts involved, and the accounts used to record the transaction. 
EEI continues to be concerned that the language in this section could 
be interpreted to expand the Commission's authority to records of 
utility affiliates in general, instead of just to records that relate 
to utility-affiliate transactions. EEI stated that the Commission's 
clarification provided in the preamble of the final rule was ``very 
useful and informative,'' and that the ``clarification is valuable 
because it reduces .* * * ambiguity'' and ``reflects the `utility-
affiliate' focus of the records to be maintained.'' However, EEI's 
concern is that the clarification provided in the preamble should be 
incorporated into the regulatory text at Sec. 125.2(i), and requests 
that the text be amended to include the clarification. EEI proposed the 
following revision to Sec. 125.2(i):

    Public utilities and licensees must assure the availability of 
records, to be retained by the originating entity, of services 
performed by a utility or licensee for associated or affiliated 
companies and vice versa, with supporting cost information for the 
periods indicated in section 125.3 as necessary, as they pertain to 
the cost of the services performed.

    The Commission believes that EEI's suggested revision to the 
regulatory language in Sec. 125.2(i) is unnecessary. We find that EEI's 
suggested revision, in fact, deletes clarifying language identifying 
the kind of information public utilities and licensees must retain. The 
regulatory text in the final rule clearly states the Commission's needs 
related to records retention for transactions between utilities and 
affiliates. The Commission, therefore, denies the request for this 
revision.

IV. Document Availability

    In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the 
Internet through FERC's Home Page (http://www.ferc.fed.us) and in 
FERC's Public Reference Room during normal business hours (8:30 A.M. to 
5:00 P.M. Eastern time) at 888 First Street, NE., Room 2A, Washington, 
DC 20426.
    From FERC's Home Page on the Internet, this information is 
available in both the Commission's Issuance Posting System (CIPS) and 
the Records and Information Management System (RIMS).

--CIPS provides access to the texts of formal documents issued by the 
Commission since November 14, 1994.
--CIPS can be accessed using the CIPS link or the Energy Information 
Online icon. The full text of this document will be available on CIPS 
in ASCII and WordPerfect 8.0 format for viewing, printing, and/or 
downloading.
--RIMS contains images 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 from FERC's Home Page using the RIMS 
link or the Energy Information Online icon. Descriptions of documents 
back to November 16, 1981, are also available from RIMS-on-the-Web; 
requests for copies of these and other older documents should be 
submitted to the Public Reference Room.

    User assistance is available for RIMS, CIPS, and the Website during 
normal business hours from our Help line at (202) 208-2222 (e-mail to 
[email protected]) or the Public Reference Room at (202) 208-1371 
(e-mail to [email protected]).
    During normal business hours, documents can also be viewed and/or 
printed in FERC's Public Reference Room, where RIMS, CIPS, and the FERC 
Website are available. User assistance is also available.

By the Commission.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 00-29330 Filed 11-15-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P