[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 100 (Monday, May 24, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29532-29533]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-1200]


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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; Notice of Annual Change in the Producer Price Index 
for Finished Goods

May 14, 2004.
    The Commission's regulations include a methodology for oil 
pipelines to change their rates through use of an

[[Page 29533]]

index system that establishes ceiling levels for such rates. The 
Commission bases the index system, found at 18 CFR 342.3, on the annual 
change in the Producer Price Index for Finished Goods (PPI-FG). This 
rule provides that pipelines should use PPI-FG minus 1 percent as the 
oil pricing index factor, 18 CFR 342.3(d)(2). However, on February 24, 
2003, the Commission issued its Order on Remand of its Five-Year Review 
of Oil Pricing Index (Remand Order) in Docket Nos. RM00-11-000 and -
001. In the Remand Order the Commission redetermined that the PPI-FG 
without the minus 1 percent is the appropriate oil pricing index factor 
for pipelines to use.\1\ The regulations provide that the Commission 
will publish annually, an index figure reflecting the final change in 
the PPI-FG, after the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the final 
PPG-FG in May of each calendar year. The annual average PPI-FG index 
figure for 2002 was 138.9. The annual average PPI-FG index figure for 
2003 was 143.3.\2\
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    \1\ 102 FERC ] 61,195 at P 1 (2003).
    \2\ Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes the final figure 
in mid-May of each year. This figure is publicly available from the 
Division of Industrial Prices and Price Indexes of the BLS, at (202) 
691-7705, and in print in August in Table 1 of the annual data 
supplement to the BLS publication Producer Price Indexes via the 
Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ppi. To obtain the BLS data, click on 
``Get Detailed PPI Statistics,'' and then under the heading ``Most 
Requested Statistics'' click on ``Commodity Data.'' At the next 
screen, under the heading ``Producer Price Index--Commodity,'' 
select the first box, ``Finished goods--WPUSOP3000'', then scroll 
all the way to the bottom of this screen and click on Retrieve data.
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    Thus, the percent change (expressed as a decimal) in the annual 
average PPI-FG from 2002 to 2003 is positive .031677.\3\ Oil pipelines 
must multiply their July 1, 2003, through June 30, 2004, index ceiling 
levels by positive 1.031677 \4\ to compute their index ceiling levels 
for July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2005, in accordance with 18 CFR 
342.3(d). For guidance in calculating the ceiling levels for each 12 
month period beginning January 1, l995,\5\ see Explorer Pipeline 
Company, 71 FERC 61,416 at n.6 (1995).
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    \3\ [143.3-138.9] / 138.9 = 0.031677
    \4\ 1 + 0.031677 = 1.031677
    \5\ For a listing of all prior multipliers issued by the 
Commission, see the Commission's Web site, http://www.ferc.gov. The 
table of multipliers can be found under the headings ``Oil'' and 
``Index''.
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    In addition to publishing the full text of this Notice in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print this Notice via the Internet through 
FERC's Home Page (http://www.ferc.gov) and in FERC's Public Reference 
Room during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time) at 
888 First Street, NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426. The full text of 
this Notice is available on FERC's home page at the eLibrary link. To 
access this document in eLibrary, type the docket number excluding the 
last three digits of this document in the docket number field and 
follow other directions on the search page.
    User assistance is available for eLibrary and other aspects of 
FERC's Web site during normal business hours. For assistance, contact 
FERC Online Support at [email protected] or toll free at (866) 
208-3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659.

 Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E4-1200 Filed 5-21-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P