[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 167 (Monday, August 30, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52880-52882]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-1959]


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FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. IC04-549B-001, FERC-549B]


Commission Information Collection Activities, Proposed 
Collection; Comment Request; Submitted for OMB Review

August 23, 2004.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:  Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of Section 3507 of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507, the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission (Commission) has submitted the information 
collection described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review and reinstatement of this information collection 
requirement. Any interested person may file comments directly with OMB 
and should address a copy of those comments to the Commission as 
explained below. The Commission did not receive any comments in 
response to an earlier Federal Register notice of April 1, 2004

[[Page 52881]]

(69 FR 17135) and has made this notation in its submission to OMB.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due by September 
30, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Address comments on the collection of information to the 
Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Desk Officer. 
Comments to OMB should be filed electronically, c/o 
[email protected] and include the OMB Control No. as a point 
of reference. The Desk Officer may be reached by telephone at (202) 
395-7856. A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of the Executive Director, ED-30, 
Attention: Michael Miller, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426. 
Comments may be filed either in paper format or electronically. Those 
persons filing electronically do not need to make a paper filing. For 
paper filings, such comments should be submitted to the Office of the 
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20426 and should refer to Docket No. IC04-549B-001.
    Documents filed electronically via the Internet must be prepared in 
WordPerfect, MS Word, Portable Document Format, or ASCII format. To 
file the document, access the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov and click on ``Make an E-filing,'' and then follow the 
instructions for each screen. First time users will have to establish a 
user name and password. The Commission will send an automatic 
acknowledgment to the sender's e-mail address upon receipt of comments. 
User assistance for electronic filings is available at (202) 502-8258 
or by e-mail to [email protected]. Comments should not be submitted to 
the e-mail address.
    All comments are available for review at the Commission or may be 
viewed on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov, using the 
``eLibrary'' link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three 
digits in the docket number field to access the document. For 
assistance, contact FERC Online Support at [email protected] 
or toll-free at (866) 208-3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Miller may be reached by 
telephone at (202) 502-8415, by fax at (202) 273-0873, and by e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Description

    The information collection submitted for OMB review contains the 
following:
    1. Collection of Information: FERC-549B ``Gas Pipeline Rates: 
Capacity Information.''
    2. Sponsor: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
    3. Control No.: 1902-0169.
    The Commission is now requesting that OMB approve and reinstate 
with a three-year extension of the expiration date, with no changes to 
the existing collection. The information filed with the Commission is 
mandatory.
    4. Necessity of the Collection of Information: Submission of the 
information is necessary to enable the Commission to carry out its 
responsibilities in implementing the statutory provisions of Sections 
4, 5, and 16 of the Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C. 717c-717o, PL 75-688, 52 
Stat. 822 and 830) and Title III of the Natural Gas Policy Act, 15 
U.S.C. 3301-3432, PL 95-621. FERC-549B contains both the Index of 
Customers and the Capacity Report under Part 284 of the Commission's 
regulations.
    In Order No. 636, the Commission established a capacity release 
mechanism under which shippers can release firm transportation and 
storage capacity on either a short or long term basis to other shippers 
wanting to obtain capacity. In Order No. 636-A, the Commission 
determined that the efficiency of the capacity release mechanism would 
be enhanced by standardizing both the content of the capacity release 
information and the methods by which shippers access that information.
    In Order No. 637, the Commission amended its regulations in 
response to the growing development of more competitive markets for 
natural gas. In the final rule, the Commission revised its current 
regulatory framework to improve the efficiency of the market and 
provide captive customers with the opportunity to reduce their cost of 
holding long-term capacity while continuing to protect against the 
exercise of market power.
    To create greater substitution between different forms of capacity 
and enhance competition across the pipeline grid, Order No. 637 also 
revised the regulations regarding the following: scheduling; 
segmentation and flexible rights; penalties; and reporting 
requirements. The Commission revised pipeline scheduling procedures so 
that capacity release transactions will be better coordinated with the 
nomination process. Pipelines are required to permit shippers to 
segment capacity whenever feasible, which increases potential capacity 
alternatives and helps to facilitate the development of market centers. 
The changes to the reporting requirements were to provide greater 
reliability about capacity availability and price data so shippers 
could make informed decisions in a competitive market as well as 
improve shippers' and the Commission's availability to monitor 
marketplace behavior to detect, and remedy anticompetitive behavior.
    In Order No. 582, the Commission created the Index of Customers 
filing requirement. Pipelines are required to identify all firm 
transportation services and contract demand for each customer for each 
rate schedule. The Pipeline must file on the first business day of each 
calendar quarter and also post the information on their Internet web 
sites. These filings include the following data elements: shipper's 
name (full legal name); contract identifier; rate schedule; contract 
start date; contract end date; contract quantity; receipt points; 
delivery points; information on capacity held by rate zones to permit 
verification of reservation billing determinants; data to assess 
storage capacity and conjunction restrictions if any, (provisions that 
operate across multiple points or contracts and may limit a shipper's 
rights at a particular receipt or delivery point). The index contains 
fundamental data about the natural gas industry--how much of the 
pipeline's capacity that shippers have under contract. With this 
information the Commission remains apprised of trends in the industry, 
the willingness of shippers to hold firm capacity, the average length 
of time capacity remains under contract, the proportion of capacity 
rolling over under specific provisions. This information provides the 
Commission with the ability to analyze capacity held on pipelines and 
provides capacity information to the market which aids the capacity 
release system by enabling shippers to locate those holding capacity 
rights that shippers may want to acquire. The Commission implements 
these filing requirements in the Code of Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR 
Part 284.12 and .13.
    5. Respondent Description: The respondent universe currently 
comprises 100 companies (on average per year) subject to the 
Commission's jurisdiction.
    6. Estimated Burden: 160,789 total hours (includes 1,800 hours for 
Index of Customers), 100 respondents (average per year), 5.66 responses 
per respondent (Capacity reports) and 6 responses per respondent (Index 
of Customers), and 280.9 hours (capacity reports) 3 hours

[[Page 52882]]

(Index of Customers) per response (average).
    7. Estimated Cost Burden to Respondents: 160,789 hours / 2080 hours 
per years x $107,185 per year = $8,285,679. The cost per respondent is 
equal to $82,857.

Statutory Authority

    Sections 4, 5, and 16 of the Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C.717c-717o , 
Pub. L. 75-688, 52 Stat. 822 and 830) and Title III of the Natural Gas 
Policy Act, 15 U.S.C. 3301-3432, Pub. L. 95-621.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E4-1959 Filed 8-27-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P