[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 100 (Wednesday, May 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 29951]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-7963]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 18, 2006.
    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 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), plus one point three 
percent (PPI+1.3). The Commission determined in an ``Order Establishing 
Index For Oil Price Change Ceiling Levels'' issued March 21, 2006, that 
PPI+1.3 is the appropriate oil pricing index factor for pipelines to 
use.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 114 FERC ] 61,293 at P 2 (2006).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 (BLS) publishes the final PPI-FG in May of 
each calendar year. The annual average PPI-FG index figures were 148.5 
for 2004 and 155.7 for 2005.\2\ Thus, the percent change (expressed as 
a decimal) in the annual average PPI-FG from 2004 to 2005, plus 1.3 
percent, is positive .061485.\3\ Oil pipelines must multiply their July 
1, 2005, through June 30, 2006, index ceiling levels by positive 
1.061485 \4\ to compute their index ceiling levels for July 1, 2006, 
through June 30, 2007, in accordance with 18 CFR 342.3(d). For guidance 
in calculating the ceiling levels for each 12 month period beginning 
January 1, 1995,\5\ see Explorer Pipeline Company, 71 FERC ] 61,416 at 
n.6 (1995).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ 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.
    \3\ [155.7-148.5] / 148.5 = 0.048485 + .013 = 0.061485.
    \4\ 1 + 0.061485 = 1.061485.
    \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''.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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, please 
contact the Commission's Online Support at 1-866-208-3676 (toll free) 
or 202-502-6652 (e-mail at [email protected]), or the Public 
Reference Room at (202) 502-8371, TTY (202) 502-8659. E-Mail the Public 
Reference Room at [email protected].

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E6-7963 Filed 5-23-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P