[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 194 (Friday, October 6, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59097-59098]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-16533]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[IC06-592-001, FERC 592]


Commission Information Collection Activities, Proposed 
Collection; Comment Request; Extension

September 29, 2006.
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 extension 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 received no comments in response to an earlier Federal 
Register notice of July 26, 2006 (71 FR 42369-42370) and has made this 
notation in its submission to OMB.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due by October 31, 
2006.

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-
4650. A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, Office of the Executive Director, ED-34, 
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 an original and 14 copies of such comments should be 
submitted to the Secretary of the Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426 and should 
refer to Docket No. IC06-592-001.
    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 
acknowledgement 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 this e-mail address.
    All comments may be viewed, printed or downloaded remotely via the 
Internet through FERC's homepage using the ``eLibrary'' link. Enter the 
docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number 
field to access the document. For user assistance, contact 
[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 592 ``Marketing Affiliates of 
Interstate Pipelines''.
    2. Sponsor: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
    3. Control No.: 1902-0157.
    The Commission is now requesting that OMB approve and extend the 
expiration date for an additional three years 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 for the Commission to carry out its 
responsibilities in implementing the Statutory provisions of sections 
4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 14, 16, and 20 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) 15 U.S.C. 
717-717w and Title II, section 311 and sections 501 and 504 of the 
Natural Gas Policy Act (Pub. L. 95-621).
    The FERC-592 requirements apply to ``Transmission Providers'' who 
are defined as any interstate natural gas pipeline that transports gas 
for others, subject to the Natural Gas Act (i.e., pursuant to subpart A 
of part 157 or subparts B or G of part 284). See 18 CFR 358.3(a)(1) and 
(2). A Transmission Provider does not include a natural gas storage 
provider authorized to charge market-based rates that is not 
interconnected with the jurisdictional facilities of any affiliated 
interstate natural gas pipeline, has no exclusive franchise area, no 
captive ratepayers or no market power, 18 CFR 358.3(a)(3).
    Initially, FERC-592 was adopted when the Commission issued the 
Standards of Conduct in Order No. 497, 53 FR 22161, June 14, 1988. The 
Standards of Conduct prevent Transmission Providers from discriminating 
against non-affiliated shippers or from granting undue preferences to 
their marketing affiliates. In response to growing competition in the 
natural gas marketplace and to further ensure that it could monitor 
transactions for the exercise of market power, the Commission revised 
its reporting requirements in Order No. 637, 65 FR 10219, on February 
25, 2000. The Commission required pipelines to post more transmission 
information on their Internet websites to improve transparency of 
transmission information.
    With the revisions in Order No. 637, the Commission also eliminated 
many of the requirements of the original FERC-592s. First the 
Commission eliminated the requirement to submit

[[Page 59098]]

the FERC-592 information to the Commission. Second the Commission 
eliminated many of the items required under the FERC-592 requirements 
and retained only two requirements: (1) a pipeline must retain 
information pertaining to discounts (affiliated and non-affiliated) 
and, (2) if a pipeline relies on contract information or other data to 
allocate capacity, it must maintain a log of that information for all 
shippers (affiliated and non-affiliated).
    In November 2003, the Commission enhanced and expanded the 
Standards of Conduct in Order No. 2004 and subsequently in Order Nos. 
2004-A, B, C, and D. However, Order No. 2004 did not substantively 
change the FERC-592 requirements, which applies only to natural gas 
Transmission Providers.
    While there are many different requirements under the Standards of 
Conduct, the basic requirements are that a Transmission Provider must: 
(1) function independently from its Marketing and Energy Affiliates; 
and (2) must treat all transmission customers, affiliated and non-
affiliated, on a non-discriminatory basis and may not operate its 
transmission system to preferentially benefit its Marketing or Energy 
Affiliates. See 18 CFR 358.2.
    This information contained in the FERC-592s is used by the 
Commission, market participants and state commissions to monitor for 
undue discrimination by pipeline companies in favor of their marketing 
affiliates and in some cases, this information is used in formal 
proceedings following the filing of a complaint.
    5. Respondent Description: The respondent universe currently 
comprises 85 companies (on average) subject to the Commission's 
jurisdiction.
    6. Estimated Burden: 9,913 total hours, 85 respondents (average), 1 
response per respondent, and 117 hours per response (average).
    7. Estimated Cost Burden to Respondents: 9,913 hours/2080 hours per 
years x $117,321 per year = $559,136. The cost per respondent is equal 
to $6,578.
    Statutory Authority: Statutory provisions of sections 4, 5, 7, 8, 
10, 14, 16, and 20 of the Natural Gas Act (NPA) 15 U.S.C. 717-717w and 
Title II, section 311 and sections 501 and 504 of the Natural Gas 
Policy Act (Pub. L. 95-621).

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-16533 Filed 10-5-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P