[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 188 (Thursday, September 27, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 59348-59354]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-23807]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

18 CFR Part 357

[Docket No. RM12-18-000]


Revisions to Page 700 of FERC Form No. 6

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) proposes 
to modify Page 700 of FERC Form No. 6 (Form 6) to facilitate the 
calculation of a pipeline's actual return on equity. The Commission 
proposes to expand the information provided regarding rate base (line 
5), rate of return (line 6), return on rate base (line 7), and income 
tax allowance (line 8).

DATES: Comments are due November 26, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Comments, identified by docket number, may be filed in the 
following ways:
     Electronic Filing through: http://www.ferc.gov. Documents 
created electronically using word processing software should be filed 
in native applications or print-to-PDF format and not in a scanned 
format.
     Mail/Hand Delivery: Those unable to file electronically 
may mail or hand-deliver comments to: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20426.
    Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments and 
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the Comment 
Procedures Section of this document

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
James Sarikas (Technical Information), Office of Energy Market 
Regulation, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-6831, 
[email protected].
Brian Holmes (Technical Information), Office of Enforcement, 888 First 
Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-6008, 
[email protected].
Andrew Knudsen (Legal Information), Office of the General Counsel, 888 
First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-6527, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

 
                                                               Paragraph
                                                                 Nos.
 
I. Background...............................................           2
II. Discussion..............................................           6
    A. Rate Base............................................           9
    B. Rate of Return.......................................          11
    C. Composite Tax Return.................................          13
III. Information Collection Statement.......................          19
IV. Environmental Analysis..................................          25
V. Regulatory Flexibility Act [Analysis or Certification]...          26
VI. Comment Procedures......................................          27
VII. Document Availability..................................          31
 

(Issued September 20, 2012)
    1. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) proposes 
to modify the reporting requirements on Page 700, Annual Cost of 
Service Based Analysis Schedule, of FERC Form No. 6, Annual Report of 
Oil Pipeline Companies (Form 6), to facilitate the calculation of a 
pipeline's actual rate of return on equity based upon Page 700 data. 
The modifications to Page 700 include requiring additional information 
regarding rate base, rate of return, return on rate base, and income 
taxes.\1\
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    \1\ Concurrent with the issuance of this NOPR, the Commission is 
issuing a final rule in Docket No. RM11-21-000, Revision to Form No. 
6.

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[[Page 59349]]

I. Background

    2. The Commission is responsible for regulating the rates, terms 
and conditions that oil pipelines charge for transportation under the 
Interstate Commerce Act (ICA).\2\ The ICA prohibits pipelines from 
charging rates that are ``unjust and unreasonable'' and permits 
shippers and the Commission to challenge both pre-existing and newly 
filed rates.\3\
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    \2\ 49 U.S.C. 1, et seq.
    \3\ 49 U.S.C. 13(1), 15(1), (7). Just and reasonable rate are 
``rates yielding sufficient revenue to cover all proper costs, 
including federal income taxes, plus a specified return on invested 
capital.'' City of Charlottesville v. FERC, 774 F.2d 1205, 1207 
(D.C. Cir. 1985).
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    3. To assist the Commission in the administration of its 
jurisdictional responsibilities, the ICA authorizes the Commission to 
prescribe annual or other periodic reports.\4\ Through Form 6, the 
Commission collects annual financial information from crude and refined 
product pipelines \5\ subject to the Commission's jurisdiction, as 
prescribed in section 357.2 of the Commission's regulations.\6\ Form 6 
``is intended to be both a financial and ratemaking document.'' \7\
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    \4\ 49 App. U.S.C. 1-85 (2000).
    \5\ Hereafter, the term ``oil pipeline'' shall include both 
crude and refined product pipelines.
    \6\ 18 CFR 357.2 (2012).
    \7\ Revisions to and Electronic Filing of the FERC Form No. 6 
and Related Uniform Systems of Accounts, Order No. 620, FERC Stats. 
& Regs., Regulation Preambles July 1996-December 2000 ] 31,115, at 
p. 31,954 (2000) (citing Cost of Service Requirements and Filing 
Requirements for Oil Pipelines, Order No. 571, FERC Stats. & Regs., 
Regulation Preambles Jan. 1991-June 1996 ] 31,006, at p. 31,169 
(1995) and Form 6, p. I, Roman Numeral 1; on reh'g, Order No. 620-A, 
94 FERC 61,130 (2001); order on reh'g, Order No. 620-A, 94 FERC ] 
61,130 (2001)).
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    4. Page 700 of Form 6 provides a simplified presentation of an oil 
pipeline's jurisdictional cost-of-service. Page 700 serves as a 
preliminary screening tool to evaluate pipeline rates.\8\ However, 
``Page 700 information alone is not intended to show what a just and 
reasonable rate should be.'' \9\ Currently, pipelines are required to 
provide the following on Page 700: Operating and Maintenance Expenses 
(line 1), Depreciation Expense (line 2), AFUDC Depreciation (line 3), 
Amortization of Deferred Earnings (line 4), Rate Base (line 5), Rate of 
Return (line 6), Return on Rate Base (line 7), Income Tax Allowance 
(line 8), Total Cost of Service (line 9), Total Interstate Operating 
Revenues (line 10), Throughput in Barrels (line 11), and Throughput in 
Barrel-Miles (line 12).
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    \8\ All jurisdictional pipelines are required to file page 700, 
including pipelines exempt from filing the full Form 6. 18 CFR 
357.2(a)(2) and (a)(3) (2012).
    \9\ Order No. 571-A, 69 FERC ] 61,411, at p. 31,254 (1994).
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II. Discussion

    5. The Commission proposes to modify Page 700 to more easily enable 
the calculation of a pipeline's actual rate of return on equity 
consistent with the ratemaking principles embodied in Opinion 154-B, et 
al. The actual rate of return on equity reflects the relationship 
between a pipeline's revenues and its cost of service. As a result, the 
actual rate of return on equity is particularly useful information when 
using Page 700 to evaluate whether a pipeline's rates are just and 
reasonable consistent with the Commission's mandate under the ICA.
    6. To provide the data necessary to calculate the actual return on 
equity, Page 700 must be modified to include additional information 
related to rate base, rate of return, return on rate base, and income 
tax rates.

A. Rate Base

    7. The Commission seeks to enhance the information provided on Page 
700 related to rate base, rate of return, and return on rate base. The 
components of an oil pipeline's rate base are governed by the Trended 
Original Cost Methodology adopted by the Commission in Opinion No. 154-
B. \10\ Under this methodology, a pipeline's Rate Base consists of (1) 
The Original Cost Rate Base, (2) any unamortized amounts from the oil 
pipeline's Starting Rate Base Write-Up (SRB),\11\ and (3) Accumulated 
Net Deferred Earnings.\12\
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    \10\ See Williams Pipeline Co., Opinion No. 154-B, 31 FERC ] 
61,377 (1985), order on reh'g, Opinion No. 154-C, 33 FERC ] 61,327 
(1985). Instruction No. 2 of Page 700 of the FERC Form No. 6 
requiring the values ``be computed consistent with the Commission's 
Opinion No. 154-B et al. methodology * * *.''
    \11\ The Starting Rate Base Write-Up is a transitional rate base 
element employed to bridge the transition from a valuation 
ratemaking methodology to the Trended Original Cost methodology as 
adopted in Opinion 154-B. The SRB was to be amortized over the 
estimated life of the pipeline at the time the SRB was established.
    \12\ The trended original cost methodology divides the nominal 
return on equity component of the cost of service into real return 
and an inflationary return. The real return is collected in the 
current year. The Net Deferred Earnings consists of the inflation 
component, which is deferred to be recovered in annual installments 
over the remaining life of the pipeline. See Opinion No. 154-B, 31 
FERC ] 61,377 (1985), order on reh'g, Opinion No. 154-C, 33 FERC ] 
61,327 (1985). See, e.g., BP West Coast Prods., LLC v. FERC, 374 
F.3d 1263, 1282-83 (D.C. Cir. 2004).
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    8. Consistent with Opinion No. 154-B, the Commission proposes to 
enhance the Rate Base information provided on line 5 of Page 700 by 
adding (1) Rate Base-Original Cost (proposed line 5a), (2) Rate Base-
Unamortized Starting Rate Base Write-Up (proposed line 5b), (3) Rate 
Base-Accumulated Net Deferred Earnings (proposed line 5c). The sum of 
proposed lines 5a, 5b and 5c comprise the pipeline's Trended Original 
Cost Rate Base, which is currently reported on line 5 of Page 700 and 
which the Commission proposes to move to line 5d entitled Total Rate 
Base-Trended Original Cost-(5a + 5b + 5c).

B. Rate of Return

    9. The Commission proposes to require oil pipelines to report the 
cost of equity and cost of debt components that constitute the overall 
Weighted Cost of Capital currently reported as ``Rate of Return'' on 
line 6, Page 700. Specifically, the Commission proposes to include 
additional information related to debt and equity capital structure 
ratios, i.e. (1) Rate of Return-Adjusted Capital Structure Ratio for 
Long Term Debt (proposed line 6a), (2) Rate of Return-Adjusted Capital 
Structure Ratio for Proprietary Capital (proposed line 6b).\13\ The 
Commission further proposes to add information related to the cost of 
debt and the cost of equity, specifically: (1) Rate of Return-Cost of 
Long Term Debt Capital (proposed line 6c), (2) Rate of Return-Real Cost 
of Proprietary Capital \14\ (proposed line 6d). This additional 
information forms the basis for the Rate of Return-Weighted Average 
Cost of Capital (the total of 6a * 6c + 6b * 6d), which is now reported 
as ``Rate of Return'' on line 6 on Page 700 and which the Commission 
proposes to move to line 6e.
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    \13\ The Adjusted Capital Structure Ratio adjusts upward the 
level of equity in capital structure to account for the treatment of 
Accumulated Deferred Earnings under the Opinion 154-B Methodology. 
Under the 154-B Methodology, a pipeline's return on the Original 
Cost and the SRB Write-Up is based on a weighted average of the cost 
of debt and the return on equity. However, a pipeline's rate of 
return on Accumulated Net Deferred Earnings is the equivalent to the 
rate of return on equity (proposed line 6d) and does not include a 
cost of debt component. The upward adjustment to equity ratio allows 
the pipeline to apply its weighted average cost of capital 
consisting of debt and equity to one rate base. ARCO Pipe Line Co., 
53 FERC ] 61,398 at 62,388-89.
    \14\ The real cost of capital excludes the inflationary 
component of the nominal return that is placed in Net Deferred 
Earnings pursuant to the trended original cost methodology.
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C. Return on Rate Base

    10. The Commission proposes to require oil pipelines to report 
additional information related to the Return on Rate Base in line 7. 
The Return on Rate Base currently reported on line 7 combines the 
pipeline's return on equity and the portion of the pipeline's return 
allocated to paying its cost of debt. The

[[Page 59350]]

Commission proposes to require the pipeline to include on Page 700 the 
Return on Rate Base-Debt Component (proposed line 7a) \15\ and the 
Return on Rate Base-Equity Component (proposed line 7b).\16\ The 
Commission proposes to report on proposed on line 7c the Total Return 
on Rate Base-(7a + 7b), which is the same information currently 
reported on line 7.
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    \15\ Return on Rate Base-Debt Component will be the equivalent 
of the weighted average cost of debt (product of proposed lines 6a 
and 6c) multiplied by the Trended Original Cost Rate Base (proposed 
line 5d).
    \16\ Return on Rate Base-Equity Component will be the equivalent 
of the weighted average cost of equity (product of proposed lines 6b 
and 6d) multiplied by the Trended Original Cost Rate Base (proposed 
line 5d).
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D. Composite Tax Rate

    11. The Commission proposes to modify the Page 700 to include the 
Composite Tax Rate used to determine the ``Income Tax Allowance.'' \17\ 
Line 8 of the Page 700 currently requires each pipeline to report the 
total dollar amount attributable to the ``Income Tax Allowance'' in its 
cost-of-service. The Commission proposes to add a new line 8a which 
will require a pipeline to report its ``Composite Tax Rate 
Percentage.''
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    \17\ The Commission's income tax policy permits ``an income tax 
allowance for all entities or individuals owning public utility 
assets, provided that entity or individual has an actual or 
potential income tax liability to be paid on that income from those 
assets.'' Inquiry Regarding Income Tax Allowances, 111 FERC ] 61,139 
(2005).
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    12. The Commission defines the Composite Tax Rate Percentage as the 
sum, adjusted consistent with Commission policy, of (a) the applicable 
state income tax rate and (b) a federal income tax rate. As filed on 
Page 700, the Composite Tax Rate Percentage should reflect the income 
tax rate used pursuant to Commission's policies to determine the Income 
Tax Allowance reported on line 8.\18\
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    \18\ For instance, the business structure for a large number of 
oil pipelines is a Master Limited Partnership (MLP). The income tax 
allowance for an MLP pipeline is based upon the tax liability of the 
owners.
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    13. The Composite Tax Rate Percentage will create a better 
understanding of the differential between a pipeline's Total Interstate 
Operating Revenues (line 10) and the pipeline's Total Cost of Service 
(line 9). Specifically, the Composite Tax Rate Percentage may be used 
to determine the portion of this differential that is attributable to 
income taxes under Commission policy, and the portion that may be 
treated as part of a pipeline's actual return on equity.

E. Calculation of Actual Rate of Return on Equity

    14. These modifications to Page 700 will provide information that 
may be used to calculate a pipeline's actual rate of return on equity. 
The actual rate of return on equity is determined by dividing (a) the 
actual return on equity by (b) the equity portion of Trended Original 
Cost Rate Base reported on line 5d. The actual return on equity is the 
sum of three components that can be derived using the proposed 
modifications to Page 700: (a) The return on equity embedded in a 
pipeline's Page 700 Total Cost of Service (proposed line 7b); (b) the 
difference, adjusted for taxes, between a pipeline's Total Interstate 
Operating Revenues (proposed Line 10) and a pipeline's Total Cost of 
Service (proposed Line 9); \19\ and (c) the current year's contribution 
to Net Deferred Earnings, which is calculated by multiplying the equity 
portion of the Trended Original Cost Rate Base (line 5d) by the current 
year's Department of Labor's consumer price index for all urban areas 
(CPI-U).\20\
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    \19\ The difference between the pipeline's Total Interstate 
Operating Revenues (Line 10) and Total Cost of Service (proposed 
Line 9) provides the pipeline's earnings above its Total Cost of 
Service. As described above, the Composite Tax Rate Percentage may 
be used to determine the portion of this differential that is 
attributable to income taxes under Commission policy and the portion 
that may be treated as part of a pipeline's actual return on equity.
    \20\ As noted in footnote 16, the trended original cost 
methodology divides the nominal return on equity component of the 
cost of service into real return and an inflationary return.
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    15. Once the actual return on equity has been derived, it may be 
divided by the equity portion of Trended Original Cost Rate Base. The 
equity portion of the Trended Original Cost Rate base consists of the 
Trended Original Cost Rate Base (proposed line 5d) multiplied by the 
equity component of capital structure (proposed line 6b).
    16. These proposed modifications to Page 700 will increase the 
usefulness of Page 700. Prior to this proposal, any attempt to estimate 
an oil pipeline's actual return on equity required assumptions 
regarding several cost of service components, including capital 
structure (proposed lines 6a and 6b), the composite income tax rate 
(proposed line 8a), and the return on equity embedded in a pipeline's 
Page 700 cost of service (proposed line 7b). The Commission believes 
this additional information will make Page 700 a more useful tool for 
evaluating a pipeline's rates; however, it welcomes comments as to 
whether the proposed changes herein are sufficient for the goals we 
have described above.

F. Conclusion

    17. As discussed herein, the proposed modifications will facilitate 
the calculation of the actual rate of return on equity based upon Page 
700 data. The actual rate of return on equity is particularly useful 
information when using Page 700 to evaluate a pipeline's rates. The 
additional information proposed to be reported will impose almost no 
additional burden on oil pipelines because pipelines already must 
develop cost of service supporting calculations to determine the Income 
Tax Allowance, Rate Base, Rate of Return, and Return on Rate Base 
reported on Page 700. Given these existing requirements, the Commission 
does not anticipate that these proposed additions to Page 700 of Form 6 
will impose a significant burden on oil pipelines.

G. Effective Date

    18. The Commission proposes that the changes to Form 6 are to be 
effective for reporting in the 2013 Form 6. The 2013 Form 6 must be 
filed on or before April 18, 2014.\21\ The new schedule appearing on 
Page 700 therefore would not be required for Form 6 filings until April 
18, 2014, for the reporting year ending December 31, 2013.
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    \21\ 18 CFR 357.1.
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III. Information Collection Statement

    19. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations require 
approval of certain information collection requirements imposed by 
agency rules.\22\ Upon approval of a collection(s) of information, OMB 
will assign an OMB control number and an expiration date. Respondents 
subject to the filing requirements of an agency rule will not be 
penalized for failing to respond to these collections of information 
unless the collections of information display a valid OMB control 
number. The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) \23\ requires each federal 
agency to seek and obtain OMB approval before undertaking a collection 
of information directed to ten or more persons or contained in a rule 
of general applicability.\24\
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    \22\ 5 CFR 1320.
    \23\ 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.
    \24\ OMB's regulations at 5 CFR 1320.3(c)(4)(i) require that 
``Any recordkeeping, reporting, or disclosure requirement contained 
in a rule of general applicability is deemed to involve ten or more 
persons.''
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    20. The Commission is submitting these reporting requirements to 
OMB for its review and approval under section

[[Page 59351]]

3507(d) of the PRA. Comments are solicited on the Commission's need for 
this information, whether the information will have practical utility, 
the accuracy of provided burden estimates, ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, and any 
suggested methods for minimizing the respondent's burden, including the 
use of automated information techniques.
    21. The Commission's estimate of the additional Public Reporting 
Burden and cost related to the proposed rule in Docket RM12-18-000 
follow.
    22. For the recurring effort involved in filing the data on 
proposed lines 5a-5c, 6a-6e, 7a-7c, and 8a of Page 700 for 2013 and 
future years, we estimate that the change in burden is 0.5 hours per 
year per respondent.
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    \25\ Based on an estimated average cost per employee for 2012 
(including salary plus benefits) of $143,540, the estimated average 
hourly cost per employee is $69.01. The average work year is 2,080 
hours.

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                                                                                         Estimated                         Estimated
                                                                      Annual number      additional    Total estimated  additional cost  Total estimated
                      RM12-18-000, FERC Form 6                          of fliers        burden per       additional     per filer  ($)  additional cost
                                                                                         filer (Hr)      burden  (Hr)         \25\              ($)
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Filing new proposed lines on page 700..............................             166              0.5               88           $34.51        $3,036.88
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    23. Information Collection Cost and Burden: The Commission seeks 
comments on the costs and burden to comply with these requirements.
    Title: FERC Form 6, Annual Report of Oil Pipeline Companies.
    Action: Proposed Revisions to the FERC Form 6.
    OMB Control No: 1902-0022.
    Respondents: Oil pipelines.
    Frequency of Responses: Annual.
    Necessity of the Information: This action ensures the availability 
of data consistent with the Commission's obligation to regulate 
interstate oil and petroleum product pipeline rates and the intent of 
Page 700, to enable the Commission and shippers to monitor and analyze 
interstate pipeline costs.
    Internal review: The Commission has reviewed the proposed changes 
and has determined that the changes are necessary. These requirements 
conform to the Commission's need for efficient and sufficient 
information collection, communication, and management with regard to 
the oil pipeline sector of the energy industry. The Commission has, by 
means of internal review, assured itself that there is specific, 
objective support for the burden estimates associated with the 
information collection requirements.
    24. Interested persons may obtain information on the reporting 
requirements by contacting: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426 [Attention: Ellen Brown, Office 
of the Executive Director, email: [email protected], Phone: (202) 
502-8663, fax: (202) 273-0873]. Comments on the requirements of this 
rule may also be sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503 
[Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission]. 
For security reasons, comments should be sent by email to OMB at [email protected]. Please reference OMB Control No. 1902-0022, 
FERC-6 and the docket number of this proposed rulemaking in your 
submission.

IV. Environmental Analysis

    25. The Commission is required to prepare an Environmental 
Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement for any action that may 
have a significant adverse effect on the human environment.\26\ The 
actions taken here fall within categorical exclusions in the 
Commission's regulations for information gathering, analysis, and 
dissemination.\27\ Therefore, an environmental assessment is 
unnecessary and has not been prepared in this rulemaking.
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    \26\ Order No. 486, Regulations Implementing the National 
Environmental Policy Act, 52 FR 47897 (Dec. 17, 1987), FERC Stats. & 
Regs. ] 30,783 (1987).
    \27\ 18 CFR 380.4(a)(5).
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V. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    26. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) generally requires 
agencies to prepare certain statements, descriptions, and analyses of 
proposed rules that will have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small business entities.\28\ Agencies are not 
required to make such an analysis if a rule would not have such an 
effect.
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    \28\ 5 U.S.C. 601-12.
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    27. The Commission does not believe that this proposed rule will 
have an adverse impact on small entities, nor will it impose upon them 
any significant costs of compliance. The Commission identified 29 small 
entities as respondents to the requirements in the proposed rule.\29\ 
As explained above, the Commission estimates that the change to Page 
700 will increase the paperwork burden of preparing Page 700 by 
approximately $34.51 per respondent. The Commission does not estimate 
that there are any other regulatory burdens associated with this 
proposed rule. Therefore the Commission certifies that the proposed 
rule will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of 
small entities. Accordingly, no regulatory flexibility analysis is 
required.
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    \29\ The RFA definition of ``small entity'' refers to the 
definition provided in the Small Business Act, which defines a 
``small business concern'' as a business that is independently owned 
and operated and that is not dominant in its field of operation. 15 
U.S.C. 632. The Small Business Size Standards component of the North 
American Industry Classification System defines a small oil pipeline 
company as one with less than 1,500 employees. See 13 CFR parts 121, 
201.
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VI. Comment Procedures

    28. The Commission invites interested persons to submit comments on 
the matters and issues proposed in this notice to be adopted, including 
any related matters or alternative proposals that commenters may wish 
to discuss. Comments are due 60 days from publication in the Federal 
Register. Comments must refer to Docket No. RM12-18-000, and must 
include the commenter's name, the organization they represent, if 
applicable, and their address in their comments.
    29. The Commission encourages comments to be filed electronically 
via the eFiling link on the Commission's web site at http://www.ferc.gov. The Commission accepts most standard word processing 
formats. Documents created electronically using word processing 
software should be filed in native applications or print-to-PDF format 
and not in a scanned format. Commenters filing electronically do not 
need to make a paper filing.

[[Page 59352]]

    30. Commenters that are not able to file comments electronically 
must send an original of their comments to: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20426.
    31. All comments will be placed in the Commission's public files 
and may be viewed, printed, or downloaded remotely as described in the 
Document Availability section below. Commenters on this proposal are 
not required to serve copies of their comments on other commenters.

VII. Document Availability

    32. 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 the Commission's Home Page (http://www.ferc.gov) and 
in the Commission'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.
    33. From the Commission's Home Page on the Internet, this 
information is available on eLibrary. The full text of this document is 
available on eLibrary in PDF and Microsoft Word format for viewing, 
printing, and/or downloading. To access this document in eLibrary, type 
the docket number excluding the last three digits of this document in 
the docket number field.
    34. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the Commission's 
Web site during normal business hours from the Commission's Online 
Support at 202-502-6652 (toll free at 1-866-208-3676) or email at 
[email protected], or the Public Reference Room at (202) 502-
8371, TTY (202) 502-8659. Email the Public Reference Room at 
[email protected].

    By direction of the Commission.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.

Appendix A--Summary of Proposed Changes to FERC Form 6, Page 700

    Line 5a is added to read as follows:

Rate Base-Original Cost

    Line 5b is added to read as follows:

Rate Base-Unamortized Starting Rate Base Write-Up

    Line 5c is added to read as follows:

Rate Base-Accumulated Net Deferred Earnings

    Line 5d is added to read as follows:

Total Rate Base-Trended Original Cost-(5a + 5b + 5c)

    Line 6a is added to read as follows:

Rate of Return-Adjusted Capital Structure Ratio for Long Term Debt

    Line 6b is added to read as follows:

Rate of Return-Adjusted Capital Structure Ratio for Proprietary 
Capital

    Line 6c is added to read as follows:

Rate of Return-Cost of Long Term Debt Capital

    Line 6d is added to read as follows:

Rate of Return-Real Cost of Proprietary Capital

    Line 6e is added to read as follows:

Rate of Return-Weighted Average Cost of Capital-(6a x 6c + 6b x 6d)

    Line 7a is added to read as follows:

Return on Rate Base-Debt Component

    Line 7b is added to read as follows:

Return on Rate Base-Equity Component

    Line 7c is added to read as follows:

Total Return on Rate Base-(7a + 7b)

    Line 8a is added to read as follows:

Composite Tax Rate % (37.50%-37.50)

    Note:  Appendix B will not be published in the Code of Federal 
Regulations

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[FR Doc. 2012-23807 Filed 9-26-12; 8:45 am]
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