[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 97 (Monday, May 20, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29359-29360]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-11882]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC13-16-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (Ferc-604); Comment 
Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of information collection and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, 44 USC 3506(c)(2)(A), the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (Commission or FERC) is soliciting public comment on FERC-
604, Cash Management Agreements, an existing collection of information 
that does not have current OMB approval.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due July 19, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC13-16-
000) by either of the following methods:
     eFiling at Commission's Web site: http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp.
     Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20426.
    Instructions: All submissions must be formatted and filed in 
accordance with submission guidelines at: http://www.ferc.gov/help/submission-guide.asp. For user assistance contact FERC Online Support 
by email at [email protected], or by phone at: (866) 208-3676 
(toll-free), or (202) 502-8659 for TTY.
    Docket: Users interested in receiving automatic notification of 
activity in this docket or in viewing/downloading comments and 
issuances in this docket may do so at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/docs-filing.asp.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Brown may be reached by email at 
[email protected], telephone at (202) 502-8663, and fax at (202) 
273-0873.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: FERC-604, Cash Management Agreements.
    OMB Control No.: To be determined.
    Type of Request: Three-year approval of the FERC-604 information 
collection requirements.
    Abstract: Cash management or ``money pool'' programs typically 
concentrate affiliates' cash assets in joint accounts for the purpose 
of providing financial flexibility and lowering the cost of borrowing.
    In a 2001 investigation, FERC staff found that balances in cash 
management programs affecting FERC-regulated entities totaled 
approximately $16 billion. Additionally, other investigations revealed 
large transfers of funds (amounting to more than $1 billion) between 
regulated pipeline affiliates and non-regulated parents whose financial 
conditions were precarious. The Commission found that these and other 
fund transfers and the enormous (mostly unregulated) pools of money in 
cash management programs could detrimentally affect regulated rates.
    To protect customers and promote transparency the Commission issued 
Order 634-A (2003) requiring entities to formalize in writing and file 
with the Commission their cash management agreements. The Commission 
obtained OMB clearance for this new reporting requirement under the 
FERC-555 information collection (OMB Control No. 1902-0098). However, 
in subsequent extension requests to OMB for the FERC-555 collection the 
Commission failed to include the cash management agreement reporting 
burden as part of the estimates. In this proceeding the Commission 
rectifies the omission by seeking public comment on the reporting 
requirement in order to update the OMB clearance for cash management 
agreement filings. The Commission intends to put the reporting 
requirements under the collection number, ``FERC-604'' and request a 
new OMB Control Number.
    The Commission implemented these requirements in 18 CFR 141.500, 
260.400, and 357.5.
    Type of Respondents: Public utilities, natural gas companies, and 
oil pipeline companies.
    Estimate of Annual Burden \1\: The Commission estimates the total 
Public Reporting Burden for this information collection as:
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    \1\ The Commission defines burden as the total time, effort, or 
financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, 
retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a Federal 
agency. For further explanation of what is included in the 
information collection burden, reference 5 Code of Federal 
Regulations 1320.3.

                                                          FERC-604, Cash Management Agreements
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                                                                        Number of        Number of                       Average burden
                                                                       respondents     responses per   Total number of     hours per     Estimated total
                                                                         annually        respondent       responses         response      annual burden
                                                                                (A)              (B)    (A) x (B) = (C)            (D)                (C) x (D)
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Public utilities and licensees, natural gas companies, and oil               \2\ 25                1               25              1.5             37.5
 pipeline companies................................................
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[[Page 29360]]

    The total estimated  annual cost burden to respondents is $3,330 
[37.5 hours * $70 per hour \3\ = $2,625]
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    \2\ This figure is based on the number of filings received by 
the Commission for cash management agreements over the last several 
years.
    \3\ This is a loaded cost (wages plus benefits) for a full-time 
employee.
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    Comments: Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Commission, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden and 
cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.

    Dated: May 13, 2013.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-11882 Filed 5-17-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P