[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 146 (Tuesday, August 1, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35774-35776]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-16076]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC17-11-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-549b); Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Comment request.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or 
FERC) is submitting its information collection [FERC-549B (Gas Pipeline 
Rates: Capacity Reports and Index of Customers)] to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review of the information collection 
requirements. 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 previously issued a Notice in the 
Federal Register (82 FR 18635, 4/20/2017) requesting public comments. 
The Commission received one comment on the FERC-549B and is making this 
notation in its submittal to OMB. The sole comment, however, does not 
pertain to this information collection and is immaterial to the renewal 
effort for the FERC-549B.\1\
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    \1\ The comment can be found here: https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/OpenNat.asp?fileID=14615693.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due by August 31, 
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2017.

ADDRESSES: Comments filed with OMB, identified by the OMB Control No. 
1902-0169, should be sent via email to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs: [email protected]. Attention: Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission Desk Officer. The Desk Officer may also be 
reached via telephone at 202-395-0710.
    A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Commission, in 
Docket No. IC17-11-000, 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], by telephone at (202) 502-8663, and by fax at 
(202) 273-0873.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: FERC-549B (Gas Pipeline Rates: Capacity Reports and Index of 
Customers).
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0169.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-549B information 
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting 
requirements.
    Abstract: The information collected under the requirements of FERC-
549B includes both the Index of Customers (IOC) report under Commission 
regulations at 18 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 284.13(c) and three 
capacity reporting requirements. One of these is in Commission 
regulations at 18 CFR 284.13(b) and requires reports on firm and 
interruptible services. The second is at 18 CFR 284.13(d)(1) and 
requires pipelines make information on capacity and flow information 
available on their Internet Web sites. The third is at 18 CFR 
284.13(d)(2) and requires an annual filing of peak day capacity.

Capacity Reports Under 284.13(b) and 284.13(d)(1)

    On April 4, 1992, in Order No. 636 (RM91-11-000), the Commission

[[Page 35775]]

established a capacity release mechanism under which shippers could 
release firm transportation and storage capacity on either a short- or 
long-term basis to other shippers wanting to obtain capacity. Pipelines 
posted available firm and interruptible capacity information on their 
electronic bulletin boards (EBBs) to inform potential shippers.
    On August 3, 1992, in Order No. 636-A (RM91-11-002), the Commission 
determined through staff audits, that the efficiency of the capacity 
release mechanism could be enhanced by standardizing the content and 
format of capacity release information and the methods by which 
shippers accessed this information, which pipelines posted to their 
EBBs.
    On March 29, 1995, through Order 577 (RM95-5-000), the Commission 
amended Sec.  284.243(h) of its regulations to allow shippers the 
ability to release capacity without having to comply with the 
Commission's advance posting and bidding requirements. On February 9, 
2000, in Order No. 637 (RM98-10-000), to create greater substitution 
between different forms of capacity and to enhance competition across 
the pipeline grid, the Commission revised its capacity release 
regulations regarding scheduling, segmentation and flexible point 
rights, penalties, and reporting requirements. This resulted in more 
reliable capacity information availability and price data that shippers 
needed to make informed decisions in a competitive market as well as to 
improve shipper's and the Commission's ability to monitor the market 
for potential abuses.

Peak Day Annual Capacity Report Under 284.13(d)(2)

    18 CFR 284.13(d)(2) requires an annual peak day capacity report of 
all interstate pipelines, including natural gas storage only companies. 
This report is generally a short report showing the peak day design 
capacity or the actual peak day capacity achieved, with a short 
explanation, if needed. The regulation states:
    An interstate pipeline must make an annual filing by March 1 of 
each year showing the estimated peak day capacity of the pipeline's 
system, and the estimated storage capacity and maximum daily delivery 
capability of storage facilities under reasonably representative 
operating assumptions and the respective assignments of that capacity 
to the various firm services provided by the pipeline.
    This annual report/filing is publicly available, while other more 
specific interstate pipeline and storage capacity details are filed as 
CEII, such as the Annual System Flow Diagram (FERC-567) which are not 
publicly available.

Index of Customers Under 284.13(c)

    In Order 581, issued September 28, 1995 (Docket No. RM95-4-000), 
the Commission established the IOC quarterly information requirement. 
This Order required the reporting of five data elements in the IOC 
filing: The customer name, the rate schedule under which service is 
rendered, the contract effective date, the contract termination date, 
and the maximum daily contract quantity, for either transportation or 
storage service, as appropriate.
    In a notice issued separate from Order 581 in Docket No. RM95-4-
000, issued February 29, 1996, the Commission, through technical 
conferences with industry, determined that the IOC data reported should 
be in tab delimited format on diskette and in a form as proscribed in 
Appendix A of the rulemaking. In a departure from past practice, a 
three-digit code, instead of a six-digit code, was established to 
identify the respondent.
    In Order 637, issued February 9, 2000 (Docket Nos. RM98-10-000 and 
RM98-12-000), the Commission required the filing of: The receipt and 
delivery points held under contract and the zones or segments in which 
the capacity is held, the common transaction point codes, the contract 
number, the shipper identification number, an indication whether the 
contract includes negotiated rates, the names of any agents or asset 
managers that control capacity in a pipeline rate zone, and any 
affiliate relationship between the pipeline and the holder of capacity. 
It was stated in the Order that the changes to the Commission's 
reporting requirements would enhance the reliability of information 
about capacity availability and price that shippers need to make 
informed decisions in a competitive market as well as improve shippers' 
and the Commission's ability to monitor marketplace behavior to detect, 
and remedy anti-competitive behavior. Order 637 required a pipeline 
post the information quarterly on its Internet Web sites instead of on 
the outdated EBBs.
    Type of Respondents: Respondents for this data collection are 
interstate pipelines subject to FERC regulation under the Natural Gas 
Act and those entities defined as Hinshaw Pipelines under the Natural 
Gas Policy Act.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \2\ The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden for the information collection as:
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    \2\ 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.
    \3\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the 
following formula: 2017 Average Burden Hours per Response * $76.50 
per Hour = Average Cost per Response. The hourly cost figure of 
$76.50 is the average FERC employee wage plus benefits. We assume 
that respondents earn at a similar rate.

                                         FERC-549B (Gas Pipeline Rates: Capacity Reports and Index of Customers)
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                                                                                                                           Total  annual
                                                                          Annual  number                      Average      burden  hours
                                                             Number of     of  responses   Total number    burden & cost      & total        Cost per
                                                            respondents         per        of responses    per response     annual cost   respondent ($)
                                                                            respondent                        ($) \3\           ($)
                                                                     (1)             (2)     (1) * (2) =             (4)     (3) * (4) =       (5) / (1)
                                                                                                     (3)                             (5)
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Capacity Reports under 284.13(b) & 284.13(d)(1).........             185               6           1,110            $145        $160,950         $66,558
                                                                                                                  11,093      12,313,230
93049344Peak Day Annual Capacity Report under                        185               1             185              10           1,850             765
 284.13(d)(2)...........................................                                                             765         141,525
Index of Customers under 284.13(c)......................             185               4             740               3           2,220             920
                                                                                                                     230         170,200

[[Page 35776]]

 
    Total...............................................  ..............  ..............  ..............           2,035         165,020          68,243
                                                                                                                              12,624,955
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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: July 25, 2017.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-16076 Filed 7-31-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P