[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 213 (Friday, November 2, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55155-55156]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-23994]


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

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC19-3-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-546); Comment 
Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of information collection and request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or 
FERC) is soliciting public comment on the currently approved 
information collection, FERC-546 (Certificated Rate Filings: Gas 
Pipeline Rates).

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due January 2, 
2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC19-3-
000) by either of the following methods:
     eFiling at Commission's website: 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-546, Certificated Rate Filings: Gas Pipeline Rates.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0155.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-546 information 
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting 
requirements.
    Abstract: The requirements of the FERC-546 information collection 
are contained within the Commission's regulations in 18 CFR parts 
154.7, 154.202, 154.204-154.208, 154.602-154.603, 284.501-284.505, and 
154.4. The Commission reviews the FERC-546 materials to decide whether 
to approve rates and tariff changes associated with an application for 
a certificate under Natural Gas Act (NGA) section 7(c). Additionally, 
FERC reviews FERC-546 materials in NGA section 4(f), storage 
applications, to evaluate an applicant's market power and determine 
whether to grant market-based rate authority to the applicant. The 
Commission uses the information in FERC-546 to monitor jurisdictional 
transportation, natural gas storage, and unbundled sales activities of 
interstate natural gas pipelines and Hinshaw \1\ pipelines. In addition 
to fulfilling the Commission's obligations under the NGA, the FERC-546 
enables the Commission to monitor the activities and evaluate 
transactions of the natural gas industry, ensure competitiveness, and 
improve efficiency of the industry's operations. In summary, the 
Commission uses the information to:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Hinshaw pipelines are those that receive all out-of-state 
gas from entities within or at the boundary of a state if all the 
natural gas so received is ultimately consumed within the state in 
which it is received, 15 U.S.C. 717(c). Congress concluded that 
Hinshaw pipelines are ``matters primarily of local concern,'' and so 
are more appropriately regulated by pertinent state agencies rather 
than by FERC. The Natural Gas Act section 1(c) exempts Hinshaw 
pipelines from FERC jurisdiction. A Hinshaw pipeline, however, may 
apply for a FERC certificate to transport gas outside of state 
lines.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Ensure adequate customer protections under NGA section 
4(f);
     Review rate and tariff changes filed under NGA section 
7(c) for certification of natural gas pipeline transportation and 
storage services;
     Provide general industry oversight; and
     Supplement documentation during the pipeline audits 
process.
    Failure to collect this information would prevent the Commission 
from monitoring and evaluating transactions and operations of 
jurisdictional pipelines and performing its regulatory functions.
    Type of Respondents: Jurisdictional pipeline companies and storage 
operators.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \2\ The Commission estimates the annual 
reporting burden and cost for the information collection as:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ ``Burden'' is defined 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 hourly cost (for salary plus benefits) uses the figures 
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2017, for positions 
involved in the reporting and recordkeeping requirements. These 
figures include salary (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm) and benefits (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm) and are:
    Electrical Engineer (Occupation Code: 17-2071; $66.90/hour)
    Management Analyst (Occupation Code: 13-1111; $63.32/hour)
    Accounting (Occupation Code: 13-2011; $56.59/hours)
    Computer and Mathematical (Occupation Code: 15-0000; $63.25/
hour)
    Legal (Occupation Code: 23-0000; $143.68/hour)
    The average hourly cost (salary plus benefits) is calculated 
weighting each of the previously mentioned wage categories as 
follows: $66.90/hour (0.4) + $63.32/hour (0.2) + $56.59/hour (0.1) + 
$63.25/hour (0.1) + $143.68/hour (0.2) = $80.14/hour. The Commission 
rounds this figure to $80/hour.
    \4\ This figure was calculated by dividing the total number of 
responses (75) by the total number of respondents (51). The 
resulting figure was then rounded to the nearest thousandth place.
    \5\ Rounded from $58,823.53.

                                                FERC-546 (Certificated Rate Filings: Gas Pipeline Rates)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 Annual
                                    Annual      number of   Total number                                                                       Cost per
                                  number of     responses   of responses   Average burden and cost per  Total annual burden hours and total   respondent
                                 respondents       per        (rounded)      response \3\ (rounded)            annual cost (rounded)             ($)
                                               respondent                                                                                     (rounded)
                                         (1)           (2)   (1) * (2) =  (4).........................  (3) * (4) = (5)....................    (5) / (1)
                                                                     (3)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pipeline Certificate Filings              51     \4\ 1.471            75  500 hrs.; $40,000...........  37,500 hrs.; $3,000,000............  \5\ $58,824
 and Storage Applications.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 55156]]

    The Commission is revising the burden hours per response for rate 
and tariff changes associated with certificate applications, from the 
current estimated averages of 40 hours per pipeline certificate project 
and 350 hours per storage application, to an overall average of 500 
hours per project for all FERC-546 filings. The increase in the average 
hours per project is due to the complexity and length of time required 
in the planning and monitoring jurisdictional transportation of 
pipeline certificate and storage projects and that these additional 
hours need to be properly accounted for in FERC-546 filings.
    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: October 29, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-23994 Filed 11-1-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P