[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 18, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64818-64819]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27308]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC19-12-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-592); Comment 
Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy.

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, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or 
FERC) is soliciting public comment on the currently approved 
information collection, FERC-592 (Standards of Conduct for Transmission 
Provider and Marketing Affiliates of Interstate Pipelines).

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due February 19, 
2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC19-12-
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: Standards of Conduct for Transmission Provider and Marketing 
Affiliates of Interstate Pipelines.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0157.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-592 information 
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting 
requirements.
    Abstract: The Commission uses the information maintained and posted 
by the respondents to monitor the pipeline's transportation, sales, and 
storage activities for its marketing affiliate to deter undue 
discrimination by pipeline companies in favor of their marketing 
affiliates. Non-affiliated shippers and other entities (e.g. state 
commissions) also use information to determine whether they have been 
harmed by affiliate preference and to prepare evidence for proceedings 
following the filing of a complaint.

18 CFR Part 358 (Standards of Conduct)

    Respondents maintain and provide the information required by part 
358 on their internet websites. When the Commission requires a pipeline 
to post information on its website following a disclosure of non-public 
information to its marketing affiliate, non-affiliated shippers obtain 
comparable access to the non-public transportation information, which 
allows them to compete with marketing affiliates on a more equal basis.

18 CFR 250.16, and the FERC-592 Log/Format

    This form (log/format) provides the electronic formats for 
maintaining information on discounted transportation transactions and 
capacity allocation to support monitoring of activities of interstate 
pipeline marketing affiliates. Commission staff considers discounts 
given to shippers in litigated rate cases.
    Without this information collection:
     The Commission would be unable to effectively monitor 
whether pipelines are giving discriminatory preference to their 
marketing affiliates; and
     non-affiliated shippers and state commissions and others 
would be unable to determine if they have been harmed by affiliate 
preference or prepare evidence for proceedings following the filing of 
a complaint.
    Type of Respondents: Natural gas pipelines.
    Estimate of Annual Burden:\1\ The Commission estimates the annual 
reporting burden and cost for the information collection as:
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    \1\ ``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.
    \2\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the 
following formula: Average Burden Hours per Response * $79.00/hour = 
Average cost/response. The figure is the 2018 FERC average hourly 
cost (for wages and benefits) of $79.00 (and an average annual 
salary of $164,820/year). Commission staff is using the FERC average 
salary because we consider any reporting requirements completed in 
response to the FERC-592 to be compensated at rates similar to the 
work of FERC employees.
    \3\ The requirements for this collection are contained in 18 CFR 
part 358 and 18 CFR part 250.16.

                         FERC-592--Standards for Conduct for Transmission Providers Marketing Affiliates of Interstate Pipelines
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                                                        Annual  number                                             Total annual burden
                                         Number of       of responses   Total number of   Average burden & cost   hours & total annual       Cost per
                                        respondents     per respondent     responses        per response \2\              cost            respondent ($)
                                                 (1)              (2)   (1) * (2) = (3)  (4)...................  (3) * (4) = (5).......       (5) / (1)
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FERC 592 \3\........................              85                1               85   116.62 hrs.; $9,212.98  9,913 hrs.; $783,127..        9,212.98
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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;

[[Page 64819]]

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: December 12, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-27308 Filed 12-17-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P