[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 173 (Friday, September 6, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46949-46950]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-19272]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. IC19-46-000]
Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-604); Comment
Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
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 (PRA), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission
or FERC) is soliciting public comment on the currently approved
requirements and burden of information collection, FERC-604 (Cash
Management Agreements).
DATES: Comments on the collections of information are due November 5,
2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC19-46-
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
[[Page 46950]]
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.: 1902-0267.
Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-604 with no
changes to the current reporting 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. At that
time, the Commission obtained OMB clearance for this new reporting
requirement under the FERC-555 information collection (OMB Control No.
1902-0098). Now, the Commission includes these reporting requirements
for cash management agreements under the FERC-604 information
collection (OMB Control No. 1902-0267). The Commission implemented
these reporting requirements in 18 CFR parts 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
annual public reporting burden 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. See 5
CFR 1320 for additional information on the definition of information
collection burden.
\2\ The Commission staff estimates that industry is similarly
situated in terms of hourly cost (for wages plus benefits). Based on
the Commission's FY (Fiscal Year) 2019 average cost $167,091 (for
wages plus benefits), $80.00/hour is used.
FERC-604, Cash Management Agreements
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Number of
Number of respondents responses per Total number of Average burden hours & average Total annual burden hours & total Cost per
respondent responses cost \2\ per response ($) annual cost ($) respondent ($)
(1) (2) (1) * (2) = (3) (4)............................ (3) * (4) = (5).................. (5) / (1) = (6)
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35............................ 1 35 1.5 hours; $120.00............. 52.5 hours; $4,200.00............ $120.00
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Comments: Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the collections of
information are 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 estimates of the
burden and cost of the collections of information, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance
the quality, utility and clarity of the information collections; and
(4) ways to minimize the burden of the collections of information on
those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection
techniques or other forms of information technology.
Dated: August 30, 2019.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-19272 Filed 9-5-19; 8:45 am]
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