[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 23, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56805-56807]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-23095]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. IC20-1-000]
Commission Information Collection Activities (Ferc-549); 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-549 (NGPA Title III Transaction and NGA
Blanket Certificate Transactions).
DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due December 23,
2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC20-1-
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: NGPA Title III Transactions and NGA Blanket Certificate
Transactions.
OMB Control No.: 1902-0086.
Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-549 information
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting
requirements.
Abstract: FERC-549 is required to implement the statutory
provisions governed by Sections 311 and 312 of the Natural Gas Policy
Act (NGPA) (15 U.S.C. 3371-3372) and Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act
(NGA) (15 U.S.C. 717f). The reporting requirements for implementing
these provisions are contained in 18 CFR part 284.
Transportation for Intrastate Pipelines
In 18 CFR 284.102(e), the Commission requires interstate pipelines
to obtain proper certification in order to ship natural gas on behalf
of intrastate pipelines and local distribution companies (LDC). This
certification consists of a letter from the intrastate pipeline or LDC
authorizing the interstate pipeline to ship gas on its behalf. In
addition, interstate pipelines must obtain from its shippers
certifications including sufficient information to verify that their
services qualify under this section.
18 CFR 284.123(b) provides that intrastate gas pipeline companies
file for Commission approval of rates for services performed in the
interstate transportation of gas. An intrastate gas pipeline company
may elect to use rates contained in one of its then effective
transportation rate schedules on file with an appropriate state
regulatory agency for intrastate service comparable to the interstate
service or file proposed rates and supporting information showing the
rates are cost based and are fair and equitable. It is the Commission
policy that each pipeline must file at least every five years to ensure
its rates are fair and equitable. Depending on the business process
used, either 60 or 150 days after the application is filed, the rate is
deemed to be fair and equitable unless the Commission either extends
the time for action, institutes a proceeding or issues an order
providing for rates it deems to be fair and equitable.
18 CFR 284.123(e) requires that within 30 days of commencement of
new service any intrastate pipeline engaging in the transportation of
gas in interstate commerce must file a statement that includes the
interstate rates and a description of how the pipeline will engage in
the transportation services, including operating conditions. If an
intrastate gas pipeline company changes its operations or rates it must
amend the statement on file with the Commission. Such amendment is to
be filed not later than 30 days after commencement of the change in
operations or change in rate election.
Market-Based Rates for Storage
In 2006, the Commission amended its regulations to establish
criteria for obtaining market-based rates for storage services offered
under 18 CFR 284.501-505. First, the Commission modified its market-
power analysis to better reflect the competitive alternatives to
storage. Second, pursuant to the EPAct 2005, the Commission promulgated
rules to implement section 4(f) of the Natural Gas Act, to permit
underground natural gas storage service providers that are unable to
show that they lack market power to negotiate market-based rates in
circumstances where market-based rates are in the public interest and
necessary to encourage the construction of the storage capacity in the
area needing storage services, and where customers are adequately
protected. The revisions were intended to facilitate the
[[Page 56806]]
development of new natural gas storage capacity while protecting
customers.
Code of Conduct
The Commission's regulations at 18 CFR 284.288 and 284.403 provide
that applicable sellers of natural gas adhere to a code of conduct when
making gas sales in order to protect the integrity of the market. As
part of this code, the Commission imposes a record retention
requirement on applicable sellers to ``retain, for a period of five
years, all data and information upon which it billed the prices it
charged for natural gas it sold pursuant to its market based sales
certificate or the prices it reported for use in price indices.'' FERC
uses these records to monitor the jurisdictional transportation
activities and unbundled sales activities of interstate natural gas
pipelines and blanket marketing certificate holders.
The record retention period of five years is necessary due to the
importance of records related to any investigation of possible
wrongdoing and related to assuring compliance with the codes of conduct
and the integrity of the market. The requirement is necessary to ensure
consistency with the rule prohibiting market manipulation (regulations
adopted in Order No. 670, implementing the Energy Policy Act of 2005
(EPAct 2005) anti-manipulation provisions) and the generally applicable
five-year statute of limitations where the Commission seeks civil
penalties for violations of the anti-manipulation rules or other rules,
regulations, or orders to which the price data may be relevant.
Failure to have this information available would mean the
Commission is unable to perform its regulatory functions and to monitor
and evaluate transactions and operations of interstate pipelines and
blanket marketing certificate holders.
Type of Respondents: Jurisdictional interstate and intrastate
natural gas pipelines.
Estimate of Annual Burden: \1\ The Commission estimates the annual
burden and cost for the information collection as follows.
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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, refer to Title 5 Code of Federal
Regulations 1320.3.
FERC-549--NGPA Title III Transactions and NGA Blanket Certificate Transaction \2\
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Annual number
Number of of responses Total number Average burden hrs. & Total annual burden Cost per
respondents per of responses cost ($) per response hours & total annual respondent
respondent cost ($) (rounded) ($)
(1) (2) (1) * (2) = (4)..................... (3) * (4) = (5)........ (5) / (1)
(3)
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Transportation by Pipelines \3\...... 53 2 106 50 hrs.; $5,331......... 5,300 hrs.; $565,086... 10,662
Market-Based Rates \4\............... 1 1 1 350 hrs.; $37,317....... 350 hrs.; $37,317...... 37,317
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Total............................ .............. .............. 107 ........................ 5,650 hrs.; $602,403...
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Record Retention Requirements for Holders of Blanket Marketing or Unbundled Sales Certificates
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Annual number
Number of of responses Total number Average burden hrs. & Total annual burden Cost per
Labor burden and cost respondents per of responses cost ($) per response hours & total annual respondent
respondent cost ($) (rounded) ($)
(1) (2) (1) * (2) = (4)..................... (3) * (4) = (5)........ (5) / (1)
(3)
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Code of Conduct (record-keeping) 5 6. 319 1 319 1 hr.; $33.39........... 319 hrs.; $10,651...... 33.39
Total............................ .............. .............. 319 ........................ 319; $10,651...........
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Storage Cost for Record Retention Requirements for Holders of Blanket Marketing or Unbundled Sales Certificates
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Total annual
burden hours
Total number Cost ($) per & total
of responses respondent annual cost
($)
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(1) * (2) = (4) (3) * (4) =
(3) (5)
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Paper Storage................................................... 319 80.75 25,759.25
Electronic Storage.............................................. 319 3.18 1,014.42
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Total Storage Burden........................................ 319 .............. 26,773.67
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[[Page 56807]]
Storage Cost: \7\ In addition to the burden and cost for labor, the
table above reflects an additional cost for record retention and
storage:
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\2\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the
following formula: Average Burden Hours per Response * $106.62 per
Hour = Average Cost per Response. The hourly average of $101.69 (for
wages and benefits) assumes equal time is spent by an economist and
lawyer. The average hourly cost (for wages plus benefits) is: $70.38
for economists (occupation code 19-3011) and $142.86 for lawyers
(occupation code 23-0000). (The figures are taken from the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, May 2018 figures at http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm).
\3\ The entities affected by 18 CFR 284.123(b) and (e) are
intrastate pipelines. Interstate and intrastate pipelines are
affected by 18 CFR 284.102(e). Since 2016, the Commission has not
received any filings under 18 CFR 284.102(e).
\4\ 18 CFR 284.501-505.
\5\ 18 CFR 284.288 and 284.403.
\6\ For the Code of Conduct record-keeping, the $33.39 hourly
cost figure comes from the average cost (wages plus benefits) of a
file clerk (Occupation Code 43-4071) as posted on the BLS website
(http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm).
\7\ Each of the 319 entities is assumed to have both paper and
electronic record retention. Internal analysis assumes 50% paper
storage and 50% electronic storage.
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Paper storage costs (using an estimate of 12.5 cubic feet
x $6.46 per cubic foot): $80.75 per respondent annually. Total annual
paper storage cost to industry ($80.75 x 319 respondents): $25,759.25.
This estimate assumes that a respondent stores 12.5 cubic feet of
paper. We expect that this estimate should trend downward over time as
more companies move away from paper storage and rely more heavily on
electronic storage.
Electronic storage costs: $3.18 per respondent annually.
Total annual electronic storage cost to industry ($3.18 x 319
respondents): $1,014.42. This calculation estimates storage of
approximately 200 MB per year cost of $3.18. We expect that this
estimate should trend downward over time as the cost of electronic
storage technology, including cloud storage, continues to decrease. For
example, external hard drives of approximately 500GB are available for
approximately $50. In addition, cloud storage plans from multiple
providers for 1TB of storage (with a reasonable amount of requests and
data transfers) are available for less than $35 per month.
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 17, 2019.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-23095 Filed 10-22-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P