[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 244 (Thursday, December 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69739-69740]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27322]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC19-31-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-547); 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 (PRA), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission 
or FERC) is soliciting public comments on the currently approved 
information collection, FERC-547 (Gas Pipeline Rates: Refund Report 
Requirements) and submitting the information collection to the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. Any interested person may 
file comments directly with OMB and should address a copy of those 
comments to the Commission as explained below.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due by January 21, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: Comments filed with OMB, identified by the OMB Control No. 
1902-0084, should be sent via email to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs: [email protected]. Attention: Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission Desk Officer.
    A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Commission, in 
Docket No. IC19-31-000, 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 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-547, Gas Pipeline Rates: Refund Report Requirements.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0084.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-547 information 
collection requirements with no changes to the reporting requirements.
    Abstract: The Commission uses FERC-547 (Gas Pipeline Rates: Refund 
Report Requirements) to implement the statutory refund provisions 
governed by sections 4, 5 and 16 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA).\1\ 
Sections 4 and 5 authorize the Commission to order a refund (with 
interest) for any portion of a natural gas company's increased rate or 
charge found to be unjust or unreasonable. Refunds may also be 
instituted by a natural gas company as a stipulation to a Commission-
approved settlement agreement or a provision under the company's 
tariff. Section 16 of the NGA authorizes the Commission to prescribe 
rules and regulations necessary to administer its refund mandates. The 
Commission's refund reporting requirements are in 18 Code of Federal 
Regulation (CFR) 154.501 and 154.502.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 717-717w.
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    The Commission uses the data to monitor refunds owed by natural gas 
companies to ensure that the flow-through of refunds owed by these 
companies are made as expeditiously as possible and to assure that 
refunds are made in compliance with the Commission's regulations.

[[Page 69740]]

    On July 30, 2019 (84 FR 41708), the Commission published a Notice 
in the Federal Register in Docket No. IC19-31-000 requesting public 
comments. The Commission received no comments and is noting that in the 
related submittal to OMB.
    Type of Respondents: Jurisdictional natural gas companies.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: 2 The Commission estimates 
the annual public reporting \3\ burden and cost \4\ for the information 
collection as:
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    \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, refer to 5 Code of Federal 
Regulations 1320.3.
    \3\ The change in number of respondents is an update due to 
normal industry fluctuations. The changes to the estimated numbers 
for frequency of filing and burden per filing are due to improved 
estimates.
    \4\ 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 (for wages plus 
benefits), $80.00/hour is used.

                                                FERC-547--Gas Pipeline Rates: Refund Report Requirements
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                                                                                                                        Total annual
                                              Number of      Annual number     Total number of     Average burden      burden hours &        Cost per
                                             respondents      of responses        responses        hrs. & cost ($)    total annual cost   respondent ($)
                                                             per respondent                         per response             ($)
                                                      (1)              (2)     (1) * (2) = (3)                 (4)     (3) * (4) = (5)        (5) / (1)
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Natural Gas Pipelines....................              19                2                  38        2 hrs.; $160     76 hrs.; $6,080             $160
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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: December 12, 2019.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-27322 Filed 12-18-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P