[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 236 (Tuesday, December 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79005-79006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26884]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration


Agency Information Collection Extension

AGENCY: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Department 
of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice and request for OMB review and comment.

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SUMMARY: EIA submitted an information collection request for extension 
as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The information 
collection requests a three-year extension of the Natural Gas Data 
Collection Program, OMB Control Number 1905-0175. The surveys covered 
by this request include; Form EIA-176 Annual Report of Natural and 
Supplemental Gas Supply and Disposition; Form EIA-191 Monthly 
Underground Natural Gas Storage Report; Form EIA-191L Monthly Liquefied 
Natural Gas Storage Report; Form EIA-757 Natural Gas Processing Plant 
Survey; Form EIA-857 Monthly Report of Natural Gas Purchases and 
Deliveries to Consumers; Form EIA-910 Monthly Natural Gas Marketer 
Survey; and Form EIA-912 Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report. The Natural 
Gas Data Collection Program provides information on natural gas 
production, underground storage, supply, processing, transmission, 
distribution, and consumption by sector within the United States.

DATES: Comments on this information collection must be received no 
later than January 7, 2021. Written comments and recommendations for 
the information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication 
of this notice to https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this 
particular information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day 
Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Kopalek, U.S. Energy 
Information Administration, telephone (202) 586-4001, or by email at 
[email protected]. The forms and instructions are available on 
EIA's website at www.eia.gov/survey/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This information collection request contains
    (1) OMB No.: 1905-0175;
    (2) Information Collection Request Title: Natural Gas Data 
Collection Program;
    (3) Type of Request: Three-year extension with changes;
    (4) Purpose: The surveys included in the Natural Gas Data 
Collection Program collect information on natural gas underground 
storage, supply, processing, transmission, distribution, consumption by 
sector, and consumer prices. The data collected supports public policy 
analyses and produce estimates of the natural gas industry. The 
statistics generated from these surveys are published on EIA's website, 
http://www.eia.gov, and are used in various EIA information products, 
including the Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report (WNGSR), Natural Gas 
Monthly (NGM), Natural Gas Annual (NGA), Monthly Energy Review (MER), 
Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), Annual Energy Outlook (AEO), and 
Annual Energy Review (AER).
    (4a) Changes to Information Collection:

Form EIA-176 Annual Report of Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply and 
Disposition

    Form EIA-176 collects data on natural, synthetic, and other 
supplemental gas supplies, their disposition, and certain revenues by 
state. EIA is modifying the survey instructions to include Renewable 
Natural Gas (RNG) producers who inject high-Btu RNG into an interstate 
pipeline, intra-state pipeline, or natural gas distribution company 
system. This excludes on-site and local pipelines that deliver to a 
nearby end-user, such as to a CNG fueling station or power plant. EIA 
is adding this type of RNG producer because these facilities produce 
the equivalent of pipeline-quality natural gas that is not captured 
elsewhere in EIA's production statistics.

Form EIA-191 Monthly Underground Natural Gas Storage Report

    Form EIA-191 collects data on the operations of all active 
underground storage facilities. The name of the survey is changing from 
Monthly Underground Gas Storage Report to Monthly Underground Natural 
Gas Storage Report.

Form EIA-191L Monthly Liquefied Natural Gas Storage Report

    EIA is adding a new survey, Form EIA-191L Monthly Liquefied Natural 
Gas Storage Report to collect natural gas inventory storage data from 
approximately 85 operators of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities. 
These facilities include LNG peakshavers and satellite LNG facilities. 
EIA is specifically excluding marine terminals (due to their high 
variability in stock levels), on-site power plant LNG storage tanks, 
and LNG fueling tanks. Form EIA-191L is a shorter version of Form EIA-
191 and will collect the same natural gas data as Form EIA-191 except 
it will not collect information on base gas, working gas, field type, 
and facility type.

Form EIA-757 Natural Gas Processing Plant Survey

    Form EIA-757 collects information on the capacity, status, and 
operations of natural gas processing plants, and monitors their 
constraints to natural gas supplies during catastrophic events, such as 
hurricanes. Schedule A of Form EIA-757 collects baseline operating and 
capacity information from all respondents on a triennial basis. 
Schedule B is used on an emergency standby basis and is activated 
during natural disasters or other energy disruptive events. Schedule B 
collects data from a sample of respondents in the affected areas. There 
are no changes to Form EIA-757.

Form EIA-857 Monthly Report of Natural Gas Purchases and Deliveries to 
Consumers

    Form EIA-857 collects data on the quantity and cost of natural gas 
delivered to distribution systems and the quantity and revenue of 
natural gas delivered to consumers by end-use sector, on a monthly 
basis by state. There are no changes to this survey.

[[Page 79006]]

Form EIA-910 Monthly Natural Gas Marketer

    Form EIA-910 collects information on natural gas sales from 
marketers in selected states that have active consumer choice programs. 
EIA is increasing the number of respondents to this survey due to the 
increased number of natural gas market participants.

Form EIA-912 Weekly Underground Natural Gas Storage Report

    Form EIA-912 collects information on weekly inventories of natural 
gas in underground storage facilities. EIA is increasing the requested 
burden by 5 additional respondents to accommodate future changes in 
required reporting sample sizes.
    (5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 3,510.
    Form EIA-176 consists of 2,070 respondents;
    Form EIA-191 consists of 145 respondents;
    Form EIA-191L consists of 85 respondents;
    Form EIA-757 Schedule A consists of 600 respondents
    Form EIA-757 Schedule B consists of 20 respondents;
    Form EIA-857 consists of 330 respondents;
    Form EIA-910 consists of 160 respondents;
    Form EIA- 912 consists of 100 respondents.
    (6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 16,297.
    (7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 55,296.
    (8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: 
$4,431,421 (55,296 burden hours times $80.14 per hour). EIA estimates 
that respondents will have no additional costs associated with the 
survey other than the burden hours and the maintenance of the 
information as part of the normal course of business.
    Comments are invited on whether or not: (a) The proposed collection 
of information is necessary for the proper performance of agency 
functions, including whether the information will have a practical 
utility; (b) EIA's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used, is accurate; (c) EIA can improve the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information it will collect; and (d) EIA can minimize 
the burden of the collection of information on respondents, such as 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.

    Statutory Authority:  15 U.S.C. 772(b) and 42 U.S.C. 7101 et 
seq.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on December 2, 2020.
Samson A. Adeshiyan,
Office Director, Office of Statistical Methods & Research, U.S. Energy 
Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-26884 Filed 12-7-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P