Agency Information Collection Activities: Policy for Revisions to the Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report; Comment Request, 1426-1428 [05-333]
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 5 / Friday, January 7, 2005 / Notices
extension, existing or reinstatement; (2)
title; (3) summary of the collection; (4)
description of the need for, and
proposed use of, the information; (5)
respondents and frequency of
collection; and (6) reporting and/or
Recordkeeping burden. OMB invites
public comment.
The Department of Education is
especially interested in public comment
addressing the following issues: (1) Is
this collection necessary to the proper
functions of the Department; (2) will
this information be processed and used
in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate
of burden accurate; (4) how might the
Department enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information to be
collected; and (5) how might the
Department minimize the burden of this
collection on the respondents, including
through the use of information
technology.
complete title of the information
collection when making your request.
Comments regarding burden and/or
the collection activity requirements
should be directed to Kathy Axt at her
e-mail address Kathy.Axt@ed.gov.
Individuals who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–
8339.
Dated: January 3, 2005.
Jeanne Van Vlandren,
Director, Regulatory Information
Management Services, Office of the Chief
Information Officer.
SUMMARY: This notice announces a
meeting of the Environmental
Management Site-Specific Advisory
Board (EM SSAB), Savannah River. The
Federal Advisory Committee Act (Public
Law 92–463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that
public notice of this meeting be
announced in the Federal Register.
DATES: Monday, January 24, 2005, 1
p.m.–5:15 p.m., Tuesday, January
25,2005, 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m.
ADDRESSES: Hilton-Palmetto Dunes, 23
Ocean Lane, Hilton Head, SC 29928.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Gerri Flemming, Closure Project Office,
Department of Energy Savannah River
Operations Office, P.O. Box A, Aiken,
SC 29802; Phone: (803) 952–7886.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose of the Board: The purpose of
the Board is to make recommendations
to DOE in the areas of environmental
restoration, waste management, and
related activities.
Institute of Education Sciences
Type of Review: New.
Title: Impact Evaluation of the DC
Opportunity Scholarship Program.
Frequency: Annually.
Affected Public: Individuals or
household; Not-for-profit institutions;
State, Local, or Tribal Gov’t, SEAs or
LEAs.
Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour
Burden:
Responses: 9,662.
Burden Hours: 9,248.
Abstract: The DC Opportunity
Scholarship Program is a five-year
school choice program that provides
scholarships for children in low-income
families in Washington, DC. This
evaluation uses a randomized control
trial to compare the outcomes of eligible
applicants who received scholarships to
eligible applicants who did not receive
a scholarship.
Requests for copies of the proposed
information collection request may be
accessed from https://edicsweb.ed.gov,
by selecting the ‘‘Browse Pending
Collections’’ link and by clicking on
link number 2659. When you access the
information collection, click on
‘‘Download Attachments’’ to view.
Written requests for information should
be addressed to U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
Potomac Center, 9th Floor, Washington,
DC 20202–4700. Requests may also be
electronically mailed to the Internet
address OCIO_RIMG@ed.gov or faxed to
202–245–6621. Please specify the
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[FR Doc. E5–17 Filed 1–6–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Environmental Management SiteSpecific Advisory Board, Savannah
River
Department of Energy.
Notice of open meeting.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
Tentative Agenda
Monday, January 24, 2005
1 p.m.—2005 Workplan Session.
3 p.m.—Combined Committee Session.
5.15 p.m.—Adjourn.
1 p.m.—Nuclear Materials Committee
Report.
2 p.m.—Strategic & Legacy Management
Committee Report.
3 p.m.—Administrative Committee
Report, 2005 Candidate Review and
Elections, 2005 Committee Chair
Elections.
3:45 p.m.—Public Comments.
4 p.m.—Adjourn.
Public Participation: The meeting is
open to the public. Written statements
may be filed with the Board either
before or after the meeting. Individuals
who wish to make oral statements
pertaining to agenda items should
contact Gerri Flemming’s office at the
address or telephone listed above.
Requests must be received five days
prior to the meeting and reasonable
provision will be made to include the
presentation in the agenda. The
Designated Federal Officer is
empowered to conduct the meeting in a
fashion that will facilitate the orderly
conduct business. Each individual
wishing to make public comment will
be provided a maximum of five minutes
to present their comments. This notice
is being published less that 15 days
before the date of the meeting due to
programmatic issues.
Minutes: The minutes of this meeting
will be available for public review and
copying at the Department of Energy’s
Freedom of Information Public Reading
Room, 1E–190, Forrestal Building, 1000
Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20585 between 9 a.m.
and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays. Minutes will
also be available by writing to Gerri
Flemming, Department of Energy
Savannah River Operations Office, P.O.
Box A, Aiken, SC 29802, or by calling
her at (803) 952–7886.
Issued at Washington, DC on January 4,
2004.
Carol Anne Matthews,
Acting Advisory Committee Management
Officer.
[FR Doc. 05–334 Filed 1–4–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
8:30 a.m.—Recognition of Outgoing
Board Members & Remarks.
9 a.m.—Approval of Minutes, Agency
Updates.
9:45 a.m.—Public Comment Session.
10 a.m.—Chair and Facilitator Update.
10:15 a.m.—Waste Management
Committee Report.
11:15 a.m.—Facilities Disposition & Site
Remediation Committee Report.
11:50 a.m.—Public Comments.
12 p.m.—Lunch Break.
Energy Information Administration
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Agency Information Collection
Activities: Policy for Revisions to the
Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report;
Comment Request
Energy Information
Administration (EIA), Department of
Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Agency information collection
activities: policy for revisions to the
AGENCY:
E:\FR\FM\07JAN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 5 / Friday, January 7, 2005 / Notices
Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report;
comment request.
SUMMARY: The EIA is soliciting
comments on the revision policy for the
Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report
(WNGSR). The WNGSR provides weekly
estimates of working gas volumes held
in underground storage facilities at the
national and regional levels. The
WNGSR is based on information
collected by EIA on Form EIA–912,
‘‘Weekly Underground Gas Storage
Report.’’
Comments must be filed by
February 7, 2005. If you anticipate
difficulty in submitting comments
within that period, contact the person
listed below as soon as possible.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to William
Trapmann. To ensure receipt of the
comments by the due date, submission
by fax (202) 586–4220 or e-mail
(William.Trapmann@eia.doe.gov) is
recommended. The mailing address is
Energy Information Administration, EI–
44, Forrestal Building, U.S. Department
of Energy, Washington, DC 20585.
Alternatively, Mr. Trapmann may be
contacted by telephone at (202) 586–
6408.
DATES:
The
WNGSR is available on EIA’s Internet
site at https://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/
ngs/ngs.html. The survey Form EIA–912
and instructions used to collect
information for the WNGSR are
available at https://www.eia.doe.gov/
oil_gas/natural_gas/survey_forms/
nat_survey_forms.html. Requests for
additional information should be
directed to Mr. Trapmann at the address
listed above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
I. Background
II. Current Actions
III. Request for Comments
I. Background
The Federal Energy Administration
Act of 1974 (Public Law 93–275, 15
U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the DOE
Organization Act (Public Law 95–91, 42
U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) require the EIA to
carry out a centralized, comprehensive,
and unified energy information
program. This program collects,
evaluates, assembles, analyzes, and
disseminates information on energy
resource reserves, production, demand,
technology, and related economic and
statistical information. This information
is used to assess the adequacy of energy
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resources to meet near and longer term
domestic demands.
The EIA provides the public and other
Federal agencies with opportunities to
comment on collections of energy
information conducted by EIA. As
appropriate, EIA also requests
comments on important issues relevant
to its dissemination of energy
information. Comments received help
the EIA when preparing information
collections and information products
necessary to EIA’s mission.
The Weekly Natural Gas Storage
Report (WNGSR) which has been issued
by EIA since May 9, 2002, provides
weekly estimates of working gas
volumes held in underground storage
facilities at the national and regional
levels. WNGSR users include
policymakers, commodity market
analysts, and industry experts. EIA uses
the data to prepare analytical products
assessing storage operations and the
impact on supplies available, and to
analyze relationships between demand,
heating-degree-days, and inventory
levels.
EIA is requesting comments because
of a possible need to modify the policy
on revisions to data disseminated in the
WNGSR. The policy was established in
2002 on the basis of public comments in
response to a Federal Register notice.
After EIA released the WNGSR on
November 24, 2004, EIA received
revised survey data. Adhering to its
established policy, EIA disseminated
revised underground gas storage
statistics reflecting the revised survey
data in the next WNGSR released on
December 2, 2004.
II. Current Actions
The WNGSR is based on information
collected on Form EIA–912. Form EIA–
912 respondents provide estimates for
working gas in storage as of 9 a.m.
Friday each week. The deadline for
submitting reports to the EIA is 5 p.m.
eastern time the following Monday,
except when Monday is a Federal
holiday. In that case, forms should be
submitted by 5 p.m. on Tuesday. The
WNGSR is released on Thursday
between 10:30 and 10:40 a.m. eastern
time on EIA’s Web site, except when
Thursday is a Federal holiday.
Notification of changes in this general
schedule is maintained on the EIA Web
site at https://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/
ngs/schedule.html.
A Form EIA–912 respondent is
instructed to submit revisions to
previously reported data if the revisions
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1427
are greater than 500 million cubic feet.
As with any EIA information product
based on survey data, the WNGSR data
may undergo revision(s) based on a
number of reporting factors including:
(1) As more accurate information
becomes available to a respondent after
the Form EIA–912 is filed, a respondent
may need to file new data.
(2) After submitting Form EIA–912
and prior to the next weekly
submission, a respondent may
determine that information submitted
was incorrect (e.g., numbers were
transposed, numbers were entered in
the wrong item on the form, or other
reporting errors).
(3) A respondent may submit Form
EIA–912 too late for inclusion in the
current week estimates for the WNGSR.
(4) A respondent may report a
reclassification of base and working gas.
(5) A respondent may report a change
in field operating status.
In addition to the reporting factors
cited above, WNGSR data may be
revised in response to EIA actions such
as a new estimation methodology or
sample used in the estimation process.
Such revisions differ from reporting
issues in that their occurrence is known
by EIA in advance and EIA can plan for
the resulting implementation. Because
of that, EIA schedules dissemination of
those revisions and provides users with
early notification of the forthcoming
WNGSR that will include the revisions.
In 2002 EIA adopted a policy for
releasing revisions to data disseminated
in the WNGSR. The policy was
developed following a public comment
period and released in the Federal
Register on November 12, 2002 (67 FR
68581). Under that policy, revisions are
not disseminated on an unscheduled
basis. Rather, revisions are disseminated
in the next release of the WNGSR when
the effect of reported changes is at least
7 billion cubic feet (Bcf) at either a
regional or national level. If a revision
is made, changes to all regions are
included.
Data for the previous week have been
revised in 10 of the 136 issues released
between May 9, 2002 and December 9,
2004. At the U.S. level, these revisions
ranged (in absolute value) from 7 to 41
Bcf. The sizes and reasons are
illustrated in the table below. The two
revisions greater than 15 Bcf attributable
to data changes occurred for estimates
initially released on July 3, 2002 (26
Bcf) and November 24, 2004 (32 Bcf).
E:\FR\FM\07JAN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 5 / Friday, January 7, 2005 / Notices
Reasons for revisions
Revision size (absolute value)
Survey data
change
7–14 Bcf .............................................................................................................................................
15 or more Bcf ...................................................................................................................................
With respect to the dissemination of
revisions to WNGSR data, EIA is
reconsidering its policy. Important
issues to consider include: the size of a
revision justifying a revised WNGSR
release, the problem of equal and
adequate notification of an upcoming
revision, and the timing of revisions in
light of government and market hours of
operation. The current policy and two
examples of alternative policies are
described below.
Current Policy (No Unscheduled
Release of Revisions). Revisions are
disseminated in the next release of the
WNGSR when the effect of changes from
any cause is at least 7 billion cubic feet
(Bcf) at either a regional or national
level. If a revision is made, changes to
all regions are included. Revisions are
not disseminated on an unscheduled
basis.
Alternative 1 (Fixed Revision
Timing). When the cumulative effect of
all revised data for the most recent
report period is at least 15 billion cubic
feet (BCF) at either a regional or national
level, a revised WNGSR would be
issued prior to the customary WNGSR
release schedule (i.e., generally
Thursday at 10:30 a.m.). If a revision is
necessary, it would be released in a
revised WNGSR at 10:30 a.m. on the
first Federal government workday of the
following week. In most instances the
timing would be 10:30 a.m. Monday
unless there is a Monday holiday. In
that case the revision would be released
on Tuesday. No notification of a coming
revision would be provided. If the
issues underlying the revision could not
be resolved and systems changes could
not be implemented before the fixed
release date, the revision would be
released during the next regularly
scheduled WNGSR release (usually
Thursday morning). Revisions from 7 to
14 Bcf as well as a revision greater than
7 Bcf resulting from a new estimation
methodology or sample used in the
estimation process would be issued in
the next regularly scheduled (usually
Thursday) release of the WNGSR. This
alternative provides a date and time for
a mid-week release of a revision greater
than 15 Bcf without relying on any
notification to users of the estimates.
Alternative 2 (Variable Revision
Timing). When the cumulative effect of
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revised data for the most recent report
period is at least 15 billion cubic feet
(BCF) at either a regional or national
level, a revised WNGSR would be
issued two hours after EIA issues a
notification of the planned release of the
revised WNGSR. However, EIA would
not issue a revised WNGSR if the next
scheduled release is less than 24 hours
later. Also, revisions from 7 to 14 Bcf as
well as a revision of any magnitude
greater than 7 Bcf resulting from a new
estimation methodology or sample used
in the estimation process would be
issued in the next release of the
WNGSR.
For alternative 2, EIA would notify
the public of the planned release by
announcing it on its Web site and
sending e-mail notifications to parties
registered on EIA’s WNGSR list serve.
(Interested parties may sign up for the
WNGSR list serve without charge
through the EIA Web site at https://
www.eia.doe.gov/listserv_signup.html.)
EIA proposes that the revision be
released two hours after the
announcement is posted and e-mail
notices are issued irrespective of
whether any specific markets are in
operation at the time of the revision
release. EIA would post a notification of
an upcoming revision only when it has
resolved all implementation issues and
is prepared to issue the revised WNGSR
two hours later. Also, revisions from 7
to 14 Bcf as well as a revision of any
magnitude greater than 7 Bcf resulting
from a new estimation methodology or
sample used in the estimation process
would be issued in the next release of
the WNGSR.
Methodology
or sample
change
5
2
All reasons
1
2
6
4
threshold change of 15 Bcf appropriate
to require such an issuance?
C. Is a fixed revision date and time a
useful alternative to an approach
requiring a notification process for EIA
customers? What particular dates and/or
times are most appropriate?
D. If a notification approach is used,
is a posting on EIA’s web site and e-mail
notification adequate and equitable?
How much time should pass between a
notification of a revised WNGSR and its
release?
E. Should the release of a revised
WNGSR be restricted to specific
business hours or days because of the
operating hours of various trading
markets? For example, if a revised
WNGSR is approved late in the work
day, should EIA withhold issuing it
until specific major energy markets are
open?
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be considered during
development of EIA’s policy for
revisions of the WNGSR. The comments
will also become a matter of public
record.
After EIA has completed development
of the WNGSR revision policy, a
Federal Register notice will be issued
announcing the policy.
Statutory Authority: Section 52 of the
Federal Energy Administration Act (Pub. L.
No. 93–275, 15 U.S.C. 790a).
Issued in Washington, DC, January 3, 2005.
Jay H. Casselberry,
Agency Clearance Officer, Energy Information
Administration.
[FR Doc. 05–333 Filed 1–6–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
III. Request for Comments
The public should comment on the
alternatives discussed in item II as well
as the questions below. Comments may
also address other issues and
alternatives related to changes in the
WNGSR revision policy.
General Issues:
A. What policy do you prefer for
release of revised WNGSR data and
why? What are the features of each
policy that are attractive and
unattractive?
B. What is the threshold, if any, at
which a revised WNGSR should be
issued outside a regular schedule? Is a
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. EC05–28–000, et al.]
Mesquite Investors, L.L.C., et al.;
Electric Rate and Corporate Filings
December 30, 2004.
The following filings have been made
with the Commission. The filings are
listed in ascending order within each
docket classification.
E:\FR\FM\07JAN1.SGM
07JAN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 5 (Friday, January 7, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1426-1428]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-333]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Energy Information Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities: Policy for Revisions to
the Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report; Comment Request
AGENCY: Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of Energy
(DOE).
ACTION: Agency information collection activities: policy for revisions
to the
[[Page 1427]]
Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report; comment request.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The EIA is soliciting comments on the revision policy for the
Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report (WNGSR). The WNGSR provides weekly
estimates of working gas volumes held in underground storage facilities
at the national and regional levels. The WNGSR is based on information
collected by EIA on Form EIA-912, ``Weekly Underground Gas Storage
Report.''
DATES: Comments must be filed by February 7, 2005. If you anticipate
difficulty in submitting comments within that period, contact the
person listed below as soon as possible.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to William Trapmann. To ensure receipt of the
comments by the due date, submission by fax (202) 586-4220 or e-mail
(William.Trapmann@eia.doe.gov) is recommended. The mailing address is
Energy Information Administration, EI-44, Forrestal Building, U.S.
Department of Energy, Washington, DC 20585. Alternatively, Mr. Trapmann
may be contacted by telephone at (202) 586-6408.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The WNGSR is available on EIA's
Internet site at https://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/ngs/ngs.html. The
survey Form EIA-912 and instructions used to collect information for
the WNGSR are available at https://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/natural_
gas/survey_forms/nat_survey_forms.html. Requests for additional
information should be directed to Mr. Trapmann at the address listed
above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
II. Current Actions
III. Request for Comments
I. Background
The Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-275,
15 U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the DOE Organization Act (Public Law 95-91,
42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) require the EIA to carry out a centralized,
comprehensive, and unified energy information program. This program
collects, evaluates, assembles, analyzes, and disseminates information
on energy resource reserves, production, demand, technology, and
related economic and statistical information. This information is used
to assess the adequacy of energy resources to meet near and longer term
domestic demands.
The EIA provides the public and other Federal agencies with
opportunities to comment on collections of energy information conducted
by EIA. As appropriate, EIA also requests comments on important issues
relevant to its dissemination of energy information. Comments received
help the EIA when preparing information collections and information
products necessary to EIA's mission.
The Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report (WNGSR) which has been issued
by EIA since May 9, 2002, provides weekly estimates of working gas
volumes held in underground storage facilities at the national and
regional levels. WNGSR users include policymakers, commodity market
analysts, and industry experts. EIA uses the data to prepare analytical
products assessing storage operations and the impact on supplies
available, and to analyze relationships between demand, heating-degree-
days, and inventory levels.
EIA is requesting comments because of a possible need to modify the
policy on revisions to data disseminated in the WNGSR. The policy was
established in 2002 on the basis of public comments in response to a
Federal Register notice. After EIA released the WNGSR on November 24,
2004, EIA received revised survey data. Adhering to its established
policy, EIA disseminated revised underground gas storage statistics
reflecting the revised survey data in the next WNGSR released on
December 2, 2004.
II. Current Actions
The WNGSR is based on information collected on Form EIA-912. Form
EIA-912 respondents provide estimates for working gas in storage as of
9 a.m. Friday each week. The deadline for submitting reports to the EIA
is 5 p.m. eastern time the following Monday, except when Monday is a
Federal holiday. In that case, forms should be submitted by 5 p.m. on
Tuesday. The WNGSR is released on Thursday between 10:30 and 10:40 a.m.
eastern time on EIA's Web site, except when Thursday is a Federal
holiday. Notification of changes in this general schedule is maintained
on the EIA Web site at https://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/ngs/
schedule.html.
A Form EIA-912 respondent is instructed to submit revisions to
previously reported data if the revisions are greater than 500 million
cubic feet. As with any EIA information product based on survey data,
the WNGSR data may undergo revision(s) based on a number of reporting
factors including:
(1) As more accurate information becomes available to a respondent
after the Form EIA-912 is filed, a respondent may need to file new
data.
(2) After submitting Form EIA-912 and prior to the next weekly
submission, a respondent may determine that information submitted was
incorrect (e.g., numbers were transposed, numbers were entered in the
wrong item on the form, or other reporting errors).
(3) A respondent may submit Form EIA-912 too late for inclusion in
the current week estimates for the WNGSR.
(4) A respondent may report a reclassification of base and working
gas.
(5) A respondent may report a change in field operating status.
In addition to the reporting factors cited above, WNGSR data may be
revised in response to EIA actions such as a new estimation methodology
or sample used in the estimation process. Such revisions differ from
reporting issues in that their occurrence is known by EIA in advance
and EIA can plan for the resulting implementation. Because of that, EIA
schedules dissemination of those revisions and provides users with
early notification of the forthcoming WNGSR that will include the
revisions.
In 2002 EIA adopted a policy for releasing revisions to data
disseminated in the WNGSR. The policy was developed following a public
comment period and released in the Federal Register on November 12,
2002 (67 FR 68581). Under that policy, revisions are not disseminated
on an unscheduled basis. Rather, revisions are disseminated in the next
release of the WNGSR when the effect of reported changes is at least 7
billion cubic feet (Bcf) at either a regional or national level. If a
revision is made, changes to all regions are included.
Data for the previous week have been revised in 10 of the 136
issues released between May 9, 2002 and December 9, 2004. At the U.S.
level, these revisions ranged (in absolute value) from 7 to 41 Bcf. The
sizes and reasons are illustrated in the table below. The two revisions
greater than 15 Bcf attributable to data changes occurred for estimates
initially released on July 3, 2002 (26 Bcf) and November 24, 2004 (32
Bcf).
[[Page 1428]]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reasons for revisions
-----------------------------------------
Revision size (absolute value) Methodology
Survey data or sample All reasons
change change
------------------------------------------------------------------------
7-14 Bcf...................... 5 1 6
15 or more Bcf................ 2 2 4
------------------------------------------------------------------------
With respect to the dissemination of revisions to WNGSR data, EIA
is reconsidering its policy. Important issues to consider include: the
size of a revision justifying a revised WNGSR release, the problem of
equal and adequate notification of an upcoming revision, and the timing
of revisions in light of government and market hours of operation. The
current policy and two examples of alternative policies are described
below.
Current Policy (No Unscheduled Release of Revisions). Revisions are
disseminated in the next release of the WNGSR when the effect of
changes from any cause is at least 7 billion cubic feet (Bcf) at either
a regional or national level. If a revision is made, changes to all
regions are included. Revisions are not disseminated on an unscheduled
basis.
Alternative 1 (Fixed Revision Timing). When the cumulative effect
of all revised data for the most recent report period is at least 15
billion cubic feet (BCF) at either a regional or national level, a
revised WNGSR would be issued prior to the customary WNGSR release
schedule (i.e., generally Thursday at 10:30 a.m.). If a revision is
necessary, it would be released in a revised WNGSR at 10:30 a.m. on the
first Federal government workday of the following week. In most
instances the timing would be 10:30 a.m. Monday unless there is a
Monday holiday. In that case the revision would be released on Tuesday.
No notification of a coming revision would be provided. If the issues
underlying the revision could not be resolved and systems changes could
not be implemented before the fixed release date, the revision would be
released during the next regularly scheduled WNGSR release (usually
Thursday morning). Revisions from 7 to 14 Bcf as well as a revision
greater than 7 Bcf resulting from a new estimation methodology or
sample used in the estimation process would be issued in the next
regularly scheduled (usually Thursday) release of the WNGSR. This
alternative provides a date and time for a mid-week release of a
revision greater than 15 Bcf without relying on any notification to
users of the estimates.
Alternative 2 (Variable Revision Timing). When the cumulative
effect of revised data for the most recent report period is at least 15
billion cubic feet (BCF) at either a regional or national level, a
revised WNGSR would be issued two hours after EIA issues a notification
of the planned release of the revised WNGSR. However, EIA would not
issue a revised WNGSR if the next scheduled release is less than 24
hours later. Also, revisions from 7 to 14 Bcf as well as a revision of
any magnitude greater than 7 Bcf resulting from a new estimation
methodology or sample used in the estimation process would be issued in
the next release of the WNGSR.
For alternative 2, EIA would notify the public of the planned
release by announcing it on its Web site and sending e-mail
notifications to parties registered on EIA's WNGSR list serve.
(Interested parties may sign up for the WNGSR list serve without charge
through the EIA Web site at https://www.eia.doe.gov/listserv_
signup.html.) EIA proposes that the revision be released two hours
after the announcement is posted and e-mail notices are issued
irrespective of whether any specific markets are in operation at the
time of the revision release. EIA would post a notification of an
upcoming revision only when it has resolved all implementation issues
and is prepared to issue the revised WNGSR two hours later. Also,
revisions from 7 to 14 Bcf as well as a revision of any magnitude
greater than 7 Bcf resulting from a new estimation methodology or
sample used in the estimation process would be issued in the next
release of the WNGSR.
III. Request for Comments
The public should comment on the alternatives discussed in item II
as well as the questions below. Comments may also address other issues
and alternatives related to changes in the WNGSR revision policy.
General Issues:
A. What policy do you prefer for release of revised WNGSR data and
why? What are the features of each policy that are attractive and
unattractive?
B. What is the threshold, if any, at which a revised WNGSR should
be issued outside a regular schedule? Is a threshold change of 15 Bcf
appropriate to require such an issuance?
C. Is a fixed revision date and time a useful alternative to an
approach requiring a notification process for EIA customers? What
particular dates and/or times are most appropriate?
D. If a notification approach is used, is a posting on EIA's web
site and e-mail notification adequate and equitable? How much time
should pass between a notification of a revised WNGSR and its release?
E. Should the release of a revised WNGSR be restricted to specific
business hours or days because of the operating hours of various
trading markets? For example, if a revised WNGSR is approved late in
the work day, should EIA withhold issuing it until specific major
energy markets are open?
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be considered
during development of EIA's policy for revisions of the WNGSR. The
comments will also become a matter of public record.
After EIA has completed development of the WNGSR revision policy, a
Federal Register notice will be issued announcing the policy.
Statutory Authority: Section 52 of the Federal Energy
Administration Act (Pub. L. No. 93-275, 15 U.S.C. 790a).
Issued in Washington, DC, January 3, 2005.
Jay H. Casselberry,
Agency Clearance Officer, Energy Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 05-333 Filed 1-6-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
