Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 15716-15717 [E9-7814]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Energy Information Administration

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 7, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15716-15717]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-7814]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

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

ACTION: Agency information collection activities: proposed collection; 
comment request.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The EIA is soliciting comments on the proposed three-year 
extension and revision to the Form EIA-28, ``Financial Reporting System 
(FRS).''

DATES: Comments must be filed by June 8, 2009. If you anticipate 
difficulty in submitting comments within that period, contact the 
person listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Neal Davis of EIA. To ensure receipt of the 
comments by the due date, submission by fax (202-586-9753) or e-mail 
(neal.davis@eia.doe.gov) is recommended. Mr. Davis' mailing address is 
Energy Information Administration (EI 62), Financial Analysis Team, 
Forrestal Building, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585. Alternatively, Mr. Davis may be 
contacted by telephone at (202) 586-6581.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of any forms and instructions for the Financial Reporting System 
should be directed to Mr. Davis 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 (15 U.S.C. 761 et 
seq.) and the DOE Organization Act (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, as part of its effort to comply with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.), provides the general 
public and other Federal agencies with opportunities to comment on 
collections of information conducted by or in conjunction with the EIA. 
Also, the EIA will later seek approval for this collection by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under Section 3507(a) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
    Under Public Law 95-91, section 205(h), the Administrator of the 
EIA is required to ``identify and designate'' the major energy 
companies who must annually file Form EIA-28 to ensure that the data 
collected provide ``a statistically accurate profile of each line of 
commerce in the energy industry in the United States.'' Data collected 
on Form EIA-28 are published and used in analyses of the energy 
industry.
    U.S. major energy companies report financial and operating 
information to the FRS survey each year on a consolidated corporate 
level, by individual lines of business, by major functions within each 
line of business, and by various geographic regions. From this 
information, EIA produces the annual publication Performance Profiles 
of Major Energy Producers. The data are also used for analyses and 
inquiries concerning earnings, profitability, investments, production 
and refining costs, reserve growth, and other issues related to the 
financial performance of major energy producers.
    Please refer to the proposed forms and instructions for more 
information about the purpose, who must report, when to report, where 
to submit, the elements to be reported, detailed instructions, 
provisions for confidentiality, and uses (including possible 
nonstatistical uses) of the information. For instructions on obtaining 
materials, see the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

II. Current Actions

    EIA is proposing a three-year extension with changes to the 
previously approved Form EIA-28 for the FRS survey to be conducted in 
2010 collecting information for 2009.
    EIA is proposing the following changes to the form:
     Expand the balance sheet information requested for 
property, plant, and equipment (PP&E), and investments and advances to 
unconsolidated affiliates beyond additions to include other changes, 
such as reclassifications and impairments;
     Reduce the scope of domestic information collected on the 
downstream natural gas and electric power operations of the major 
energy companies;
     Recategorize some downstream natural gas business 
operations to more closely align the survey with industry practices; 
and
     Add coverage of foreign operations for petroleum purchases 
and sales of raw materials and refined products, and for downstream 
natural gas operating expenses.
    Schedule 5120 ``Selected Consolidating Balance Sheet and Financial 
Data'' will be expanded to include collection of other changes to PP&E 
and investments and advances to unconsolidated affiliates, by line of 
business.
    Many of the questions for the downstream natural gas and electric 
power lines of business require detailed information from the 
operational units of the FRS respondent companies, and are more 
difficult to obtain. Data for several items are only provided by one or 
two companies. Consequently, the

[[Page 15717]]

limited response severely restricts the usefulness of the data, and the 
analysis that can be done. Reducing the scope of the survey will also 
reduce the reporting burden on the survey respondents.
    The proposed modifications include elimination of most of Schedules 
5812 ``Domestic Electric Power Segments, Purchases and Sales of Fuel 
and Electric Power'' and 5841 ``Electric Power Capacity and Output 
Statistics.'' The following schedules for the downstream natural gas 
and electric power lines of business will be reduced in scope:
     Schedule 5710, Downstream Natural Gas, Consolidating 
Statement of Income,
     Schedule 5810, Electric Power, Consolidating Statement of 
Income, and
     Schedule 5811, Electric Power, General Operating Expense 
Detail.
    The following schedules will be expanded to include foreign 
activities:
     Schedule 5211, Petroleum Segments, Refining/Marketing 
Operating Expense Detail,
     Schedule 5212, Petroleum Segments, Purchases and Sales of 
Raw Materials and Refined Products, and
     Schedule 5711, Downstream Natural Gas, General Operating 
Expense Detail.
    Copies of the proposed new schedules and the instructions are 
available from Mr. Davis.

III. Request for Comments

    Prospective respondents and other interested parties should comment 
on the actions discussed in item II. The following guidelines are 
provided to assist in the preparation of comments.

As a Potential Respondent to the Request for Information

    A. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency and does the 
information have practical utility?
    B. What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize the 
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information to be 
collected?
    C. Are the instructions and definitions clear and sufficient? If 
not, which instructions need clarification?
    D. Can the information be submitted by the respondent by the due 
date?
    E. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to 
average 500 hours per response. The estimated burden includes the total 
time necessary to provide the requested information. In your opinion, 
how accurate is this estimate?
    F. The agency estimates that the only cost to a respondent is for 
the time it will take to complete the collection. Will a respondent 
incur any start-up costs for reporting, or any recurring annual costs 
for operation, maintenance, and purchase of services associated with 
the information collection?
    G. What additional actions could be taken to minimize the burden of 
this collection of information? Such actions may involve the use of 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    H. Does any other Federal, State, or local agency collect similar 
information? If so, specify the agency, the data element(s), and the 
methods of collection.

As a Potential User of the Information To Be Collected

    A. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency and does the 
information have practical utility?
    B. What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize the 
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information 
disseminated?
    C. Is the information useful at the levels of detail to be 
collected?
    D. For what purpose(s) would the information be used? Be specific.
    E. Are there alternate sources for the information and are they 
useful? If so, what are their weaknesses and/or strengths?
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the form. They also 
will become a matter of public record.

    Statutory Authority: Section 3507(h)(1) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 (15 
U.S.C. 761 et seq.), and the DOE Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7101 et 
seq.).

    Issued in Washington, DC, April 1, 2009.
Stephanie Brown,
Director, Statistics and Methods Group, Energy Information 
Administration.
 [FR Doc. E9-7814 Filed 4-6-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P