Storage Reporting Requirements of Interstate and Intrastate Natural Gas Companies, 58741-58747 [2011-24166]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 184 (Thursday, September 22, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 58741-58747]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-24166]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

18 CFR Part 284

[Docket No. RM11-4-000]


Storage Reporting Requirements of Interstate and Intrastate 
Natural Gas Companies

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Commission proposes to eliminate the semi-annual storage 
reporting requirements for Interstate and Intrastate Natural Gas 
Companies that are currently codified in our regulations. The 
Commission finds that the reports now proposed for elimination are 
largely duplicative with other reporting requirements.

DATES: Comments are due November 21, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Comments, identified by docket number, may be filed in the 
following methods:
     Electronic Filing through https://www.ferc.gov. Documents 
created electronically using word processing software should be filed 
in native applications or print-to-PDF format and not in a scanned 
format.
     Mail/Hand Delivery: Those unable to file electronically 
may mail or hand-deliver an original of their comments to: Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First 
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
    Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments and 
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the Comment 
Procedures Section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Vince Mareino (Legal Information), 
Office of the General Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-6167, 
Vince.Mareino@ferc.gov.
    Thomas Russo (Technical Information), Office of Enforcement, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8792, Thomas.Russo@ferc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents

 
                                                               Paragraph
                                                                 Nos.
 
I. Background...............................................           2
    A. Current Regulations..................................           2
    B. Notice of Inquiry....................................           7
    C. Comments to the Notice of Inquiry....................           9
    D. Executive Orders.....................................          11
II. Discussion..............................................          13
    A. Interstate Storage Reports...........................          14
    B. Intrastate and Hinshaw Storage Reports...............          24
III. Regulatory Requirements................................          29
    A. Information Collection Statement.....................          29
    B. Environmental Analysis...............................          34
    C. Regulatory Flexibility Act [Analysis Or                        35
     Certification].........................................
    D. Comment Procedures...................................          36
    E. Document Availability................................          40
 


September 15, 2011.
    1. The Commission proposes to eliminate the semi-annual storage 
reporting requirements for: (1) Interstate natural gas companies 
subject to the Commission's jurisdiction under the Natural Gas Act 
(NGA), as codified in 18 CFR 284.13(e); (2) intrastate pipelines 
providing interstate services pursuant to section 311 of the Natural 
Gas Policy Act of 1978 (NGPA),\1\ as codified in 18 CFR 284.126(c); and 
(3) Hinshaw \2\ pipelines providing interstate services subject to the 
Commission's Natural Gas Act (NGA) jurisdiction pursuant to blanket 
certificates issued under Sec.  284.224 of the Commission's 
regulations, as also codified in 18 CFR

[[Page 58742]]

284.126(c). The Commission finds that the reports now proposed for 
elimination are largely duplicative with other reporting requirements.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 3372.
    \2\ Section 1(c) of the NGA exempts from the Commission's NGA 
jurisdiction pipelines which transport gas in interstate commerce if 
(1) They receive natural gas at or within the boundary of a state, 
(2) all the gas is consumed within that state, and (3) the pipeline 
is regulated by a state Commission. This exemption is referred to as 
the Hinshaw exemption after the Congressman who introduced the bill 
amending the NGA to include Sec.  1(c). See ANR Pipeline Co. v. 
Federal Energy Regulatory Comm'n, 71 F.3d 897, 898 (1995) (briefly 
summarizing the history of the Hinshaw exemption).
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I. Background

A. Current Regulations

    2. Section 284.13(e) of the Commission's regulations requires 
interstate pipelines to file semi-annual storage reports at the end of 
each complete storage injection and withdrawal season. Section 
284.126(c) requires similar semi-annual reports by section 311 and 
Hinshaw pipelines providing interstate storage service. The reports by 
the two sets of pipelines must include:

    (1) The identity of each customer injecting gas into storage 
and/or withdrawing gas from storage (including, for interstate 
pipelines, any affiliate relationship),
    (2) The rate schedule (for interstate pipelines) or docket 
number (for intrastate pipelines) authorizing the storage injection 
or withdrawal service,
    (3) The maximum storage quantity and maximum daily withdrawal 
quantity applicable to each storage customer,
    (4) For each storage customer, the volume of gas (in dekatherms) 
injected into and/or withdrawn from storage during the period,
    (5) The unit charge and total revenues received during the 
injection/withdrawal period from each storage customer (including, 
for interstate pipelines, any discounts), and
    (6) For intrastate pipelines, any related docket numbers under 
which the intrastate pipeline reported storage related injection/
withdrawal transportation services.

The pipelines must file these reports within 30 days of the end of each 
complete storage injection and withdrawal season, and the reports must 
be signed under oath by a senior official. The Commission has not 
adopted any standardized electronic form for pipelines to submit the 
semi-annual storage reports, nor has the Commission expressly required 
that the reports be public.
    3. The Commission adopted the existing semi-annual storage 
reporting requirements for both interstate and intrastate pipelines in 
1992 as part of Order No. 636,\3\ and there have been only minor 
modifications in the semi-annual storage reporting requirements since 
that date.\4\ However, the Commission has added other reporting 
requirements for both sets of pipelines, which include much of the same 
information as is included in the semi-annual storage reports.
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    \3\ Pipeline Service Obligations and Revisions to Regulations 
Governing Self-Implementing Transportation; and Regulation of 
Natural Gas Pipelines After Partial Wellhead Decontrol, Order No. 
636, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 30,939, order on reh'g, Order No. 636-A, 
FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 30,950, order on reh'g, Order No. 636-B, 61 
FERC ] 61,272 (1992), order on reh'g, 62 FERC ] 61,007 (1993), aff'd 
in part and remanded in part sub nom. United Distribution Cos. v. 
FERC, 88 F.3d 1105 (D.C. Cir. 1996), order on remand, Order No. 636-
C, 78 FERC ] 61,186 (1997).
    \4\ In 1995 in Order No. 581, the Commission held that it would 
``retain the semi-annual storage reports,'' and ``not exempt 
intrastate storage companies charging market-based rates from the 
requirement to file semi-annual storage reports,'' and made minor 
changes to the regulatory text. Revisions to Uniform System of 
Accounts, Forms, Statements, and Reporting Requirements for Natural 
Gas Companies, Order No. 581, 60 FR 53019, 53049-51, FERC Stats. & 
Regs. ] 31,026 (1995), order on reh'g, Order No. 581-A, FERC Stats. 
& Regs. ] 31,032 (1996).
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    4. First, in 2000, the Commission issued Order No. 637,\5\ revising 
the reporting requirements for interstate pipelines in order to require 
them to post on their internet websites basic information on the terms 
of each transportation and storage contract with individual shippers, 
no later than the first nomination under a transaction.\6\ These 
posting requirements are set forth in section 284.13(b) of the 
Commission's regulations.\7\ That section requires interstate pipelines 
to make daily postings of the same types of information about both firm 
and interruptible storage transactions as is contained in the 
interstate pipelines' semi-annual storage reports, except for (1) The 
amount of gas injected and withdrawn from storage by each individual 
customer, (2) storage revenues from each individual customer, and (3) 
the rate schedule authorizing the injection or withdrawal service.\8\ 
Order No. 637 also retained the existing requirement that interstate 
pipelines post an index of their firm customers each quarter and 
expanded the information that must be included in that index.\9\ Among 
other things, that index must include the rate schedule under which 
service under each firm contract is provided. However, Order No. 637 
did not significantly modify the semi-annual storage reporting 
requirement for interstate pipelines.\10\
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    \5\ Regulation of Short-Term Natural Gas Transportation Services 
and Regulation of Interstate Natural Gas Transportation Services, 
Order No. 637, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,091, clarified, Order No. 
637-A, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,099, reh'g denied, Order No. 637-B, 
92 FERC ] 61,062 (2000), aff'd in part and remanded in part sub nom. 
Interstate Natural Gas Ass'n of America v. FERC, 285 F.3d 18 (D.C. 
Cir. 2002), order on remand, 101 FERC ] 61,127 (2002), order on 
reh'g, 106 FERC ] 61,088 (2004), aff'd sub nom. American Gas Ass'n 
v. FERC, 428 F.3d 255 (D.C. Cir. 2005).
    \6\ The information to be posted includes the name of the 
shipper, the contract number (for firm service), the rate charged, 
the maximum rate, the duration (for firm service), the receipt and 
delivery points and zones covered, the quantity of natural gas 
covered, any special terms or details (such as any deviations from 
the tariff), and whether any affiliate relationship exists.
    \7\ 18 CFR 284.13(b).
    \8\ Because the semi-annual reporting periods are tied to the 
injection and withdrawal season, the time periods covered by that 
report do not correspond with the time periods covered by the 
interstate pipelines' reports.
    \9\ Order No. 637 moved the index of customers requirement from 
Sec.  284.106(c) to Sec.  284.13(c).
    \10\ Order No. 637 moved the interstate semi-annual storage 
reporting requirement from Sec.  284.106(b) to Sec.  284.13(e), and 
eliminated the requirement that interstate pipelines identify in 
their semi-annual storage reports any related docket numbers under 
which the interstate pipeline reported storage related injection/
withdrawal transportation services.
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    5. Order No. 637 did not modify any of the reporting requirements 
for section 311 and Hinshaw pipelines. However, in 2010, the Commission 
issued Order No. 735 to bring the transactional reporting requirements 
for section 311 pipelines and Hinshaw pipelines closer in line with the 
18 CFR 284.13(b) posting requirements for interstate pipelines.\11\ 
Before Order No. 735, section 284.126(b) required section 311 and 
Hinshaw pipelines to make an annual report of their transportation 
transactions excluding storage transactions. Thus, the semi-annual 
storage report required by section 284.126(c) was the only place where 
section 311 and Hinshaw pipelines reported their storage transactions. 
However, Order No. 735 made a number of changes in the former annual 
transportation reporting requirements at 18 CFR 284.126(b), including 
requiring that the report cover storage transactions and be filed 
quarterly. As amended by Order No. 735, section 284.126(b) requires 
that section 311 and Hinshaw pipelines file the quarterly reports of 
their transportation and storage transactions in a standardized 
electronic format, and requires that those reports be public. As 
revised in a December 2010 order on rehearing, Order No. 735-A, the new 
quarterly reports must contain the following information on each 
transportation and storage transaction, aggregated by contract:
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    \11\ Contract Reporting Requirements of Intrastate Natural Gas 
Companies, Order No. 735, 75 FR 29404, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,310, 
131 FERC ] 61,150, order on reh'g, Order No. 735-A, 75 FR 80685, 133 
FERC ] 61,216 (2010).

    i. The full legal name and identification number of the shipper 
receiving the service, including whether there is an affiliate 
relationship between the pipeline and the shipper;
    ii. The type of service performed (i.e., firm or interruptible 
transportation, storage, or other service);
    iii. The rate charged under each contract, specifying the rate 
schedule/name of service and docket where the rates were approved. 
The report should separately state each rate

[[Page 58743]]

component set forth in the contract (i.e., reservation, usage, and 
any other charges);
    iv. The primary receipt and delivery points covered by the 
contract, identified by the list of points that the pipeline has 
published with the Commission, which shall include the industry 
common code for each point where one has already been established;
    v. The quantity of natural gas the shipper is entitled to 
transport, store, or deliver under each contract;
    vi. The duration of the contract, specifying the beginning and 
(for firm contracts only) ending month and year of the current 
agreement;
    vii. Total volumes transported, stored, injected, or withdrawn 
for the shipper; and
    viii. Annual revenues received for each shipper, excluding 
revenues from storage services. The report should separately state 
revenues received under each component, and need only be reported 
every fourth quarter.

    6. Thus, the revised quarterly reports require section 311 and 
Hinshaw pipelines to report the same types of information about firm 
and interruptible storage transactions as is contained in their semi-
annual storage reports, except for storage revenues from each 
individual storage customer. In addition, because the semi-annual 
reporting periods are tied to the injection and withdrawal season, the 
time periods covered by each report do not correspond precisely. Order 
No. 735 did not modify the existing semi-annual storage reporting 
requirement for section 311 and Hinshaw pipelines in section 284.126(c) 
of the Commission's regulations in any way.

B. Notice of Inquiry

    7. On rehearing of Order No. 735, several parties argued that the 
semi-annual storage reporting requirement for section 311 and Hinshaw 
pipelines at 18 CFR 284.126(c) should be eliminated. The parties argued 
that Order No. 735 has made the existing semi-annual storage reporting 
requirement for those pipelines duplicative. In response, in December 
2010, the Commission issued a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) to consider 
whether and how the semi-annual storage reports required of both 
interstate and intrastate pipelines should be modified.
    8. In the NOI, the Commission noted that the semi-annual storage 
reports overlapped significantly, but not entirely, with the new 
reporting requirement for intrastate pipelines. The NOI also noted that 
interstate pipelines, which are not affected by Order No. 735, file 
semi-annual storage reports as well. Accordingly, the Commission sought 
comment from all interested parties on the future of the semi-annual 
storage reports, in light of changes in the natural gas market since 
the Commission originally adopted the requirements and in light of 
recent improvements in the Commission's other reporting requirements.

C. Comments to the Notice of Inquiry

    9. Twelve companies and associations, listed in the Appendix to 
this order, filed comments in response to the NOI. APGA states that it 
supports increased transparency, and specifically advocates that all 
pipelines should report revenues received from each storage customer. 
IOGA comments that it ``supports the maximum reasonable level of 
transparency,'' \12\ and specifically recommends that (1) Form 549D be 
expanded to collect information on storage compressor fuel and lost and 
unaccounted-for gas, (2) interstate pipelines be required to show the 
rate components in each storage customer's contracts separately and 
also ``show recourse rates, the customers under such rates, and any 
discounted or negotiated rate customer separately,'' \13\ and (3) cost-
of-service storage providers be required to provide individual customer 
revenue.
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    \12\ IOGA comments at 1.
    \13\ IOGA comments at 5.
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    10. No other parties advocate any expansion of the current 
reporting requirements. The other industry associations that filed 
comments, AGA, INGAA, NGSA, and TPA, are all in consensus that ``the 
Commission should focus its efforts on ensuring that the transparency 
requirements that are already in place for pipelines are effectively 
applied.'' \14\ AGA, INGAA, and TPA, who generally represent the 
Hinshaw, interstate, and section 311 pipelines, respectively, urge the 
Commission to eliminate the semi-annual storage report. The remaining 
comments, all from storage companies (Enstor, Jefferson, Niska, 
Northern, Spectra, and DTE) were either partly opposed \15\ or totally 
opposed \16\ to continuing the existing semi-annual storage report. 
These commenters point out that, with respect to section 311 and 
Hinshaw pipelines, the existing semi-annual storage reports largely 
duplicate the new Order No. 735 quarterly reports, and with respect to 
interstate pipelines, semi-annual storage reports largely duplicate the 
section 284.13(b) Web site posting requirements. Therefore, they 
contend, the Commission should reduce or eliminate the semi-annual 
reporting requirements.
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    \14\ NGSA comments at 2.
    \15\ E.g., Northern comments at 3 (``The report should not 
duplicate any information already provided publicly elsewhere.'')
    \16\ E.g., Jefferson comments at 3 (``Jefferson Island believes 
that the Commission should eliminate the requirement for semi-annual 
storage reports.'')
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D. Executive Orders

    11. On January 18, 2011, President Obama issued Executive Order 
13563, ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,'' (EO 13563) \17\ 
and a presidential memorandum on regulatory flexibility, small 
business, and job creation (Regulatory Flexibility Memo).\18\ The 
Commission, as an independent agency, is not subject to requirements of 
those presidential documents. Nonetheless, Chairman Wellinghoff 
directed Commission staff to perform an internal assessment of the 
effectiveness of Commission regulations. Subsequently, on July 11, 
2011, the President issued an executive order asking independent 
regulatory agencies such as the Commission to take steps to reassess 
and streamline existing regulations.\19\
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    \17\ 76 FR 3,821 (Jan. 21, 2011).
    \18\ 76 FR 3,827 (Jan. 21, 2011).
    \19\ Regulation and Independent Regulatory Agencies, Exec. Order 
13579, 76 FR 41587 (2011). The Commission is in the process of 
implementing this executive order.
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    12. The Commission continually seeks to streamline its regulations 
in order to foster competitive markets, facilitate enhanced 
competition, and avoid imposing undue burdens on regulated entities or 
unnecessary costs on those entities or their customers. We note that 
the NOI in this proceeding was issued in December 2010, before issuance 
of the above-noted executive orders. In analyzing the comments received 
in response to the NOI, the Commission considered the goals of those 
Executive Orders. In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission 
is seeking to streamline our natural gas pipeline reporting 
requirements, as part of our continuing efforts to ensure Commission 
regulations are effective, timely, and up to date.

II. Discussion

    13. In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission is 
proposing to delete both sections 284.13(e) and 284.126(c) from our 
regulations. The semi-annual storage reporting requirements in those 
regulations appear for the most part to duplicate other reporting 
requirements. To the extent those reports do include information not 
reported elsewhere, the burden of requiring pipelines to report that 
information appears to outweigh any benefits to the Commission or the 
public of requiring such information to continue to be reported on a 
regular basis. If such information is needed in a particular case, the 
Commission

[[Page 58744]]

retains the ability to seek such information through a data request to 
the pipeline in question.

A. Interstate Storage Reports

    14. The Commission proposes eliminating 18 CFR 284.13(e), which 
requires semi-annual storage reports from interstate pipelines. That 
report is no longer necessary for shippers to make informed decisions 
about their capacity purchases, or for the Commission and shippers to 
monitor storage transactions to determine if market power is being 
exercised.
    15. As described above, since Order No. 637 took effect over ten 
years ago, interstate pipelines have been required to post on their 
internet Web sites basic information, in downloadable file formats, on 
the terms of each transportation and storage contract with individual 
shippers, no later than the first nomination under a transaction. As 
detailed in 18 CFR 284.13(b), for every transaction, including capacity 
release transactions, the pipeline must post:
    a. The full legal name, and identification number, of the shipper 
receiving service;
    b. The rate charged;
    c. The maximum rate;
    d. The receipt and delivery points covered between which the 
shipper is entitled to transport gas at the rate charged, including the 
industry common code for each point, zone, or segment;
    e. The quantity of gas the shipper is entitled to transport;
    f. Special details pertaining to the agreement, including 
conditions applicable to a discounted transportation contract and all 
aspects in which the agreement deviates from the pipeline's tariff; and
    g. Whether the shipper is affiliated with the pipeline.
    In addition, for firm or capacity release contracts, the pipeline 
must post:
    h. The contract number,
    i. The duration of the contract, and
    j. Whether the transaction involves a capacity release to an asset 
manager or a retail access program.\20\
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    \20\ Section 284.13(c) also requires interstate pipelines to 
post at the beginning of each quarter an index of their firm 
transportation and storage customers, including information about 
the shippers' contractual entitlements and the duration of their 
contracts, but not the rates to be paid by the shipper.
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    16. As the Commission held in Order No. 637, the transactional 
information included in the interstate pipelines' daily postings of 
both transportation and storage contracts ``provides price transparency 
so shippers can make informed purchasing decisions, and also permits 
both shippers and the Commission to monitor actual transactions for 
evidence of the possible abuse of market power.'' \21\ There appears no 
need to require interstate pipelines to continue filing an additional 
semi-annual report of their storage transactions containing much the 
same information Order No. 637 requires them to post on a daily basis 
to accomplish the goal of price transparency. The Commission does not 
require interstate pipelines to file any comparable additional report 
of their non-storage transportation transactions. Thus, since the 
issuance of Order No. 637 in 2000, industry participants have been 
relying primarily on the pipelines' daily postings required by section 
284.13(b) to obtain information about individual non-storage 
transportation transactions.\22\ There appears to be nothing unique 
about storage transactions which requires more stringent reporting 
requirements than for other transportation transactions in order to 
accomplish the goal of price transparency.
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    \21\ Order No. 637, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,091 at 31,320.
    \22\ The Commission also requires interstate pipelines to file 
each of their negotiated rate transactions with the Commission for 
its approval, thereby providing other shippers notice and an 
opportunity to comment on each such transaction. See Natural Gas 
Pipeline Negotiated Rate Policies and Practices, 104 FERC ] 61,134, 
at P 31-34 (2003). Similarly, the Commission requires interstate 
pipelines to file all contracts which materially deviate from the 
form of service agreements in their tariffs. See Southern Star 
Central, 125 FERC ] 61,082 (2008); Natural Gas Pipeline Negotiated 
Rate Policies and Practices, 104 FERC ] 61,134 (2003), order on 
rehearing and clarification, 114 FERC ] 61,042 (2006); Columbia Gas 
Transmission Corp., 97 FERC ] 61,221, at 62,010 (2001).
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    17. The Commission recognizes that the semi-annual storage reports 
do provide certain information that is not provided by the interstate 
pipelines' daily 18 CFR 284.13(b) Web site postings. This information 
includes:
    i. the volume of gas actually injected into and/or withdrawn from 
storage for each customer during each complete storage injection and 
withdrawal period, and
    ii. the total revenues received during the injection/withdrawal 
period from each storage customer, including any discounts.\23\
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    \23\ The daily postings also do not include the rate schedule 
authorizing the injection or withdrawal service. However, section 
284.13(c) requires that this information be included in the Index of 
Customers for firm shippers, and no commenter has expressed concern 
about not collecting this information for interruptible storage 
service.
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    18. These two elements are not available to the public on a per-
customer basis in any other report. However, the primary value of 
information about volumes of gas injected into and withdrawn from 
storage is to permit shippers to monitor the availability of storage 
capacity and whether shippers or the pipeline are withholding storage 
capacity.\24\ Section 284.13(d) requires interstate pipelines to 
provide on their websites ``equal and timely access to information 
relevant to the availability of all transportation services whenever 
capacity is scheduled, including * * * in storage fields, whether the 
capacity is available directly from the pipeline or through capacity 
release.'' \25\ While these postings do not provide individual shipper 
injection and withdrawal information, they appear far more useful to 
shippers because they provide information about the availability of 
capacity at the time shippers are seeking to schedule capacity. By 
contrast, the semi-annual storage reports are not filed until up to 30 
days after the completion of each injection and withdrawal season. The 
Commission also notes the commenters opposing elimination of the semi-
annual storage reports have not explained how the after-the-fact 
customer-by-customer storage injection and withdrawal information 
significantly benefits the market. This suggests that the alternative 
reporting requirements do indeed meet the market's needs, and that the 
semi-annual storage report is duplicative.
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    \24\ See Order No. 637, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,091 at 31,320.
    \25\ In addition, the Energy Information Administration 
publishes weekly underground storage data, including base gas, 
working gas in storage, and injection and withdrawal volumes by 
storage facility type and region. Available at https://www.eia.gov/naturalgas/data.cfm#storage.
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    19. On the per-customer revenue reporting requirement, which is not 
collected by other reporting requirements, only APGA and IOGA support 
its retention. APGA argues this requirement is useful to ``indicate 
whether * * * providers * * * should have their market-based 
authorization reviewed.'' \26\ IOGA supports revenue reporting for 
cost-of-service interstate storage providers, but, in contrast to APGA, 
IOGA agrees that market-based storage providers need not have the same 
reporting obligations with respect to revenues.\27\
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    \26\ APGA comments at 4.
    \27\ IOGA comments at 5.
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    20. APGA has not explained how per-customer revenue information 
would significantly enhance the Commission and the parties' ability to 
determine whether a market-based interstate storage provider should 
have its authorization to charge market-based

[[Page 58745]]

rates reviewed. The determination whether a storage provider lacks 
market power, thus justifying market-based rates, turns on the 
available competitive alternatives to the storage provider in its 
relevant markets, the market concentration in those markets, and the 
storage providers' market share.\28\ In addition, section 284.504(b) of 
the Commission's regulations requires storage providers with market-
based rates to notify the Commission within 10 days of acquiring 
knowledge of significant changes occurring in its market power status. 
Such changes are generally matters affecting the storage provider's 
market share, as opposed to the revenues the storage provider has 
collected from individual shippers. In any event, while the section 
284.13(b) daily postings do not require interstate storage providers 
with market-based rates to post the revenues collected from each 
customer, that section does require such storage providers to post the 
per-unit rates they charge to each customer, thus enabling shippers to 
monitor the storage provider's actions for potentially discriminatory 
practices.
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    \28\ See 18 CFR 284.503(b) (adopted by Order No. 678, Rate 
Regulation of Certain Natural Gas Storage Facilities, 71 FR 36636, 
115 FERC ] 61, 343 (2006)).
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    21. With regard to IOGA's concerns about the reporting of per-
customer revenue information by cost-based interstate storage 
providers, the Commission similarly finds that IOGA has not shown that 
the benefit of reporting such per-customer revenue information in 
addition to the per-unit rate information already posted on a daily 
basis outweighs the burden of such a reporting requirement. Sections 
260.1 and 260.2 of the Commission's regulations require cost-based 
interstate storage providers to file either a Form 2 or a Form 2-A each 
year containing extensive revenue and cost data. This enables the 
Commission and shippers to review whether the pipeline is significantly 
over-recovering its costs. The Commission also notes that neither party 
has shown that customers are using the revenue data already available 
through the existing semi-annual storage reports.
    22. IOGA recommends that interstate pipelines also be required to 
show their recourse rates, the customers under such rates, and any 
discounted or negotiated rate separately. However, section 
284.13(b)(1)(iv) and (b)(2)(iii) already requires interstate pipelines 
to post both the maximum rate applicable to each contract and the 
actual rate charged under that contract. Moreover, pursuant to 
standards adopted by NAESB, those postings must separately state the 
components of the contract rate, including surcharges.\29\ In addition, 
section 284.13(c)(2)(vii) requires that the Index of Customers posted 
by the interstate pipeline indicate whether each firm shipper's rate is 
a negotiated rate.
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    \29\ NAESB WGQ Standards 5.4.20-5.4.22.
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    23. Finally, the Commission notes that it retains its ability to 
obtain any of the above discussed information in response to individual 
filings under sections 4 and 5 of the Natural Gas Act, and through its 
investigative authority. No party, however, has provided comments 
explaining how storage customers would benefit from having this 
information from all pipelines on a generic basis rather than a case-
by-case basis. Nor has any party provided comments explaining how this 
benefit would outweigh the filers' burden. Thus, the Commission 
proposes in this notice to eliminate 18 CFR 284.13(e), and does not 
propose to introduce any new reporting requirements for interstate 
storage facilities at this time.

B. Intrastate and Hinshaw Storage Reports

    24. The Commission also proposes eliminating 18 CFR 284.126(c), 
which requires semi-annual storage reports from section 311 and Hinshaw 
pipelines for much the same reasons as the Commission proposes to 
eliminate the corresponding reporting requirement for interstate 
pipelines. In Order Nos. 735 and 735-A, the Commission specifically 
copied all the substantive elements of the semi-annual storage reports 
in developing the requirements for the new quarterly transportation for 
both transportation and storage transactions, except that the 
Commission did not require section 311 and Hinshaw storage providers to 
report the revenues collected from each storage customer. In addition, 
because the semi-annual reporting periods are tied to the injection and 
withdrawal season, the time periods covered by each report do not 
correspond precisely.
    25. Accordingly, as numerous commenters have pointed out, for 
section 311 and Hinshaw pipelines, the semi-annual storage reports are 
now largely duplicative. As discussed in the preceding section, APGA 
and IOGA have both expressed concern about eliminating the requirement 
for pipelines to report per-customer storage revenues. In Order Nos. 
735 and 735-A, the Commission considered requiring individual customer 
storage revenue in the quarterly reports, as IOGA and APGA request, but 
chose not to implement that requirement pending the present proceeding. 
As discussed in the preceding section, APGA argues this requirement is 
useful for purposes of determining whether a storage provider should 
have its market-based authorization reviewed; however, APGA has not 
explained how per-customer revenue information would significantly 
enhance the Commission's and the parties' ability to determine whether 
a market-based storage provider should have its authorization to charge 
market-based rates reviewed. IOGA supports requiring storage providers 
with cost-based rates to report per-customer revenues, but states it is 
more concerned with interstate storage providers than with section 311 
or Hinshaw storage providers. In the present proceeding, no new 
evidence or arguments have come to light that compel us to require 
section 311 and Hinshaw storage providers to report per-customer 
storage revenue. The pipelines commenting in this proceeding have 
provided detailed arguments that providing the public with individual 
customer storage revenue is burdensome, while proponents of collecting 
this information have only offered basic statements of support.
    26. IOGA recommends that the Form 549D be expanded to collect 
information on ``storage compressor fuel and lost and unaccounted-for 
gas * * * to better understand what is reasonable in the industry and 
as an alert to potential problems.'' \30\ The Commission does collect 
this information for interstate pipelines on Form 2,\31\ but does not 
currently collect it for section 311 and Hinshaw pipelines. Where 
section 311 and Hinshaw pipelines apply a separate charge in their 
rates, the Commission generally either requires the pipeline to 
establish a tracker and true-up mechanism in their statements of 
operating conditions (e.g., for fuel and lost or unaccounted-for gas), 
or else the Commission reviews the charge as part of its periodic rate 
review every five years. In its regularly scheduled tracker filings, 
the pipeline bears the burden to demonstrate that its proposed updated 
reimbursement percentages are fair and equitable. This established 
method allows the Commission and customers to scrutinize fuel use on a 
case-by-case basis, taking into account the unique operational

[[Page 58746]]

characteristics of each storage facility. Accordingly, we decline to 
impose the added burden of collecting this information again on a 
generic basis in Form 549D.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \30\ IOGA at 4.
    \31\ Revisions to Forms, Statements, and Reporting Requirements 
for Natural Gas Pipelines Order No. 710, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 
31,267 (2008) (Order No. 710); order on reh'g and clarification, 
Order No. 710-A, 123 FERC ] 61,278 (2008), Order No. 710-B, 76 FR 
4516 (Jan. 26, 2011), 134 FERC ] 61,033 (2011), order on reh'g, 
Order No. 710-C 136 FERC ] 61,109 (2011).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    27. Finally, no commenter has indicated that there is a continuing 
need for section 311 and Hinshaw transactional information to be 
reported by injection and withdrawal seasons, as opposed to on a 
quarterly basis.
    28. Accordingly, the Commission proposes in this notice to 
eliminate 18 CFR 284.126(c), and does not propose to introduce any new 
reporting requirements for section 311 and Hinshaw storage facilities 
at this time.

III. Regulatory Requirements

A. Information Collection Statement

    29. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations require 
that OMB approve certain reporting, record keeping, and public 
disclosure requirements (collections of information) imposed by an 
agency.\32\ Therefore, the Commission is providing notice of its 
proposed elimination of the information collections.\33\ This proposed 
rule will be submitted to OMB for review in accordance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.\34\
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    \32\ 5 CFR 1320.
    \33\ In the Notice of Inquiry in Docket No. RM11-4, the 
Commission referred to the FERC Form No. 549B reporting requirements 
(in 18 CFR 284.13(e), OMB Control No. 1902-0169) and the Form No. 
549 reporting requirements (in 18 CFR 284.126(c), OMB Control No. 
1902-0089). After further review, we have determined that the 
affected reporting requirements are included instead in FERC-549 (18 
CFR 284.13(e), OMB Control No. 1902-0086) and in FERC-537 (18 CFR 
284.126(c), OMB Control No. 1902-0060).
    \34\ 44 U.S.C. 3507(d).
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    30. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act and OMB's implementing 
regulations, OMB clearance for information collections in current rules 
should be current and active. In separate Docket No. IC11-549-000, the 
Commission is requesting comments on the need for and burden related to 
the FERC-549 in order to ensure OMB approval continues while the 
Commission obtains comments and completes action in Docket No. RM11-
4.\35\
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    \35\ FERC-549 includes the Semi-Annual Storage Reports for 
Interstate Pipelines, in 18 CFR 284.13(e), and several other 
reporting requirements. The Notice in Docket IC11-549-000 was issued 
July 28, 2011 (76 FR 46783, August 3, 2011) as part of the OMB 
clearance process for the entire set of requirements under FERC-549. 
In Docket No. IC11-549-000, the Commission is seeking to continue 
the OMB clearance for the Semi-Annual Storage Reports for Interstate 
Pipelines in 18 CFR 284.13(e) until the resolution of the final rule 
in Docket No. RM11-4.
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    31. The Commission is proposing to eliminate two reporting 
requirements and to remove the burden of those requirements from 
jurisdictional entities.
Information Collections:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                        Total
                                                                                                        annual
  Information collection (or part                              Number of                   Annual       burden
 of) proposed for deletion in NOPR  Part of OMB   Number of   filings per  Burden hrs.  burden hrs.     hrs.,
             in RM11-4              control No.  respondents   respondent   per filing      per        proposed
                                                                per year                 respondent      for
                                                                                                       deletion
                                    ...........          (a)          (b)          (c)      (b x c)  (a x b x c)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FERC-549, for the requirements in     1902-0086          155            2           12           24         3720
 18 CFR 284.13(e).................
FERC-537, for the requirements in     1902-0060           50            2           27           54         2700
 18 CFR 284.126(c)................
                                   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Grand Total...................  ...........          205  ...........  ...........  ...........         6420
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Title: Semi-annual storage reporting requirements for Interstate 
and Intrastate Natural Gas Companies (currently codified in 18 CFR 
284.13(e) and 18 CFR 284.126(c)).
    Respondents: Interstate and Intrastate Natural Gas Companies.
    32. Internal review: The Commission has reviewed the semi-annual 
storage reporting requirements for Interstate and Intrastate Natural 
Gas Companies that are currently codified in 18 CFR 284.13(e) and 18 
CFR 284.126(c). The Commission has determined that the reports now 
proposed for elimination are largely duplicative of other reporting 
requirements.
    33. Interested persons may obtain information on the reporting 
requirements proposed for deletion by contacting: Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426 
[Attention: Ellen Brown, Office of the Executive Director, e-mail: 
DataClearance@ferc.gov, Phone: (202) 502-8663, fax: (202) 273-0873]. 
Comments on the requirements proposed for deletion in this rule may 
also be sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503 [Attention: Desk 
Officer for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission]. For security 
reasons, comments should be sent by e-mail to OMB at oira_submission@omb.eop.gov. Please reference OMB Control Nos. 1902-0169 and 
1902-0089 in your submission.

B. Environmental Analysis

    34. The Commission is required to prepare an Environmental 
Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement for any action that may 
have a significant adverse effect on the human environment.\36\ The 
Commission has categorically excluded certain actions from these 
requirements as not having a significant effect on the human 
environment.\37\ The actions proposed to be taken here fall within 
categorical exclusions in the Commission's regulations for rules that 
are corrective, clarifying, or procedural, for information gathering, 
analysis, and dissemination, and for sales, exchange, and 
transportation of natural gas that requires no construction of 
facilities.\38\ Therefore an environmental review is unnecessary and 
has not been prepared in this rulemaking.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \36\ Order No. 486, Regulations Implementing the National 
Environmental Policy Act, 52 FR 47897 (Dec. 17, 1987), FERC Stats. & 
Regs. Preambles 1986-1990 ] 30,783 (1987).
    \37\ 18 CFR 380.4.
    \38\ See 18 CFR 380.4(a)(2)(ii), 380.4(a)(5), and 380.4(a)(27).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act [Analysis Or Certification]

    35. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) \39\ generally 
requires a description and analysis of proposed rules and final rules 
that will have significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities. Most of the natural gas companies regulated by the 
Commission do not fall within the RFA's definition of a small 
entity.\40\ Any economic impact from the

[[Page 58747]]

proposed rulemaking would be due to the elimination of unnecessary 
filing burdens and costs on small and large entities. Accordingly, the 
Commission certifies that this proposed rule will not have a 
significant impact on a substantial number of small entities.
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    \39\ 5 U.S.C. 601-612.
    \40\ See 5 U.S.C. 601(3) (citing section 3 of the Small Business 
Act, 15 U.S.C. 623, which defines a ``small business concern'' as a 
business which is independently owned and operated and which is not 
dominant in its field of operation. The Small Business Size 
Standards component of the North American Industry Classification 
System defines a small natural gas pipeline company as one that 
transports natural gas and whose annual receipts (total income plus 
cost of goods sold) did not exceed $7 million for the previous 
year).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

D. Comment Procedures

    36. The Commission invites interested persons to submit comments on 
the matters and issues proposed in this notice to be adopted, including 
any related matters or alternative proposals that commenters may wish 
to discuss. Comments are due November 21, 2011. Comments must refer to 
Docket No. RM11-4-000, and must include the commenter's name, the 
organization they represent, if applicable, and their address in their 
comments.
    37. The Commission encourages comments to be filed electronically 
via the eFiling link on the Commission's Web site at https://www.ferc.gov. The Commission accepts most standard word processing 
formats. Documents created electronically using word processing 
software should be filed in native applications or print-to-PDF format 
and not in a scanned format. Commenters filing electronically do not 
need to make a paper filing.
    38. Commenters that are not able to file comments electronically 
must send an original of their comments to: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20426.
    39. All comments will be placed in the Commission's public files 
and may be viewed, printed, or downloaded remotely as described in the 
Document Availability section below. Commenters on this proposal are 
not required to serve copies of their comments on other commenters.

E. Document Availability

    40. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the 
Internet through the Commission's Home Page (https://www.ferc.gov) and 
in the Commission's Public Reference Room during normal business hours 
(8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First Street, NE., Room 2A, 
Washington, DC 20426.
    41. From the Commission's Home Page on the Internet, this 
information is available on eLibrary. The full text of this document is 
available on eLibrary in PDF and Microsoft Word format for viewing, 
printing, and/or downloading. To access this document in eLibrary, type 
the docket number excluding the last three digits of this document in 
the docket number field.
    42. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the Commission's 
Web site during normal business hours from the Commission's Online 
Support at (202) 502-6652 (toll free at 1-(866) 208-3676) or e-mail at 
ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or the Public Reference Room at (202) 502-
8371, TTY (202) 502-8659. E-mail the Public Reference Room at 
public.referenceroom@ferc.gov.

List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 284

    Continental shelf, Natural gas, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    By direction of the Commission.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
    In consideration of the foregoing, the Commission proposes to amend 
Part 284, Chapter I, Title 18, Code of Federal Regulations, as follows.

PART 284--CERTAIN SALES AND TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS UNDER THE 
NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978 AND RELATED AUTHORITIES

    1. The authority citation for part 284 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 717-717w, 3301-3432; 42 U.S.C. 7101-7352; 
43 U.S.C. 1331-1356.


Sec.  284.13  [Amended]

    2. In Sec.  284.13, remove paragraph (e) and paragraph (f) is 
redesignated as paragraph (e).


Sec.  284.126  [Amended]

    3. In Sec.  284.126, remove paragraph (c).

    Note: The following appendix will not appear in the Code of 
Federal Regulations.

Appendix

List of Commenters and Abbreviations

 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   Commenter                           Abbreviation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
American Gas Association.......................  AGA
American Public Gas Association................  APGA
Enstor Operating Company, LLC..................  Enstor
Independent Oil and Gas Association of West      IOGA
 Virginia.
Interstate Natural Gas Association of America..  INGAA
Jefferson Island Storage & Hub, LLC............  Jefferson
Natural Gas Supply Association.................  NGSA
Niska Gas Storage LLC..........................  Niska
Northern Natural Gas Company...................  Northern
Spectra Energy Transmission, LLC & Spectra       Spectra
 Energy Corp.
Texas Pipeline Association.....................  TPA
Washington 10 Storage Corp. & Michigan           DTE
 Consolidated Gas Co.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[FR Doc. 2011-24166 Filed 9-21-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P