Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-549); Comment Request; Extension, 89-91 [2019-28298]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 1 (Thursday, January 2, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 89-91]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-28298]



[[Page 89]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC20-1-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-549); Comment 
Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of information collection and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or 
FERC) is soliciting public comment on the currently approved 
information collection FERC-549 (NGPA Title III Transactions and NGA 
Blanket Certificate Transactions) and submitting the information 
collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. Any 
interested person may file comments directly with OMB and should 
address a copy of those comments to the Commission as explained below.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due February 3, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: Comments filed with OMB, identified by OMB Control No. 1902-
0086, should be sent via email to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs: [email protected], Attention: Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission Desk Officer.
    A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Commission, in 
Docket No. IC20-1-000, by either of the following methods:
     eFiling at Commission's website: https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp.
     Mail: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of 
the Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.
    Instructions: All submissions must be formatted and filed in 
accordance with submission guidelines at: https://www.ferc.gov/help/submission-guide.asp. For user assistance, contact FERC Online Support 
by email at [email protected], or by phone at: (866) 208-3676 
(toll-free), or (202) 502-8659 for TTY.
    Docket: Users interested in receiving automatic notification of 
activity in this docket or in viewing/downloading comments and 
issuances in this docket may do so at https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/docs-filing.asp.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Brown may be reached by email at 
[email protected], telephone at (202) 502-8663, and fax at (202) 
273-0873.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: FERC-549, NGPA Title III Transactions and NGA Blanket 
Certificate Transactions.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0086.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-549 information 
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.
    Abstract: On October 23, 2019, the Commission published a Notice in 
the Federal Register (84 FR 56805) in Docket No. IC20-1-000 requesting 
public comments. The Commission received no public comments.
    FERC-549 is required to implement the statutory provisions governed 
by Sections 311 and 312 of the Natural Gas Policy Act (NGPA) (15 U.S.C. 
3371-3372) and Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) (15 U.S.C. 717f). 
The reporting requirements for implementing these provisions are 
contained in 18 CFR part 284.

Transportation for Intrastate Pipelines

    In 18 CFR 284.102(e), the Commission requires interstate pipelines 
to obtain proper certification in order to ship natural gas on behalf 
of intrastate pipelines and local distribution companies (LDC). This 
certification consists of a letter from the intrastate pipeline or LDC 
authorizing the interstate pipeline to ship gas on its behalf. In 
addition, interstate pipelines must obtain from its shippers the 
certifications including sufficient information to verify that their 
services qualify under this section.
    In 18 CFR 284.123(b), the Commission provides that intrastate gas 
pipeline companies file for Commission approval of rates for services 
performed in the interstate transportation of gas. An intrastate gas 
pipeline company may elect to use rates contained in one of its then 
effective transportation rate schedules on file with an appropriate 
state regulatory agency for intrastate service comparable to the 
interstate service or file proposed rates and supporting information 
showing the rates are cost based and are fair and equitable. It is the 
Commission policy that each pipeline must file at least every five 
years to ensure its rates are fair and equitable. Depending on the 
business process used, either 60 or 150 days after the application is 
filed, the rate is deemed to be fair and equitable unless the 
Commission either extends the time for action, institutes a proceeding 
or issues an order providing for rates it deems to be fair and 
equitable.
    In 18 CFR 284.123(e), the Commission requires that within 30 days 
of commencement of new service any intrastate pipeline engaging in the 
transportation of gas in interstate commerce must file a statement that 
includes the interstate rates and a description of how the pipeline 
will engage in the transportation services, including operating 
conditions. If an intrastate gas pipeline company changes its 
operations or rates it must amend the statement on file with the 
Commission. Such amendment is to be filed not later than 30 days after 
commencement of the change in operations or change in rate election.

Market-Based Rates for Storage

    In 2006, the Commission amended its regulations to establish 
criteria for obtaining market-based rates for storage services offered 
under 18 CFR 284.501-505. First, the Commission modified its market-
power analysis to better reflect the competitive alternatives to 
storage. Second, pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 
2005), the Commission promulgated rules to implement section 4(f) of 
the Natural Gas Act, to permit underground natural gas storage service 
providers that are unable to show that they lack market power to 
negotiate market-based rates in circumstances where market-based rates 
are in the public interest and necessary to encourage the construction 
of the storage capacity in the area needing storage services, and where 
customers are adequately protected. The revisions were intended to 
facilitate the development of new natural gas storage capacity while 
protecting customers.

Code of Conduct

    The Commission's regulations at 18 CFR 284.288 and 284.403 provide 
that applicable sellers of natural gas adhere to a code of conduct when 
making gas sales in order to protect the integrity of the market. As 
part of this code, the Commission imposes a record retention 
requirement on applicable sellers to ``retain, for a period of five 
years, all data and information upon which it billed the prices it 
charged for natural gas it sold pursuant to its market based sales 
certificate or the prices it reported for use in price indices.'' FERC 
uses these records to monitor the jurisdictional transportation 
activities and unbundled sales activities of interstate natural gas 
pipelines and blanket marketing certificate holders.
    The record retention period of five years is necessary due to the 
importance of records related to any investigation of

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possible wrongdoing and related to assuring compliance with the codes 
of conduct and the integrity of the market. The requirement is 
necessary to ensure consistency with the rule prohibiting market 
manipulation (regulations adopted in Order No. 670, implementing the 
EPAct 2005 anti-manipulation provisions) and the generally applicable 
five-year statute of limitations where the Commission seeks civil 
penalties for violations of the anti-manipulation rules or other rules, 
regulations, or orders to which the price data may be relevant.
    Failure to have this information available would mean the 
Commission is unable to perform its regulatory functions and to monitor 
and evaluate transactions and operations of interstate pipelines and 
blanket marketing certificate holders.
    Type of Respondents: Jurisdictional interstate and intrastate 
natural gas pipelines.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \1\ The Commission estimates the annual 
burden and cost for the information collection as follows.
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    \1\ Burden is defined as the total time, effort, or financial 
resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or 
disclose or provide information to or for a federal agency. See 5 
CFR 1320 for additional information on the definition of information 
collection burden.

                                                        FERC-549--NGPA Title III Transactions and NGA Blanket Certificate Transaction \2\
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                                                           Annual number
                                             Number of     of responses    Total number       Average burden hrs. & cost ($) per       Total annual burden hours & total annual      Cost per
                                            respondents   per respondent   of responses                    response                               cost ($) (rounded)              respondent ($)
                                                     (1)             (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4).......................................  (3) * (4) = (5)...........................       (5) / (1)
                                                                                     (3)
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Transportation by Pipelines.\3\                       53               2             106  50 hrs.; $5,331...........................  5,300 hrs.; $565,086......................         $10,662
Market-Based Rates.\4\                                 1               1               1  350 hrs.; $37,317.........................  350 hrs.; $37,317.........................          37,317
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    Total...............................  ..............  ..............             107  ..........................................  5,650 hrs.;$602,403.......................  ..............
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                                                 Record Retention Requirements for Holders of Blanket Marketing or Unbundled Sales Certificates
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                                                           Annual number
          Labor burden and cost              Number of     of responses    Total number       Average burden hrs. & cost ($) per       Total annual burden hours & total annual      Cost per
                                            respondents   per respondent   of responses                    response                               cost ($) (rounded)              respondent ($)
                                                     (1)             (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4).......................................  (3) * (4) = (5)...........................       (5) / (1)
                                                                                     (3)
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Code of Conduct (record-keeping).5 6                 319               1             319  1 hr.; $33.39.............................  319 hrs.; $10,651.........................          $33.39
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    Total...............................  ..............  ..............             319  ..........................................  319 hrs.; $10,651.........................  ..............
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 Storage Cost for Record Retention Requirements for Holders of Blanket Marketing or Unbundled Sales Certificates
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                                                                   Total number    Cost ($) per    Total annual
                                                                   of responses     respondent       cost ($)
                                                                     (1) * (2) =             (4)     (3) * (4) =
                                                                             (3)                             (5)
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Paper Storage...................................................             319          $80.75      $25,759.25
Electronic Storage..............................................             319            3.18        1,014.42
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    Total Storage Cost..........................................             319  ..............       26,773.67
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    Storage Cost: \7\ In addition to the burden and cost for labor, the 
table above reflects an additional cost for record retention and 
storage:
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    \2\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the 
following formula: Average Burden Hours per Response * $106.62 per 
Hour = Average Cost per Response. The hourly average of $106.62 (for 
wages and benefits) assumes equal time is spent by an economist and 
lawyer. The average hourly cost (for wages plus benefits) is: $70.38 
for economists (occupation code 19-3011) and $142.86 for lawyers 
(occupation code 23-0000). (The figures are taken from the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics, May 2018 figures at https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm.)
    \3\ The entities affected by 18 CFR 284.123(b) and (e) are 
intrastate pipelines. Interstate and intrastate pipelines are 
affected by 18 CFR 284.102(e). Since 2016, the Commission has not 
received any filings under 18 CFR 284.102(e).
    \4\ 18 CFR 284.501-505.
    \5\ 18 CFR 284.288 and 284.403.
    \6\ For the Code of Conduct record-keeping, the $33.39 hourly 
cost figure comes from the average cost (wages plus benefits) of a 
file clerk (Occupation Code 43-4071) as posted on the BLS website 
(https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm).
    \7\ Each of the 319 entities is assumed to have both paper and 
electronic record retention. Internal analysis assumes 50% paper 
storage and 50% electronic storage.
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     Paper storage costs (using an estimate of 12.5 cubic feet 
x $6.46 per cubic foot): $80.75 per respondent annually. Total annual 
paper storage cost to industry ($80.75 x 319 respondents): $25,759.25. 
This estimate assumes that a respondent stores 12.5 cubic feet of 
paper. We expect that this

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estimate should trend downward over time as more companies move away 
from paper storage and rely more heavily on electronic storage.
     Electronic storage costs: $3.18 per respondent annually. 
Total annual electronic storage cost to industry ($3.18 x 319 
respondents): $1,014.42. This calculation estimates storage of 
approximately 200 MB per year with a cost of $3.18. We expect that this 
estimate should trend downward over time as the cost of electronic 
storage technology, including cloud storage, continues to decrease. For 
example, external hard drives of approximately 500GB are available for 
approximately $50. In addition, cloud storage plans from multiple 
providers for 1TB of storage (with a reasonable amount of requests and 
data transfers) are available for less than $35 per month.
    Comments: Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Commission, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden and 
cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.

    Dated: December 26, 2019.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-28298 Filed 12-31-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P