[Federal Register: May 10, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 90)]
[Notices]
[Page 25886-25888]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10my04-43]
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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.
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SUMMARY: The EIA is soliciting comments on the proposed revision to
Form EIA-910, ``Monthly Natural Gas Marketer Survey''. EIA is
requesting a revision to add seven States and the District of Columbia
to the survey frame, which consists of natural gas marketers.
DATES: Comments must be filed by July 9, 2004. If you anticipate
difficulty in submitting comments within that period, contact the
person listed below as soon as possible.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Elizabeth Campbell, Director of the Natural
Gas Division. To ensure receipt of the comments by the due date,
submission by FAX at (202) 586-4420 or e-mail at
elizabeth.campbell@eia.doe.gov is recommended. The mailing address is:
Elizabeth Campbell, Director, Natural Gas Division, Forrestal Building,
EI-44, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC 20585. Alternatively,
Ms. Campbell may be contacted by telephone at (202) 586-5590.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
copies of any forms and instructions should be directed to Ms. Campbell
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 (Pub. L. No. 93-275,
15 U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the DOE Organization Act (Pub. L. No. 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
[[Page 25887]]
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 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), provides
the general public and other Federal agencies with opportunities to
comment on collections of energy information conducted by or in
conjunction with the EIA. Any comments received help the EIA to prepare
data requests that maximize the utility of the information collected,
and to assess the impact of collection requirements on the public.
Also, the EIA will later seek approval by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) under section 3507(a) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995.
The EIA has been conducting the survey, Form EIA-910, ``Monthly
Natural Gas Marketer Survey,'' since August 2001 in the States of
Georgia, Maryland, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The survey collects
information from natural gas marketers on the number of customers,
volume, and revenue of natural gas sold to residential and commercial
end-use customers. The data collected on the EIA-910 is combined with
data collected from gas utility companies on Form EIA-857, ``Monthly
Report of Natural Gas Purchases and Deliveries''. The combined data are
published as residential and commercial sector prices in the Natural
Gas Monthly and Natural Gas Annual available at http://www.eia.doe.gov.
These States were identified by EIA as having some of the highest
and most problematic levels of missing price data for the residential
and commercial consumer sectors due to the active customer programs
that allow customers to choose to purchase their gas from marketers
instead of local distribution or utility companies. Based upon the data
already collected on the EIA-910, EIA believes that customers purchase
natural gas from marketers because the customers expect to pay lower
prices for their gas than if the customers purchased the gas from the
local distribution companies or pipelines that deliver the gas.
Therefore, EIA's lack of coverage of sales by marketers may lead to
price estimates that are higher than the actual prices paid. This bias
in the data has serious implications for both public and private users
of EIA's data. The implementation of the EIA-910 data to EIA's price
estimates in the residential and commercial sectors in 2002 for the
States of Georgia, Maryland, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania has been
successful in raising the percent coverage of natural gas prices at the
national level from 92.2% in 2001 to 97.9% in 2002 in the residential
sector and from 65.8% in 2001 to 78.4% in 2002 in the commercial
sector.
Please refer to the proposed forms and instructions http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/natural_gas/survey_forms/nat_survey_forms.html
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 of the
information. For instructions on obtaining materials, see the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
II. Current Actions
EIA is requesting a revision to add seven States and the District
of Columbia to the survey frame. Currently, EIA-910 respondents in
Georgia, Maryland, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania report the number of
customers, volumes of natural gas sold, and revenues.
EIA is now proposing to expand the EIA-910 to include reporting in
Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Virginia, West
Virginia and the District of Columbia. The selection of the additional
States and the District of Columbia is based on the increasing
percentage of natural gas sold by marketers and growth patterns in
customer choice programs. This expansion of the EIA-910 survey will
lead to improved quality of the natural gas price data in the
residential and commercial sectors. For example, current published
prices in the commercial sector for the proposed new States and the
District of Columbia only represent 23 to 63 percent of commercial
volumes consumed in those areas. The addition of the new States and the
District of Columbia to the EIA-910 survey frame will bring the percent
of volumes represented by published prices in the commercial sector to
100 percent in those areas.
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.
General Issues
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? Practical utility is defined as the
actual usefulness of information to or for an agency, taking into
account its accuracy, adequacy, reliability, timeliness, and the
agency's ability to process the information it collects.
B. What enhancements can be made to the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be collected?
As a Potential Respondent to the Request for Information
A. What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize the
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information to be
collected?
B. Are the instructions and definitions clear and sufficient? If
not, which instructions need clarification?
C. Can the information be submitted by the due date?
D. Public reporting burden for this collection is currently
estimated to average two hours per monthly response per state.
Approximately 87 new responses are expected as a result of the addition
of these States and the District of Columbia, resulting in an increase
in total annual burden of 2,088 hours. The estimated burden includes
the total time necessary to provide the requested information. In your
opinion, how accurate is this estimate?
E. 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?
F. 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.
G. 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. What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize the
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information
disseminated?
B. Is the information useful at the levels of detail to be
collected?
C. For what purpose(s) would the information be used? Be specific.
D. 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.
[[Page 25888]]
Statutory Authority: Section 3507(h)(1) of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. No. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).
Issued in Washington, DC, May 4, 2004.
Nancy Kirkendall,
Director, Statistics and Methods Group, Energy Information
Administration.
[FR Doc. 04-10547 Filed 5-7-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P