[Federal Register: July 13, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 134)]
[Notices]
[Page 39676-39677]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13jy06-65]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[IC06-544-001, FERC-544]
Commission Information Collection Activities, Proposed
Collection; Comment Request; Extension
June 27, 2006.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of section 3507 of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507, the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (Commission) has submitted the information
collection described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for review and extension of this information collection requirement.
Any interested person may file comments directly with OMB and should
address a copy of those comments to the Commission as explained below.
The Commission received no comments in response to an earlier Federal
Register notice of March 17, 2006 (71 FR 13819-13820) and has made this
notation in its submission to OMB.
DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due by July 31,
2006.
ADDRESSES: Address comments on the collection of information to the
Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Desk Officer.
Comments to OMB should be filed electronically, c/o
oira_submission@omb.eop.gov and include the OMB Control No. as a point of
reference. The Desk Officer may be reached by telephone at 202-395-
4650. A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, Office of the Executive Director, ED-34,
Attention: Michael Miller, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
Comments may be filed either in paper format or electronically. Those
persons filing electronically do not need to make a paper filing. For
paper filings, and original and 14 copies of such comments should be
submitted to the Secretary of the Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426 and should
refer to Docket No. IC06-544-001.
Documents filed electronically via the Internet must be prepared in
WordPerfect, MS Word, Portable Document Format, or ASCII format. To
file the document, access the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov
and click on ``Make an E-Filing,'' and then follow the
instructions for each screen. First time users will have to establish a
user name and password. The Commission will send an automatic
acknowledgement to the sender's e-mail address upon receipt of
comments. User assistance for electronic filings is available at 202-
502-8258 or by e-mail to efiling@ferc.gov. Comments should not be
submitted to this e-mail address.
All comments may be viewed, printed or downloaded remotely via the
Internet through FERC's homepage using the ``eLibrary'' link. Enter the
docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number
field to access the document. For user assistance, contact
FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll-free at (866) 208-3676, or for TTY,
contact (202) 502-8659.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Miller may be reached by
telephone at (202) 502-8415, by fax at (202) 273-0873, and by e-mail at
michael.miller@ferc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Description
The information collection submitted for OMB review contains the
following:
1. Collection of Information: FERC-544 ``Gas Pipeline Rates: Rate
Change (Formal).''
2. Sponsor: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
3. Control No. 1902-0153.
The Commission is now requesting that OMB approve and extend the
expiration date for an additional three years with no changes to the
existing collection. The information filed with the Commission is
mandatory.
4. Necessity of the Collection of Information: Submission of the
information is necessary for the Commission to carry out its
responsibilities in implementing the statutory provisions of sections
4, 5, and 16 of the Natural Gas Act (U.S.C. 717c-717o, Pub. L. 75-688).
The Commission implements FERC-544 filing requirements in the Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR part 154.
General rate change applications filed under section 4(e) of the
Natural Gas
[[Page 39677]]
Act reflect changes in rates based generally upon changes in the
pipeline company's overall costs of providing service. Staff analyses
are performed to determine whether the proposed rates and charges are
consistent with the Commission's statutory responsibilities, policies,
conditions. A preliminary review and report to the Commission of all
changes filed under the NGA must be made by staff. Based upon the
report, the Commission determines whether the filing should be accepted
or suspended and set for hearing and investigation. 18 CFR 154.301-
154.313 govern the filing requirements for rate changes and define the
statements and schedules pipeline companies must file in support of
their proposed rates and changes. 18 CFR 154.205 governs the filing
requirements for changes relating to suspended tariffs, executed
agreements or parts thereof. 18 CFR 154.206 permits the proposed change
in rate, charge, classification or service to go into effect upon
motion of the jurisdictional gas pipeline at the expiration of the
suspension period or upon receipt of the motion, whichever is later.
Formal rate change filings (FERC-544) are suspended and set for
hearing. When the NGA Section 4(e) filing is suspended, the rate
becomes the subject of a hearing process and may go into effect subject
to refund with interest. All suspended filings that go through the
hearing process are considered formal cases and an investigation is
instituted to determine the reasonableness of the rate filing. If the
rates and charges are deemed unjust, unreasonable or unduly
discriminatory, the appropriate rate, charge or service condition is
ascertained. The formal proceeding is terminated by the issuance of a
final Commission order.
5. Respondent Description: The respondent universe currently
comprises 11 companies (on average) subject to the Commission's
jurisdiction.
6. Estimated Burden: 50,413 total hours, 11 respondents (average),
1 response per respondent, and 4,583 hours per response (average).
7. Estimated Cost Burden to respondents: 50,413 hours/2080 hours
per years x $117,321 per year = $2,843,511. The cost per respondent is
equal to $258,501.
Statutory Authority: Statutory provisions of sections 4, 5, and
16 of the Natural Gas Act (U.S.C. 717c-717o, Pub. L. 75-688). The
Commission implements FERC-544 filing requirements in the Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR part 154.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-10987 Filed 7-12-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P