[Federal Register: October 6, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 194)]
[Notices]
[Page 59097-59098]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06oc06-48]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[IC06-592-001, FERC 592]
Commission Information Collection Activities, Proposed
Collection; Comment Request; Extension
September 29, 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 July 26, 2006 (71 FR 42369-42370) and has made this
notation in its submission to OMB.
DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due by October 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 an 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. IC06-592-001.
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 592 ``Marketing Affiliates of
Interstate Pipelines''.
2. Sponsor: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
3. Control No.: 1902-0157.
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, 7, 8, 10, 14, 16, and 20 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) 15 U.S.C.
717-717w and Title II, section 311 and sections 501 and 504 of the
Natural Gas Policy Act (Pub. L. 95-621).
The FERC-592 requirements apply to ``Transmission Providers'' who
are defined as any interstate natural gas pipeline that transports gas
for others, subject to the Natural Gas Act (i.e., pursuant to subpart A
of part 157 or subparts B or G of part 284). See 18 CFR 358.3(a)(1) and
(2). A Transmission Provider does not include a natural gas storage
provider authorized to charge market-based rates that is not
interconnected with the jurisdictional facilities of any affiliated
interstate natural gas pipeline, has no exclusive franchise area, no
captive ratepayers or no market power, 18 CFR 358.3(a)(3).
Initially, FERC-592 was adopted when the Commission issued the
Standards of Conduct in Order No. 497, 53 FR 22161, June 14, 1988. The
Standards of Conduct prevent Transmission Providers from discriminating
against non-affiliated shippers or from granting undue preferences to
their marketing affiliates. In response to growing competition in the
natural gas marketplace and to further ensure that it could monitor
transactions for the exercise of market power, the Commission revised
its reporting requirements in Order No. 637, 65 FR 10219, on February
25, 2000. The Commission required pipelines to post more transmission
information on their Internet websites to improve transparency of
transmission information.
With the revisions in Order No. 637, the Commission also eliminated
many of the requirements of the original FERC-592s. First the
Commission eliminated the requirement to submit
[[Page 59098]]
the FERC-592 information to the Commission. Second the Commission
eliminated many of the items required under the FERC-592 requirements
and retained only two requirements: (1) a pipeline must retain
information pertaining to discounts (affiliated and non-affiliated)
and, (2) if a pipeline relies on contract information or other data to
allocate capacity, it must maintain a log of that information for all
shippers (affiliated and non-affiliated).
In November 2003, the Commission enhanced and expanded the
Standards of Conduct in Order No. 2004 and subsequently in Order Nos.
2004-A, B, C, and D. However, Order No. 2004 did not substantively
change the FERC-592 requirements, which applies only to natural gas
Transmission Providers.
While there are many different requirements under the Standards of
Conduct, the basic requirements are that a Transmission Provider must:
(1) function independently from its Marketing and Energy Affiliates;
and (2) must treat all transmission customers, affiliated and non-
affiliated, on a non-discriminatory basis and may not operate its
transmission system to preferentially benefit its Marketing or Energy
Affiliates. See 18 CFR 358.2.
This information contained in the FERC-592s is used by the
Commission, market participants and state commissions to monitor for
undue discrimination by pipeline companies in favor of their marketing
affiliates and in some cases, this information is used in formal
proceedings following the filing of a complaint.
5. Respondent Description: The respondent universe currently
comprises 85 companies (on average) subject to the Commission's
jurisdiction.
6. Estimated Burden: 9,913 total hours, 85 respondents (average), 1
response per respondent, and 117 hours per response (average).
7. Estimated Cost Burden to Respondents: 9,913 hours/2080 hours per
years x $117,321 per year = $559,136. The cost per respondent is equal
to $6,578.
Statutory Authority: Statutory provisions of sections 4, 5, 7, 8,
10, 14, 16, and 20 of the Natural Gas Act (NPA) 15 U.S.C. 717-717w and
Title II, section 311 and sections 501 and 504 of the Natural Gas
Policy Act (Pub. L. 95-621).
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-16533 Filed 10-5-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P