2023-01321. Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-551) Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY:

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION:

Notice of information collection and request for comments.

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 a renewal of currently approved information collection, FERC-551, (Reporting of Flow Volume and Capacity by Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines), which will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. No Comments were received on the 60-day notice published on September 29, 2022.

DATES:

Comments on the collection of information are due February 23, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Send written comments on FERC-551 to OMB through www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Desk Officer. Please identify the OMB Control Number (1902-0243) in the subject line of your comments. Comments should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain.

Please submit copies of your comments to the Commission. You may submit copies of your comments (identified by Docket No. IC22-32-000) by one of the following methods:

Electronic filing through https://www.ferc.gov, is preferred.

• Electronic Filing: Documents must be filed in acceptable native applications and print-to-PDF, but not in scanned or picture format.

• For those unable to file electronically, comments may be filed by USPS mail or by hand (including courier) delivery.

○ Mail via U.S. Postal Service Only: Addressed to: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.

○ Hand (Including Courier) Delivery: Deliver to: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852.

Instructions: OMB submissions must be formatted and filed in accordance with submission guidelines at www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Using the search function under the “Currently Under Review” field, select Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; click “submit,” and select “comment” to the right of the subject collection.

FERC submissions must be formatted and filed in accordance with submission guidelines at: https://www.ferc.gov. For user assistance, contact FERC Online Support by email at [e-mail], or by phone at: [phone] (toll-free).

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/​ferc-online/​overview.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ellen Brown may be reached by email at [e-mail], telephone at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

> Title: FERC-551, Reporting of Flow Volume and Capacity by Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines.

OMB Control No.: 1902-0243.

Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-551 information collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting requirements.

Abstract: The Commission is authorized to facilitate price transparency in markets for the sale or transportation of natural gas in interstate commerce, regarding the public interest, the integrity of those markets, fair competition, and the protection of consumers. FERC-551 uses the information provided by pipelines as part of its overall implementation of the statutory provisions of section 23 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) and 16 U.S.C. 717t-2. More specifically, the Commission relies, in part, on section 23(a)(1) of the NGA, for the authority to collect this information and uses the pipelines' FERC-551 postings as part of fulfilling the transparency provisions of section 23(a)(1) of the NGA. The data requirements for pipelines are listed in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR 284.13 (Reporting requirements for interstate pipelines). The Commission has directed that the data requirements under FERC-551 are to be posted on interstate pipelines' websites and provided in downloadable file formats, in conformity with 18 CFR 284.12.

The posting requirements are based on the Commission's authority under section 23 of the NGA (as added by the Energy Policy Act of 2005), which provides, in relevant part, that the Commission may issue such rules as necessary and appropriate to provide for the dissemination of “information about the availability and prices of natural gas at wholesale and in interstate commerce.” ^[1] This provision enhances the Commission's authority to ensure confidence in the Nation's natural gas markets. The Commission's market-oriented policies for the wholesale natural gas industry require that interested persons have broad confidence that reported market prices accurately reflect the interplay of legitimate market forces. Without confidence in the efficiency of price formation, the true value of transactions is very difficult to determine. Further, price transparency facilitates ensuring that jurisdictional prices are “just and reasonable.” ^[2]

The posting of FERC-551 information occurs on a daily basis. The data must be available for download for not less than 90 days from the date of posting and must be retained by the pipeline for three years.

The daily posting requirements for major non-interstate pipelines prescribed in the Commission's Order No. 720 are no longer required. The number of respondents used to develop the burden estimates do not include any major non-interstate pipelines.

Type of Respondents: Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines.

Estimate of Annual Burden:  ^[3] The Commission estimates the total public reporting burden and cost for this information collection as follows:

FERC-551—Reporting of Flow Volume and Capacity by Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines

	Number of respondents	Annual number of responses per respondent	Total number of responses	Average burden & cost per response 4	Total annual burden hours & total annual cost	Burden hours & cost per respondent ($)
	(1)	(2)	(1) * (2) = (3)	(4)	(3) * (4) = (5)	(5) ÷ (1)
FERC-551	181	365	66,065	0.5 hours; $37	33,032.50 hrs.; $2,444,405	182.5 hrs.; $13,505.

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: January 18, 2023.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  Section 23(a)(2) of the NGA, 15 U.S.C. 717t-2(a)(2) (2000 & Supp. V 2005).

2.   See sections 4 and 5 of the NGA, 15 U.S.C. 717c and 717d.

3. 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. For further explanation of what is included in the information collection burden, refer to 5 CFR 1320.3.

4.  The hourly figure (wages plus benefits) is based on the average of the occupational categories for 2022 found on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website ( http://www.bls.gov/​oes/​current/​naics2_​22.htm and http://www.bls.gov/​news.release/​ecec.nr0.htm):

—Management (Occupation Code: 11-0000): $102.41.

—Business (Occupation Code: 13-0000): $47.71.

—Financial (Occupation Code: 13-2051): $70.68.

These various occupational categories' wage (and benefits) figures are averaged and weighted equally, giving an average of $73.60/hour. The resulting wage figure is rounded to $74.00/hour for use in calculating wage figures in the FERC-551 renewal.