[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 59 (Monday, March 29, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14891-14893]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-7647]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Energy Information Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
AGENCY: Energy Information Administration, DOE.
ACTION: Agency information collection activities: Proposed collection;
comment request.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is soliciting
comments on the proposed extensions and revisions of the Natural Gas
Program Package Forms: EIA-176, ``Annual Report of Natural and
Supplemental Gas Supply and Disposition;'' EIA-191, ``Monthly
Underground Gas Storage Report;'' EIA-857, ``Monthly Report of Natural
Gas Purchases and Deliveries to Consumers;'' and EIA-895, ``Monthly
Quantity of Natural Gas Report.'' In addition, EIA proposes extensions
without revision of the EIA-191S, ``Weekly Underground Gas Storage
Report (Standby Form),'' and EIA-857S, ``Weekly Report of Natural Gas
Supplies and Deliveries to Consumers (Standby Form).''
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before May 28, 1999. If
you anticipate difficulty in submitting comments within the 60 days,
contact the person identified below as soon as possible.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Margaret Natof, Energy Information
Administration, Office of Oil and Gas, Natural Gas Division, EI-44,
Forrestal Building, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C. 20585.
Alternatively, Ms. Natof may be reached by phone at 202-586-6303, by e-
mail at margaret.natof@eia.doe.gov, or by FAX at 202-585-4420.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
copies of the form and instructions should be directed to Ms. Natof at
the address listed above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
II. Current Actions
III. Request for Comments
[[Page 14892]]
I. Background
The Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-275, 15
U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the Department of Energy Organization Act (Pub.
L. No. 95-91, 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) requires the Energy Information
Administration (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 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) for the collections under section 3507(h) of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995.
The individual forms are discussed in detail below:
Form EIA-176, ``Annual Report of Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply
and Disposition''
The Form EIA-176 provides the EIA with the major elements of
information required in conjunction with data collected in other EIA
surveys to develop gas supply and disposition balances and relevant
cost, price, and related information at the State level.
The information collected on the Form EIA-176 is needed and used
for the following purposes:
(1) To develop and make available to Congress, the States, and the
public an accurate quantified overview of the supply of natural and
supplemental gas available to each of the various States from all
sources both internal and external to the State, and the manner in
which such supply was utilized or otherwise disposed of,
(2) To determine the quantity of natural and supplemental gas
consumed within each of the various States by market sector, the
average prices for such gas, and the changes in consumption and price
patterns over time, and
(3) For various EIA publications (including the Natural Gas Annual
(NGA), Natural Gas Monthly (NGM), Annual Energy Review (AER), Annual
Energy Outlook (AEO), Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO), and the Monthly
Energy Review (MER), which are widely used by both public and private
individuals and organizations.
EIA-191, ``Monthly Underground Gas Storage Report'
Form EIA-191 requests monthly data on the location, capacity, and
operations of all active underground natural gas storage fields.
Storage data are a critical link in understanding the deliverability of
the natural gas system of the United States and overall system
operations.
The information collected on Form EIA-191 will be used in the
following ways:
(1) To provide State-level data on underground natural gas storage
with respect to injections, withdrawals, inventories, type of storage
facility, location of facilities, and capacity for the EIA's NGM, MER,
and AER. This monthly data collection also provides reliable baseline
data on storage operations necessary for analyses, modeling, and
comparison with normal industry operations in cases of severe weather,
natural disaster, or other extreme circumstances,
(2) To provide data on underground natural gas storage inventories
for the EIA's AEO and STEO, and
(3) To provide data on all aspects of underground natural gas
storage to enable EIA and other elements of DOE to identify and assess
the supplies of gas in storage by geographic location.
EIA-857, ``Monthly Report of Natural Gas Purchases and Deliveries to
Consumers
Monthly State-level data collected on Form EIA-857 consist of the
average price of natural gas purchased by local distribution companies
at their citygates, consumption of natural gas by sector, and average
price by sector. These data are necessary to provide timely information
needed to measure the combined impact of government, industry, and
consumer actions; geographic location; interfuel competition; climatic
conditions; and a host of other factors upon the natural gas industry
and natural gas consumers.
The data collected on the Form EIA-857 are used to develop
information for publication in EIA's NGM and MER, and to make the data
available to Congress, State governments, industry, and the public.
Form EIA-895, ``Monthly Quantity of Natural Gas Report''
Form EIA-895 collects monthly information from the appropriate
State agencies concerning natural gas production. It provides details
on gross withdrawals from gas and oil wells, on volumes vented and
flared, used for repressuring, nonhydrocarbon gases removed, used as
fuel on leases, and the amount of natural gas available for marketing.
These data are routinely collected by the States for taxation and
statistical purposes. The aggregate data are published in the NGM, NGA,
MER, and AER.
Standby Forms EIA-857S, ``Weekly Report of Natural Gas Supplies and
Deliveries to Consumers,'' and EIA-191S, ``Weekly Underground Gas
Storage Report''
The standby Forms EIA-857S and EIA-191S are designed to fill gaps
in the natural gas data collections where monthly data are not
sufficient for informed responses to natural disasters, severe weather,
or other catastrophic events. The data would permit EIA to monitor the
impact of regional disruptions on a weekly basis when the EIA
Administrator determines that conditions or events warrant more
frequent data.
Data elements are similar to those on the ``parent'' Forms EIA-857
and EIA-191, except the weekly forms are simplified to the maximum
extent possible. The standby forms are intended only for use as
determined necessary in extreme situations. EIA would notify OMB of the
intent to use the form(s), the region(s) affected, and the estimated
burden before EIA would begin using the forms.
II. Current Actions
This notice includes a request for a three-year extension of all
previously approved Natural Gas Program Package forms. EIA is proposing
modifications to the Form EIA-176 and its instructions to simplify the
form and instructions, clarify terms used in the form and instructions,
change the reporting deadlines, collapse certain reporting categories,
require the reporting of transportation revenues, and eliminate the
short form. Proposed changes to Form EIA-857 include simplification and
clarification of the form and its instructions, collapsing of certain
data reporting lines, and a requirement for reporting of transportation
revenues. For Forms EIA-191, and EIA-895, EIA is proposing minimal
clarifications to the instructions. No changes are proposed
[[Page 14893]]
for the standby Forms EIA-857S and EIA-191S.
Significant changes proposed for the Form EIA-176 include:
(1) Changing the filing date from April 1 to March 1 following the
end of the report year,
(2) Changing the extension-for-filing date from May 15 to April 1,
(3) Simplifying and clarifying the instructions, reporting
requirements, and definitions of terms,
(4) Eliminating the requirement to distinguish between firm and
interruptible deliveries, whether sold and delivered directly to
consumers (Part V, line 5.4.1 through 5.4.6) or transported and
delivered to consumers for the account of others (Part V, lines 7.4.1
through 7.4.6),
(5) Eliminating the requirement to distinguish between gas volumes
delivered to commercial or industrial consumers having nonutility
generation of electricity from those not generating electricity,
whether sold and delivered directly to consumers (Part V, lines 5.4.2
and 5.4.3) or transported and delivered to consumers for the account of
others (Part V, lines 7.4.2 and 7.4.3),
(6) Adding a requirement to report the cost or revenue for data
items in Part V, 7.4.1 through 7.4.6, ``Transported and delivered to
consumers for the account of others,'' and
(7) Eliminating the short form version of the EIA-176.
Significant proposed changes to the Form EIA-857 include:
(1) Simplifying and clarifying the instructions, reporting
requirements, and definitions of terms,
(2) Eliminating the requirement for respondents to distinguish
between gas volumes delivered to commercial or industrial consumers
having nonutility generation of electricity, whether sold and delivered
directly to consumers (lines 7 through 10) or transported and delivered
by consumers for the account of others (lines 14 through 17), and
(3) Adding a requirement to report revenues for all volumes of gas
transported and delivered for the account of others to residential,
commercial, or industrial consumers (lines 13 though 18).
III. Request for Comments
Prospective respondents and other interested persons are invited to
comment on the actions discussed in item II. The following guidelines
are provided to assist in the preparation of comments. Please indicate
to which form(s) your comments apply.
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
A. Are the instructions and definitions clear and sufficient? If
not, which instructions require clarification?
B. Can information be submitted by the due date?
C. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to
average 20 hours for the annual EIA-176, 2 hours per month for the EIA-
191, 3 hours per month for the EIA-857, and \1/2\ hour per month for
the EIA-895. Burden estimates for the Forms EIA-857S and EIA-191S would
be determined and reported to the Office of Management and Budget at
such time as the need to collect those data were invoked by the
Administrator. The estimated burden includes the total time, effort, or
financial resources expended to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose
or provide the information.
Please comment on (1) the accuracy of the agency's estimate and (2)
how the agency could minimize the burden of the collecting this
information, including the use of information technology.
D. The agency estimates respondents will incur no additional costs
for reporting other than the hours required to complete the collection.
What is the estimated: (1) Total dollar amount annualized for capital
and start-up costs; and (2) recurring annual costs of operation and
maintenance, and purchase of services associated with this data
collection?
E. 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
A. Is the information useful at the levels of detail indicated on
the form?
B. For what purpose(s) would the information be used? Be specific.
C. Are there alternate sources for the information and are they
useful? If so, what are their deficiencies 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.
Statutory Authority: Sec. 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. No. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).
Issued in Washington, DC, March 23, 1999.
Lynda T. Carlson,
Director, Statistics and Methods Group, Energy Information
Administration.
[FR Doc. 99-7647 Filed 3-26-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
