01-13093. Revisions to Oil Pipeline Regulations Pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 1992

Issued May 18, 2001.

AGENCY:

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION:

Notice of Annual Change in the Producer Price Index for Finished Goods, Minus One Percent.

SUMMARY:

The Commission is issuing the index that oil pipelines must apply to their July 1, 2000-June 30, 2001 index ceiling levels to compute their index ceiling levels for the period July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002, in accordance with 18 CFR 342.3(d). This index, which is the percent change (expressed as a decimal) in the annual average Producer Price Index for Finished Goods from 1999 to 2000, minus one percent, is 0.027594. Oil pipelines must multiply their July 1, 2000-June 30, 2001 index ceiling levels by 1.027594 to compute their index ceiling levels for the period July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David Ulevich, Office of Markets, Tariffs, and Rates, Corporate Applications, Group 2, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 208-0678.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notice of Annual Change in The Producer Price Index For Finished Goods, Minus One Percent

The Commission's regulations include a methodology for oil pipelines to change their rates through use of an index system that established ceiling levels for such rates. The index system as set forth at 18 CFR 342.3 is based on the annual change in the Producer Price Index for Finished Goods (PPI-FG), minus one percent. The regulations provide that each year the Commission will publish an index reflecting the final change in the PPI-FG, minus one percent, after the final PPI-FG is made available by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in May of each calendar year.

The annual average PPI-FG index figure for 1999 was 133.0 and the annual average PPI-FG index figure for 2000 was 138.0.^[1] Thus, the percent change (expressed as a decimal) in the annual average PPI-FG from 1999 to 2000, minus one percent, is 0.027594.^[2] Oil pipelines must multiply their July 1, 2000-June 30, 2001 index ceiling levels by 1.027594 ^[3] to compute their index ceiling levels for the period July 1, 2001, through June 30, 2002, in accordance with 18 CFR 342.3(d). For guidance in calculating the ceiling levels for each period beginning January 1, 1995,^[4] see Explorer Pipeline Company, 71 FERC ¶ 61,416 at n.6 (1995).

Document Availability

In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the Federal Register, the Commission also provides all interested persons an opportunity to inspect or copy the contents of this document during normal business hours in the Public Reference Room at 888 First Street, N.E., Room 2A, Washington, D.C. 20426.

The Commission Issuance Posting System (CIPS) provides access to the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission from November 14, 1994, to the present. CIPS can be accessed via Internet through FERC's Home Page (http://www.ferc.fed.us) on CIPS in ASCII and WordPerfect 6.1. User assistance is available at 202-208-2222 or by E-mail to [e-mail].

This document is also available through the Commission's Records and Information Management System (RIMS), an electronic storage and retrieval system of documents submitted to and issued by the Commission after November 16, 1981. Documents from November 1995 to the present can be viewed and printed. RIMS is available in the Public Reference Room or remotely via Internet through FERC's Home Page using the RIMS link or the Energy Information Online icon. User assistance is available at 202-208-2222, or by E-mail to [e-mail].

Finally, the complete text on diskette in WordPerfect format may be purchased from the Commission's copy contract; RVJ International, Inc. RVJ International, Inc. is located in the Public Reference Room at 888 First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  The final figure for the annual average PPI-FG is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in mid-May of each year. This figure is publicly available from the Division of Industrial Prices and Price Indexes of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, at [phone], and is available in print in August in Table 1 of the annual data supplement to the BLS publication Producer Price Indexes. The PPI data are also available via the Internet. The Internet address is <http://www.fedstats.gov>. This site contains data from a number of government agencies; to obtain the BLS data, click on agencies, then click on Bureau of Labor Statistics, then click on data, Most Requested Series, scroll to Producer Price Indexes-Commodities (Finished Goods), for the latest available data.

2.  [138.0 −133.0] / 133.0 = 0.037594 −.01 = 0.027594.

3.  1 + 0.027594 = 1.027594.

4.  For a listing of all prior multipliers issued by the Commission, see the Commission's website, www.ferc.fed.us. The table of multipliers can be found under the headings “Oil” and “Index.”