2012-28747. Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-592); Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY:

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Energy.

ACTION:

Notice of information collection and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) is soliciting public comment on the currently approved information collection, Standards of Conduct for Transmission Provider; and Marketing Affiliates of Interstate Pipelines.

DATES:

Comments on the collection of information are due January 28, 2013.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC13-1-000) by either of the following methods:

• eFiling at Commission's Web Site: http://www.ferc.gov/​docs-filing/​efiling.asp.
• Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.

Instructions: All submissions must be formatted and filed in accordance with submission guidelines at: http://www.ferc.gov/​help/​submission-guide.asp. For user assistance contact FERC Online Support by email at [e-mail], or by phone at: [phone] (toll-free), or [phone] for TTY.

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 http://www.ferc.gov/​docs-filing/​docs-filing.asp.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: FERC-592, Standards of Conduct for Transmission Providers; and Marketing Affiliates of Interstate Pipelines.

OMB Control No.: 1 902-0157.

Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-592 information collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting requirements.

Abstract: The Commission uses the information maintained and posted by the respondents to monitor the pipeline's transportation, sales, and storage activities for its marketing affiliate to deter undue discrimination by pipeline companies in favor of their marketing affiliates. Non-affiliated shippers and other entities (e.g. state commissions) also use information to determine whether they have been harmed by affiliate preference and to prepare evidence for proceedings following the filing of a complaint.

18 CFR Part 358 (Standards of Conduct)

Respondents maintain and provide the information required by Part 358 on their Internet Web sites. When the Commission requires a pipeline to post information on its Web site following a disclosure of non-public information to its marketing affiliate, non-affiliated shippers obtain comparable access to the non-public transportation information, which allows them to compete with marketing affiliates on a more equal basis.

18 CFR 250.16, and the FERC-592 Log/Format

This form (log/format) provides the electronic formats for maintaining information on discounted transportation transactions and capacity allocation to support monitoring of activities of interstate pipeline marketing affiliates. Commission staff considers discounts given to shippers in litigated rate cases.

Without this information collection:

• The Commission would be unable to effectively monitor whether pipelines are giving discriminatory preference to their marketing affiliates; and
• Non-affiliated shippers and state commissions and others would be unable to determine if they have been harmed by affiliate preference or prepare evidence for proceedings following the filing of a complaint.

Type of Respondents: Natural gas pipelines.

Estimate of Annual Burden ^[1] : The Commission estimates the total Public Reporting Burden for this information collection as:

	Number of respondents	Number of responses per respondent	Total number of responses	Average burden hours per response	Estimated total annual burden
	(A)	(B)	(A) × (B) = (C)	(D)	(C) × (D)
18 CFR 358	85	1	85	116.62	9,913
18 CFR 250.16
FERC Form No. 592

The total estimated annual cost burden to respondents is $684,092 [9,913 hours ÷ 2,080 ^[2] hours/year = 4.76586 * $143,540/year ^[3] = $684,092].

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: November 20, 2012.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  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, reference 5 Code of Federal Regulations 1320.3.

2.  2080 hours/year = 40 hours/week * 52 weeks/year.

3.  Average annual salary per employee in 2012.