In accordance with 5 CFR 1320, the information collection is approved for three years.
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
01/31/2016
36 Months From Approved
09/30/2013
161
0
630
14,490
0
922,660
0
0
0
[This is the first of 2 ICRs related to the final rule in RM96-1-037; the other ICR relates to FERC-545.]
The FERC-549C is affected because the Final Rule upgrades the Commission's current business practice and communications standards to the latest version 2.0 as approved by the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) Wholesale Gas Quadrant (WGQ). On March 4, 2011, NAESB filed a report informing the Commission that it had adopted and ratified Version 2.0 of its business practice standards applicable to natural gas pipelines. The Version 2.0 standards revised the Version 1.9 Standards to include: (1) standards to support gas-electric interdependency; (2) standards created for Capacity Release redesign due to the elimination of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) for Capacity Release Upload information; (3) standards to support the Electronic Delivery Mechanism (EDM); (4) standards to support the Customer Security Administration (CSA) Process; (5) standards for pipeline postings of information regarding waste heat; and (6) minor technical maintenance revisions designed to more efficiently process wholesale natural gas transactions.
All of the changes in the Final Rule are provided for under sections 4, 5, 8, 10 and 16 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) and Title III, section 311 of the Natural Gas Policy Act (NGPA).
In addition to the program change due to the Final Rule, the Commission is also removing from the FERC-549C burden inventory hours associated with implementation of previous versions of the standards, and is adjusting existing burden to account for the current number of applicable companies.
The decrease in number of responses in the 'adjustment' column of the Summary of Burden table is due to correcting the manner in which this collection had been submitted previously.
Previously, the Commission had estimated approximately 5 responses per respondent per year. Because the ongoing burden is associated with business practice standards and not with discrete reporting requirements, the Commission is using one response per year per respondent (161 total respondents).
The main reason for the significant reduction in the burden is the removal of hours associated with completed information collection requirements. There is also an increase in the burden due to an adjustment as well as the incorporation of the latest NAESB WGQ business practice standards. The provisions in the Final Rule upgrade the Commission's current business practices and communication standards by specifically: (1) adding and revising standards allowing the elimination of EDI requirements for Capacity Release Upload information; (2) creating and modifying existing information posting requirements for websites and browsers; (3) requiring pipelines to provide security information; (4) providing for the posting of information on waste heat recovery feasibility on the Internet; (5) modifying pipeline notice content and creating new pipeline notice types; and (6) creating standards to ensure NAESB data format is consistent with other data reporting via the Internet by using CSV.
The implementation of these data requirements will provide additional transparency to informational posting web sites and will improve communication standards, including gas-electric communications. The implementation of these standards and regulations will promote the additional efficiency and reliability of the gas industries' operations thereby helping the Commission to carry out its responsibilities under the Natural Gas Act of promoting the efficiency and reliability of the gas industries' operations. In addition, the Commission's Office of Enforcement will use the data for general industry oversight.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
FERC-549C (RM96-1-037) SS FINALv3.doc
USCODE-2011-title15-chap60-subchapIII-partB-sec3371.pdf
RM96-1-037 News Release 7-19-12.docx
Standards for Business Practices of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines