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.
US Code:
15
USC 717-717w Name of Law: Natural Gas Act
US Code: 15
USC 3371 Name of Law: Natural Gas Policy Act
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