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Proposed Rules

Federal Register
Vol. 69, No. 141
Friday, July 23, 2004

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains notices to the public of the proposed
issuance of rules and regulations. The
purpose of these notices is to give interested
persons an opportunity to participate in the
rule making prior to the adoption of the final
rules.

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
18 CFR Parts 35, 131, 154, 157, 250,
281, 284, 300, 341, 344, 346, 347, 348,
375, and 385
[Docket No. RM01–5–000]

Electronic Tariff Filings
July 8, 2004.

Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking
and technical conference.
AGENCY:

SUMMARY: The Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission is proposing to
require that all tariffs and tariff revisions
and rate change applications for the
public utility, natural gas pipeline, and
oil pipeline industries, be filed

electronically via software provided by
the Commission. Upon the effective date
of a final rule in this proceeding, the
Commission will no longer accept tariff
filings submitted in paper format. This
endeavor is intended to improve the
administrative convenience for the
regulated entities, facilitate public
access to the tariffs, improve the overall
tariff management processes, and
facilitate the Commission’s and the
public’s analysis of proposed tariff
changes and tariff filings.
The Commission will make the
proposed tariff filing software available
on its Web site (http://www.ferc.gov)
shortly after this Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NOPR) is issued and is
seeking participation from the industry
in testing the software as well as
comments on its operation. Commission
staff will hold a technical conference
with the industry and the public to
assess the results of the testing.
DATES: Comments are due October 4,
2004.
Comments may be filed
electronically via the eFiling link on the
Commission’s Web site at http://
www.ferc.gov. Commenters unable to
file comments electronically must send

ADDRESSES:

an original and 14 copies of their
comments to: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, Office of the Secretary,
888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC
20426. Refer to the Comment
Procedures section of the preamble for
additional information on how to file
comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
H. Keith Pierce (Technical Information),
Office of Markets, Tariffs, and Rates,
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20426. (202) 502–
8525, [email protected].
Jamie Chabinsky (Legal Information),
Office of the General Counsel, Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888
First Street, NE., Washington, DC
20426. (202) 502–6040,
[email protected].
Bolton Pierce (Software Information),
Office of Markets, Tariffs, and Rates,
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20426. (202) 502–
8803, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Tariff Filings; Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Paragraph
No.
I. Background ...........................................................................................................................................................................................
II. Discussion ...........................................................................................................................................................................................
A. Scope ...........................................................................................................................................................................................
B. Tariff Sections ..............................................................................................................................................................................
C. Description of the Proposed Tariff Software ...............................................................................................................................
1. Tariff Creation and Submission ............................................................................................................................................
2. Tariff Text ..............................................................................................................................................................................
3. Meta Data ..............................................................................................................................................................................
4. Tariff Filing ............................................................................................................................................................................
5. Confidential Information ........................................................................................................................................................
6. Public Access to the Tariffs and Tariff Filings ......................................................................................................................
D. Proposed Transition Procedures .................................................................................................................................................
E. Proposed Changes to the Commission Regulations ...................................................................................................................
1. Notices of Cancellation, Termination, or Succession ...........................................................................................................
2. Withdrawal of Pending Tariff Filings and Amendments to Tariff Filings ..............................................................................
III. Prototype Testing ...............................................................................................................................................................................
IV. Comment Procedures ........................................................................................................................................................................
V. Information Collection Statement ........................................................................................................................................................
VI. Environmental Analysis ......................................................................................................................................................................
VII. Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification ..............................................................................................................................................
VIII. Document Availability .......................................................................................................................................................................

1. The Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (Commission) is proposing
to amend its regulations to mandate that

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utilities make their tariff and rate case
filings electronically with the
Commission, over the Internet, via

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11
14
16
32
33
34
39
41
47
48
51
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computer software provided by the
Commission. Electronically filed tariffs
and tariff changes should improve the

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efficiency and administrative
convenience of the tariff and tariff
change filing process, reduce the burden
and expense associated with paper
tariffs and paper tariff changes, facilitate
public access to tariff information,
improve the overall management of the
tariff and tariff change processes, and
facilitate the analysis of proposed tariff
changes. In addition, electronically filed
tariffs should improve access and
research capabilities within and among
applicants’ tariffs. This feature should
help facilitate the Commission’s
monitoring of energy markets, to the
benefit of the customers and all
involved. It also should enhance
competition within industries by
providing the customers and all
involved with an electronic means of
comparing the rates, terms and
conditions, and other provisions
applicable to the regulated entities.
2. After the issuance of this Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR), the
Commission will be posting on its
website instructions for downloading
the proposed software that the utilities
will use to make their tariff and rate
case filings. The Commission
encourages utilities to download the
proposed software to see how the
system will operate and to participate in
the Commission’s program for testing
the software.
I. Background
3. The Federal government has set a
goal to substitute electronic means of
communication and information storage
for paper. For example, the Government
Paperwork Elimination Act directed
agencies to provide for the optional use
and acceptance of electronic documents
and signatures, and electronic recordkeeping, where practical.1 Similarly, the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) Circular A–130 required agencies
to use electronic information collection
techniques, where such means will
reduce the burden on the public,
increase efficiency, reduce costs, and
help provide better service.2 This
requirement applies to all filings,
including tariff filings.
4. As part of its statutory
responsibilities, the Commission
requires regulated entities to file tariffs
which include, among other things,
their respective rates, and terms and
conditions of service.3 In addition, the
1 See 44 U.S.C. 3504(a)(1)(B)(vi); 44 U.S.C. 3504
note, Pub. L. 105–277, § 1704 (October 21, 1998).
2 Circular A–130, Para. 8.a.1(k).
3 A tariff is the compilation of any rates,
schedules, rate schedules, contracts, application,
rule, or similar matter that clearly and specifically
set forth all rates and charges for any services
subject to the jurisdiction of this Commission, the

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Commission regulations require
regulated entities that are amending
tariffs to file material accompanying the
proposed tariff changes. This material
can range from a filing including a letter
of transmittal, an explanation of the
basis of the filing, and a form of notice
to a full rate case filing, including
required schedules detailing the
derivation of the rates.
5. Currently, gas and electric tariffs
are filed at the Commission in the form
of numbered tariff sheets. When changes
to the tariffs are necessary, the
companies file substitute or revised
tariff sheets, which supersede the
effective tariff sheets on file.4 The use of
tariff sheets as the base unit for the tariff
allows for changes to be submitted to
the Commission without the necessity
of refiling the entire tariff.
6. Oil pipeline tariffs do not use the
tariff sheet format. The oil pipeline tariff
format consists of parts identified by
item numbers. Changes are filed either
as complete tariffs 5 or tariff
supplements.6 The changes being made
by the new filing are identified by the
item number, and can be revisions,
insertions, and cancellations.
7. The Commission has previously
undertaken changes to provide for
electronic submission of tariff filings
and other material. In 1988, the
Commission required natural gas
pipelines to file formatted electronic
versions of certain tariffs on diskette in
addition to filing paper copies. These
requirements retained the tariff page
concept. Each pipeline files
electronically only the tariff page or
pages that are being revised. In Order
No. 888, the Commission required that
public utilities submit a complete
electronic version of all open access
transmission tariffs and service
agreements in a word processor format,
with the diskette labeled as to the
format (including version) used,
initially and each time changes are filed.
The electronic filing requirements do
not extend to oil pipelines, which, to
this date, are required to file only paper
copies of their tariffs.
classifications, practices, rules and regulations
affecting such rates and charges and all contracts
which in any manner affect or relate to such rates,
charges, classifications, services, rules, regulations
or practices.
4 Such tariff pages are frequently identified using
the following nomenclature, as an example, Third
Revised Sheet No. 100, superseding Second Revised
Sheet No. 100.
5 For example, to indicate that a new tariff had
been filed to supersede an existing tariff, the tariff
would state: FERC No. 46 cancels FERC No. 45.
6 For example, a supplement filed to amend a
tariff could be identified as: Supplement No. 1 to
FERC No. 46.

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8. With respect to electronic filings,
the Commission, in Order No. 614,
stated that it was initiating a process
‘‘necessary to accommodate the
movement toward an integrated energy
industry and to facilitate the
development of common standards for
the electronic filing of all rate schedule
sheets.’’ 7 Order No. 614 required public
utilities to refile their tariffs to comply
with new formatting requirements,
including removing superceded tariff
language, extraneous provisions, and
items that were not subject to
Commission jurisdiction.8 These
refilings were to aid public utilities in
preparing their tariffs for conversion to
an electronic format. As another step in
moving towards electronic filing, the
Commission, in Order No. 2001,9
eliminated the requirement to file paper
copies of conforming service
agreements, but required the filing of an
electronic report that summarized the
contractual terms and conditions in the
service agreements.
9. At the same time, the Commission
has been expanding the scope of
electronic filing with respect to material
filed with the Commission.10 These
regulations permit electronic filing of
interventions, protests, rehearings, and
other material. But, to date, they do not
include materials filed to revise tariffs,
and except as discussed above, have not
provided for electronic filing of tariffs.
10. On March 14, 2001, the
Commission issued a Notice of Inquiry
and Informational Conference (NOI) in
this proceeding. The NOI requested
comments, from the electric, gas, oil,
and other regulated industries that file
tariffs, on several specific and general
issues.11 The NOI further provided for
the establishment of a staff
informational conference to discuss the
electronic tariff filing initiative. The
7 Designation of Electric Rate Schedule Sheets,
Order No. 614, 65 FR 18221, FERC Stats. & Regs.,
¶ 31,096 at 31,501 (2000).
8 E.g., Boston Edison Company, 98 FERC ¶ 61,292
(2002).
9 Revised Public Utility Filing Requirements,
Order No. 2001, 67 FR 31043, (May 8, 2002), FERC
Stats. & Regs., ¶ 31,127 (2002).
10 See Electronic Registration, Order No. 891, 67
FR 52406 (Aug. 12, 2002), FERC Stats. & Regs.
¶ 31,132 (2002); Electronic Filing of FERC Form 1,
Order No. 626, 67 FR 36093 (May 23, 2002), FERC
Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,130 (2002); Electronic Service of
Documents, 66 FR 50591 (Oct. 4, 2001), FERC Stats.
& Regs. ¶ 35,539 (2001); Revised Public Utility
Filing Requirements, Order No. 2001, 67 FR 31043
(May 8, 2002), FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,127 (2002);
Electronic Filing of Documents, Order No. 619, 65
FR 57088 (Sept. 21, 2000), FERC Stats. & Regs.
¶ 31,107 (2000); Electronic Notification of
Commission Issuances, Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking, 107 FERC ¶ 61,311 (2004).
11 Electronic Tariff Filings, 66 FR 15673 (March
20, 2001), FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 35,538 at 35,789–
91 (2001).

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Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 141 / Friday, July 23, 2004 / Proposed Rules
NOI requested comments on whether to
move to a section-based tariff, whether
to standardize tariffs, and the electronic
format to be used in filing tariffs. The
conference was held on April 24, 2001,
with interested members of the public
and industry in attendance.12
Comments on the NOI were filed by the
16 parties listed in Appendix A. Most of
the commenters responded to the issues
in general, with the majority opposing
any effort to standardize tariffs out of
concern about unintended tariff changes
that could result and the possibility that
such reorganization could spawn
burdensome proceedings to check and
resolve potential discrepancies.
II. Discussion
11. This NOPR represents a
continuation of the Commission’s efforts
to meet its responsibilities in
implementing the goals of the legislative
and executive branches of the Federal
government with respect to substituting
electronic means of communication and
information storage for paper means.
The benefits of this endeavor for all
involved, including the regulated
industries, the customers, state
commissions, parties to the proceedings,
the Commission and its staff, other
persons impacted by the tariffs and tariff
filings, and the general public, are
extensive. Thus, the primary
justifications for this NOPR are to reap
the benefits of electronic filing and
access and to implement the goals of the
legislative and executive branches of the
Federal government with respect to
moving towards the electronic filing of
documents.
12. The Commission is proposing in
this rule to require regulated entities
filing under parts 35, 154, 284, 300 and
34113 to make all tariff and rate filings,
as well as other material involved in
these proceedings, electronically.14
Requiring the provision of all tariff and
related material electronically will
provide easier access, including search
and copy and paste functionality, to all
such material. The Commission is
developing its own software to
12 Notice of the conference was published in the
Federal Register, 66 FR 17130 (March 29, 2001).
13 At this time, the Commission is not proposing
to include pro forma tariffs filed in certificate
proceedings under § 7, or import/export permission
under § 3, of the Natural Gas Act, although such
filings could be included at a later date. Compliance
tariff filings pursuant to findings made by the
Commission pursuant to §§ 3 and 7 of the NGA are
proposed to be subject to the electronic tariff
requirements.
14 These filings include, but are not limited to,
tariffs, rate schedules, and contracts, or parts
thereof, and material related thereto, cancellation,
termination or adoption of tariffs, statements,
workpapers, responses to data requests, compliance
filings, and rehearings.

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accommodate the tariff filings. This
software will be distributed via the
Commission’s Web site to all utilities
needing to make the filings. In order to
make their initial tariff compliance
filing, regulated entities will have to
electronically cut and paste their
existing tariffs into the software in order
to submit the material using the
Internet. As discussed below, the
Commission proposes some changes
from current practice to facilitate
electronic filing. The Commission is
proposing to change from the tariff-sheet
format to a section-based format, which
is better suited to electronic filing.15
Also, the Commission proposes to
standardize the process for withdrawals
of tariff filings and amendments to tariff
filings.
13. The Commission will discuss
below in greater detail the mechanism it
is proposing.
A. Scope
14. The companies or entities covered
by this NOPR are those that submit
tariffs, rates, or contracts with the
Commission pursuant to the Natural Gas
Act (NGA), the Natural Gas Policy Act
of 1978 (NGPA), the Federal Power Act
(FPA), the Interstate Commerce Act
(ICA), and any other relevant statutes.
Included among the companies or
entities proposed to be covered by
requirement are: Regional transmission
organizations (RTOs) and independent
system operators (ISOs); power
authorities and federal power marketing
administrations which file rates,
contracts, or tariffs at the Commission;
intrastate natural gas pipelines that file
rates and operating conditions pursuant
to the NGPA; interstate natural gas
pipelines subject to the NGA which
serve only an industrial customer; and
companies or entities that may make
voluntary tariff filings, such as
reciprocity filings pursuant to Order No.
888.
15. Further, to the extent that the
Commission has granted waivers to
regulated entities with respect to the
requirements that they file tariffs, rates,
rate schedules, and/or contracts in the
format required by our regulations, the
Commission is proposing to rescind
such waivers with the effectiveness of a
final rule in this proceeding. Those
entities would therefore be required to
refile their tariffs, rates, rate schedules,
and/or contracts consistent with the
electronic formatting requirements
proposed in this NOPR. This includes,
15 Commenters to the NOI objected to requiring a
reorganization of the tariff structure and the
Commission is not proposing any reorganization in
this NOPR.

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for example, part 284 negotiated rate
contracts that have been filed in lieu of
a tariff sheet under the Commission’s
negotiated rate policy,16 and pipelines
serving industrial customers that filed
transportation contracts.17 The
Commission’s objective is to have all
tariffs for all companies and industries
in the same format and available from
the same location without the need to go
to different places depending on the
industry or company at issue.
B.Tariff Sections
16. In order to make the process of
referencing and searching tariffs easier,
the Commission is proposing to replace
the traditional use of tariff sheets with
tariff sections as the basis for making
tariff revisions. Using the Commission’s
software, companies will be able to file
tariff revisions by filing to revise
specific tariff sections, or by adding or
removing tariff sections. As a result
companies will no longer file tariff
supplements to reflect tariff revisions,18
but instead will directly change the
tariff sections.
17. The concept of the tariff sheet is
a hold-over from a paper filing world in
which revised tariff sheets were filed so
that they could replace individual pages
in a tariff book. In an electronic world,
there is no longer a need to physically
replace pages in a tariff book. Instead,
electronic filing is much more
conducive to replacing only the specific
tariff section involved in the revision.
18. The use of tariff sheet filing has,
in the past, caused certain difficulties in
finding tariff provisions. Under the tariff
sheet method, there are two references
to each relevant tariff provision, the
sheet number (which is the official
reference) and the internal section
number. In pleadings before the
Commission, parties frequently refer
only to the section that is being changed
rather than to the official tariff sheet.
For example, reference is frequently
made to General Terms and Conditions,
16 See Natural Gas Pipeline Negotiated Rate
Policies and Practices, 104 FERC ¶ 61,134 at P 31–
34 (2003); East Tennessee Natural Gas Company,
107 FERC ¶ 61, 197 (2004). Service agreements,
such as those discussed in ANR Pipeline Company,
106 FERC ¶ 61,313 (2004), Columbia Gulf
Transmission Company, 96 FERC ¶ 61,242 and
61,243 (2001) will be required to be filed as part of
the electronic tariff.
17 E.g., B-R Pipeline Co., 89 FERC ¶ 61,312 at
61,955–957 (1999); Valero Natural Gas Pipeline Co.,
82 FERC ¶ 61,280 at 62,094 (1998).
18 A tariff supplement is similar to an appendix
or codicil that reflects revisions to be made to the
tariff. Tariff supplements are used frequently in oil
company tariff filings, and the Commission staff
will work with individual oil companies to
determine the easiest and most efficient means of
transitioning from the use of supplements to the
new electronic filing method.

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section 12.1, rather than to the
particular tariff sheet on which this
section is located. Under a tariff sheet
method, it can be difficult to determine
which tariff sheet is being referenced,
which in turn makes tariff research
more difficult.
19. Another problem with the current
system is that a company may make
multiple filings to change different parts
of its tariff language or rates on the same
tariff page. While these proposed
changes are pending Commission
action, the tariff includes multiple
versions of the same tariff page, some of
which may be effective and others
suspended and not yet effective. A
further problem is that when a
paragraph of text is added or deleted
from one page of the tariff, there can be
a domino effect on many of the
subsequent pages. Unchanged tariff
provisions are pushed forward or
backward on the subsequent tariff pages.
Thus, the company has to file changes
to many subsequent tariff pages because
their appearance changes even though
there are no substantive changes on
those sheets. This also makes it hard to
do historical tariff research.
20. The current tariffs generally
include a designation for each tariff
sheet denoting where that sheet falls in
the range of sheets that have been filed,
e.g., Second Revised Sheet No. 100
indicates that two other sheet 100s were
filed before that one. The Commission is
proposing to replace this numbering
scheme by simply dating each tariff
section as it is filed, and identifying
which sections are effective, proposed,
and suspended. Commenters should
address whether using such date stamps
will be sufficient to identify historic
tariff provisions.
21. Tariffs of gas pipelines and public
utilities currently employ an
organizational structure, with a form of
outline or section numbering, to a single
tariff. This structure can be maintained
in filing section based tariffs, although,
as discussed below, the Commission
requests comment on whether a uniform
numbering system should be employed
across all tariffs or tariffs within an
industry. Oil pipelines currently file
individual tariffs relating to a specific
movement of oil between specified
points, or to a series of related
movements. The Commission here is
proposing that these individual tariffs
be structured as a single tariff, with
sections that refer to the individual or
related movements.
22. In comments on the NOI, the
Interstate Natural Gas Association of
America , Gulf South Pipeline
Company, LP, Enron Interstate Pipelines
and the William Companies, Inc.

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(collectively, INGAA) oppose a sectionbased electronic tariff. INGAA contends
that the existing page-based system is
easy to reference and print. It argues
sections could easily span multiple
printed pages, which is inefficient, and
the printed tariff would no longer have
a common format. INGAA states an
electronic section-based system will not
improve the overall process of
referencing tariff sections, because
paper copies of the tariff will still be
necessary to maintain and reference,
and number of pages in those paper
versions will increase due to inefficient
use of space. Further, INGAA maintains
tariff sections do not eliminate the issue
of redesignating sections to reflect the
addition of new sections. Thus, it argues
a section-based tariff offers no
improvement in historical research, and
concludes that the costs of converting to
a section-based system outweigh the
limited benefits. The Association of Oil
Pipelines and Buckeye Pipe Line
Company (collectively, AOPL) support a
section-based tariff for the oil program.
Given the current format of oil tariffs,
AOPL believes a section-based system is
appropriate.
23. While reformatting tariffs in a
section-based format will cause some
additional effort in the initial filing
stage, the Commission believes that
such a change is warranted for the
reasons discussed above. Continuing
with a system of dual referencing to
tariff provisions causes confusion and
makes tariff research more difficult. In
fact, pipeline companies, when
establishing internal tariff crossreferences, use tariff sections as the
cross reference and not tariff sheet
numbers.
24. INGAA contends that printing
sections will be more difficult than
printing tariff sheets, because a section
may require multiple pages to print. But
this same problem can occur with tariff
sheets, since in most instances, those
using tariffs print the tariff section in
which they are interested, even if that
section covers numerous tariff sheets.
As to the ability to print a large number
of sections with a minimum of unused
space, that is simply an issue of
software design which is being
examined.
25. INGAA maintains that moving to
a section-based tariff will not change the
problem of having to redesignate
sections as new sections are added. As
discussed below, the Commission is
requesting comment on whether under
a section-based system, utilities should
not be permitted to change the initial
section numbering of the tariff sheets in
order to improve the ability to do tariff
research.

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26. The Commission requests specific
comment on a number of issues raised
by different section numbering methods.
27. First, tariffs filed with the
Commission currently use different
section numbering or outlining
schemes. Public utility tariffs generally
number sections using a numeric
numbering approach, e.g., 1.1.2.3. In
contrast the gas pipelines often use a
Roman outlining approach for each
portion of the tariff. For example, the
General Terms and Conditions (GT&C)
portion of the tariff would use (a)(2)(i)
to identify various tariff provisions
within the GT&C. The oil pipelines’
tariffs frequently utilize only paragraph
numbering.
28. The tariff filing software the
Commission is developing can handle
any document numbering scheme.
However, the Commission requests
comment on whether to adopt a
standardized numbering or outlining
scheme for tariff filings across
industries, to adopt a standardized
scheme within each industry, or to
permit each filer to choose its own
numbering scheme. The use of a
numeric scheme, such as 1.1.2, appears
more consistent with electronic filing,
because it can easily accommodate the
filing of new tariff sections between
other sections. For example, if there are
two sections, 1.1 and 1.2, and a section
needs to be inserted between those, it
can simply be labeled 1.1.1.19 On the
other hand, the Commission recognizes
that changing numbering schemes could
require the utility to go through its tariff
to identify all cross-references that need
to be changed. The Commission
requests comment from users of tariffs
as to whether a uniform numbering and
citation scheme would be of sufficient
use as to warrant the effort involved in
changing numbering schemes.
29. Second, the Commission requests
comment on whether utilities should
not (except in extreme cases) change the
initial numbering of tariff provisions.
For instance, in adding a tariff section
in between existing sections, 3.1 and
3.2, the utility should not renumber the
pre-existing sections, but instead should
add a subsection, 3.1.1, or a new
section, 3.3. Keeping section numbers
stable would make historical tariff
research easier, since a reference in a
two-year old order to a particular tariff
section will still refer to the same
section at a later point in time, and
permit the user to see how the section
read at the time of the order.
19 Indeed, whatever choice is made, the proposed
tariff software will be using such a numbering
scheme internally to keep track of the relationship
between labeled sections.

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Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 141 / Friday, July 23, 2004 / Proposed Rules
30. Third, commenters should address
the size of the individual sections to be
included in the tariff. In other words,
should the utilities in making their
initial filing be required to break their
tariff into the same sections they
currently use, or should they be able to
file larger or smaller sections. For
example, if a utility currently breaks its
tariff into sections of three levels (1.1.1),
should it be required to create its initial
tariff with at least that many levels or
should it be able to create larger
sections, filing only sections of two
levels. Decreasing the number of levels
would make the creation of the initial
tariff easier, but on the other hand
would make each level less specific.
This issue will also be examined during
the testing of the prototype software.
31. Fourth, commenters should
address whether using date stamps to
reference changes in tariff sections is
sufficient or whether the existing
practice of numbering revisions with
designations like Second Revised 1.1.2
would provide for more accurate
tracking and citation.
C. Description of the Proposed Tariff
Software
32. The Commission will describe in
more detail below the way in which the
tariff software and filing system will
operate.
1. Tariff Creation and Submission
33. The tariff creation and submission
modules will be available from the
Commission’s website and
downloadable to anyone, free of charge.
These modules will install on most
personal computers that have a
Microsoft Windows operating system,
such as Windows 2000 or XP. The
Commission expects that, at a
minimum, every regulated entity, agent
or person that submits tariff filings will
have to install this software after the
rule becomes effective. These parties,
for the purposes of this discussion, will
be referred to as the ‘‘client.’’ The tariff
creation and submission software
consists of several components. The
principal components are the actual
tariff text; and the data that provide
information about the tariff section (in
this NOPR referred to as ‘‘metadata’’).
2. Tariff Text
34. Tariffs consist largely of text.
However, either as required by
Commission regulation or company
option, some type of graphic may be
required, such as a map showing zone
boundaries.20 Some tariff content is best
formatted in programs other than a text
20 See

18 CFR 154.106.

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program, such as a table or columns
created by a spreadsheet program for
tariff sections that identify rates or rate
tables. The software which the
Commission provides to the client will
be capable of accommodating at least
these standard electronic formats.
Utilities will be expected to make all
rate case filings using the Commission
software.
35. The software the Commission
provides to clients will permit the
regulated entities to create their tariffs
in several electronic formats, provided
such format meets certain criteria. First,
the electronic tariff text must be in a
format that can be cut and pasted into
the Commission’s software. This
requirement permits the use of virtually
every Windows text software including
Word, WordPerfect, AmiPro, Adobe and
dozens of other text programs,
spreadsheet programs such as Excel and
Quattro, presentation software, and
many other software programs. Material
generated on other operating systems,
such as Apple’s or Linux’’, in programs
with cut and paste capabilities also can
serve as sources for tariff material.
These programs permit the tariff creator
to create many different text formats.
While there is never a guarantee that
material cut and pasted from one
software product into another will
retain its formatting, most of the
formatting should transfer. The
Commission’s tariff creation software
will have limited text editing
capabilities to correct minor problems
that may occur.
36. The electronic tariff may not
include embedded objects. Embedded
objects require additional software to
access and read that the Commission or
the public may not have. Further,
embedded objects are difficult to
manage and extract information
necessary for other required functions,
such as word searches of tariffs.
37. The tariff may include graphics.
However, the Commission proposes that
graphics cannot include any text that
cannot be found utilizing standard
search software.
38. The formatting requirements for
gas pipeline rate case filings established
in Order No. 582 will continue to apply.
In this proceeding, the Commission is
not proposing similar requirements for
the other regulated entities; although
such changes in filing requirements may
be proposed in the future in other
proceedings. Public utilities and oil
pipelines can make their rate case
filings in any format accepted by the
Commission’s software.

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43933

3. Meta Data
39. Each tariff section has a large
amount of data that is associated with
it that provide information as to whose
tariff it is, what its origins are, and what
its status is. These data will be available
for viewing along with the tariff sections
as an information resource to improve
understanding about the tariff and tariff
sections. Some of these data change over
time, such as status of the tariff section
(e.g., proposed, accepted, accepted and
suspended, rejected) and effective date.
The Commission’s tariff filing
requirements define what data is
required for a regulated entity to submit
a complete tariff filing, such as the
proposed effective date.
40. In a paper environment, some data
are required to be placed on the same
sheet as the tariff text, such as the
company name and tariff name. Other
data are maintained elsewhere, such as
the date of filing or docket number. The
Commission proposes to maintain an
electronic tariff data base that has each
of these metadata elements associated
with every section of the tariff. The
software will populate certain metadata
with default required values (such as
company name and filer’s name), and
require the company to populate other
required fields, such as the proposed
effective date.
4. Tariff Filing
41. Once a regulated entity completes
its creation of the tariff filing and the
supporting documentation, the tariff
filing must be assembled prior to
submission to the Commission’s
Secretary. The Commission’s software
will provide industry specific tariff
filing menus for electric, gas or oil
filings. The software will permit the
required and additional supporting
documents to be attached as part of the
tariff filing.
42. The Commission is not proposing
any additional formatting requirements
for the electronic files, such as
spreadsheets or other types of
documents that contain large amounts
of data. Existing formatting
requirements will continue, such as
those established for natural gas rate
case filings in Order No. 582.21 The
Commission’s experience with gas rate
case filings shows that in many cases,
raw data provided in spreadsheets is
easier to manipulate than data which is
formatted for viewing or printing, but
21 Filing and Reporting Requirements for
Interstate Natural Gas Company Rate Schedules and
Tariffs, Order No. 582, 60 FR 52960 (Oct. 11, 1995),
FERC Stats. & Regs. Regulations Preambles (Jan.
1991—June 1996) ¶ 31,025 at 31,434–35 (Sept. 28,
1995).

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Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 141 / Friday, July 23, 2004 / Proposed Rules

may not be as legible and easy to read.
The Commission invites comments on
whether to impose requirements with
respect to formatting or legibility.
43. There are some types of files that
the Commission currently cannot
manage as part of a tariff filing. These
include video and audio files. The
Commission will post on its Web site
the file types it cannot accept as part of
a tariff filing. The software will check
file extensions and provide a warning to
the client.
44. Natural gas pipelines and public
utilities will still be required to file a
marked version of the tariff. Although
the tariff creation software the
Commission provides will have the
capability to generate marked versions
of the tariff, the Commission believes
that applicants should be responsible
for identifying those changes for which
they are requesting Commission action.
45. Currently, oil pipelines are
required to indicate changes in tariff
language through the use of symbols.
These symbols are part of the effective
tariff and show where changes occurred
from the superceded tariff. These
symbols may be considered graphics in
the Commission’s software, which could
lead to unpredictable results in
generating a redlined/strikeout version
of the tariff. The Commission proposes
to require oil pipelines to mark tariff
changes in the same manner as the
electric and gas programs.
46. The Commission’s Secretary will
receive electronic tariff and tariff filings.
If the Secretary deems the filing to have
satisfied the minimal elements for
submitting a filing to the Commission,
the Secretary will assign a docket
number and an eLibrary accession
number to the filing.22 The Secretary
will then e-mail a response to the filing
party with that information.
5. Confidential Information
47. Although most tariff filings do not
contain confidential information, in
some cases such information, including
maps or other critical energy
infrastructure information, may be
included. The Commission’s tariff filing
software will contain options for the
applicants to identify various levels of
security as provided by the
Commission’s regulations. Further, the
tariff filing submission process will
abide with all applicable federal laws
with regard to filing sensitive material
with a government agency over the
Internet. In cases in which confidential
information is included, the filer will
have to file the confidential information

and a redacted version of the document.
In addition, in cases where the
confidential information is germane to
the filing, the filer should have a
protective order prepared that will
permit parties to the case to review such
information so they can knowledgeably
participate in the proceeding.23
6. Public Access to the Tariffs and Tariff
Filings
48. Access to tariffs and tariff filings
is necessary for the public to ascertain
a regulated entity’s effective rates, terms
and conditions, and whether they have
an interest in a pending proceeding.
Experience with the electronic gas tariff
database also has shown the value of
providing access to a historical record of
past tariff sections, and the ability to
search using a variety of criteria both
within a tariff, among tariffs, and within
an industry’s tariffs.
49. Currently, the Commission
provides the gas program’s electronic
tariffs in two formats from the
Commission’s Web site. One format,
FASTR, is the Commission’s tariff
software and the other format is HTML,
which can be accessed using a standard
web browser such as Netscape or
Internet Explorer. The FASTR format
provides the public and natural gas
pipelines the same functionality that is
available to the Commission and access
to the same metadata not otherwise
shown on the tariff sheets. However,
this level of access requires
downloading the FASTR software and a
tariff data base. The Commission’s
posted HTML version only reflects the
currently effective tariff, without search
capability and additional metadata
information.
50. The Commission proposes to
make the electronic tariff data base
accessible to the public in a similar
manner through its Web site at http://
www.ferc.gov.
D. Proposed Transition Procedures
51. The Commission is aiming for a
March 1, 2005, effective date for the
proposed regulations, along with a
staggered implementation period as
described below. Regulated entities,
therefore, should take this date and the
transition process into account in their
in-house planning process. Since the
Commission is making the software for
this effort available soon after the
issuance of this NOPR, the regulated
entities will have more than half a year
to become familiar with the software.
52. The Commission proposes to
implement the electronic tariff filing in
a staggered six month transition process.

22 eLibrary

is the Commission’s electronic
document management system.

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23 See

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During this period all entities with
tariffs on file at the Commission will
have to refile their existing and effective
tariffs in electronic format utilizing the
Commission’s software. This initial
filing will be referred to as the baseline
tariff filing. The baseline tariff filing is
to have no other proposed changes
included in it. Rather, the baseline tariff
filing will strictly be used for the
purpose of putting the existing effective
tariff into an electronic format using the
Commission’s software. Any other
changes to the tariff, which are not
specifically mandated by the
Commission’s software, will be rejected.
24

53. The baseline tariff filings will be
subject to notice and comment to permit
customers to ensure that the proposed
baseline tariff is an accurate duplication
of the effective tariff. Protests in the
baseline tariff proceedings, therefore,
will only be considered if they involve
the issue of whether the baseline tariff
reflects an accurate duplication of the
existing effective tariff. No protests
involving other issues, such as the
merits of various sections of the tariff,
will be considered. Rather, they will be
rejected as being outside the scope of
the baseline tariff filing proceedings.
54. If a regulated entity has a pending
or suspended tariff change filing at the
time of the filing of the baseline tariff,
the regulated entity will not have to file
these pending or suspended tariff
sections as part of the baseline tariff
filing. However, the regulated entity
will be required to identify the
proceedings where such tariff changes
exist. As the Commission acts on
pending or suspended tariffs sections,
the Commission will require the
regulated entities to file the accepted
tariffs in the new electronic format.
55. The Commission proposes to
implement the proposed electronic tariff
regulations as follows. All new
regulated entities filing tariffs for the
first time from the effective date of the
final rule must file complete electronic
tariffs under the proposed regulations.
Any regulated entity that wishes to file
its baseline tariff in accordance with the
new regulations after the effective date
of the final rule, but before the required
transition date, is free to do so.
56. The Commission proposes to
require the majority of the regulated
entities to transition to the new
electronic format over a six month
period, with natural gas pipelines filing
in the first eight week period, followed
by oil pipelines over an eight week
24 For example, since the software will be sectionbased, as opposed to page-based, changes necessary
to implement this change will be acceptable.

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Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 141 / Friday, July 23, 2004 / Proposed Rules
period, and public utilities, including
RTOs and ISOs, as well as Power
Authorities and Power Marketing
Administrations, over a 14 week period.
The Commission proposes that the gas
pipelines proceed first, as their tariffs
are largely already in an electronic
format and they are accustomed to filing
tariffs with the Commission in an
electronic format. The Commission
proposes that the oil pipelines follow, as
their tariffs are comparatively small, but
are not currently maintained in an
electronic format. The Commission
proposes that the electric entities file
after the oil filing period ends. With the
exception of the OATTs, electric tariffs
are not maintained in an electronic
format. Further, the Commission is
aware that many public utilities have
not made full use of their opportunities
provided by Order Nos. 614 and 2001.
These orders provide utilities with an
opportunity to purge their tariffs of
outdated, superceded, unnecessary and
no longer required tariff text, and to
reorganize their tariffs. These changes
can reduce the volume of tariff sections
requiring conversion and resubmission
as part of the baseline tariff. Placing the
electric industry last in the conversion
process will give them additional time
to bring their tariffs up to current
standards.
57. The Commission is proposing a
compliance period of one year for the
following: (1) Pipelines which are
subject to the NGPA and part 284 of the
Commission’s regulations; (2) part 153
natural gas pipelines (i.e., natural gas
pipelines constructed for import or
export purposes); (3) industrial natural
gas pipelines subject to the NGA that
filed transportation contracts with the
Commission but received waiver of
having to file these tariffs consistent
with part 154 of the Commission’s
regulations; and (4) all other regulated
entities that are required to file tariffs,
rates, or contracts.
58. All regulated entities with tariffs,
including those that previously received
a waiver of the requirements to file
tariffs in the formats previously required
by the Commission’s regulations, will be
required to file their baseline tariff in
electronic format, in accordance with
the requirements described in this
NOPR, but as may be changed in the
Final Rule.
E. Proposed Changes to the Commission
Regulations
59. The basic changes to the
Commission regulations will occur in
§ 35.7 for public utilities, § 154.4 for
natural gas pipelines, § 284.123 for
NGPA § 311 pipelines, and § 341.2 for
oil pipelines. These regulations would

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require regulated entities to file tariffs
and other materials electronically using
the software provided by the
Commission. Once this rule is
implemented, utilities will no longer be
required to file rate cases on paper. In
filing documents requiring signatures as
well as those requiring sworn
declarations or verifications, the filings
will have to comply with the electronic
signature requirements as the
Commission adopts them in Docket No.
RM04–9–000.25 Under these
procedures, sworn declarations and
oaths would have to comply with 28
U.S.C. 1746, which requires that all
such documents include the following
language: ‘‘I declare (or certify, verify, or
state) under penalty of perjury that the
foregoing is true and correct. Executed
on (date). (Signature).’’26
60. The Commission also is proposing
to clean up other regulations that are
inconsistent with the electronic filing
regulations, such as language changes to
reflect the change from tariff sheets to
tariff sections and the elimination of
paper formatting requirements. In
addition, miscellaneous changes are
being proposed to update outdated
references and dates (e.g., updating the
references from the Offices of Pipeline
and Electric Power Regulation to Office
of Markets, Tariffs, and Rates and
correcting regulation citations). The
Commission has made an effort to
identify all parts of its tariff filing
regulations that must be modified to
reflect the new electronic tariff filing
and tariff formatting requirements. The
Commission requests that parties
identifying other sections of the
regulations which potentially require
change bring such potential changes to
the attention of the Commission in
comments submitted regarding this
rulemaking, so that such changes, if
necessary, can be reflected in the Final
Rule.
61. Further, the Commission is
proposing changes to the regulations
regarding notices of cancellation,
termination, or succession and
withdrawal of tariff filings in order to
ensure uniform procedures for all
regulated entities and to better fit with
the electronic software the Commission
will be providing.
1. Notices of Cancellation, Termination,
or Succession
62. Parts 35, 154, and 341 specify
different processes for canceling,
terminating, succeeding, or adopting
25 Electronic Notification of Commission
Issuances, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 107
FERC ¶ 61,311 (2004).
26 18 U.S.C. 1746.

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43935

tariff provisions. Section 154.603
provides for a pipeline to provide a
notice of succession, and then file a
tariff within 90 days of the notice.
Section 341.6 has a slightly more formal
procedure in that it requires a tariff
supplement to the adopted tariff,
followed by a formal tariff filing within
30 days. Section 35.16 simply provides
for a notice of succession, but there is
no requirement to actually file the
succeeded tariff in the public utility’s
own name. This requirement is
inconsistent with § 35.9, which requires
every tariff and tariff sheet to be
properly associated with the public
utility providing the service. Sections
154.602 and 341.5 require tariff filings
to cancel tariffs. However, §§ 35.9 and
35.15 have inconsistent requirements.
Section 35.9 requires a tariff filing that
contains a cancellation tariff sheet.
Section 35.15 only requires notice of
cancellation.
63. The Commission proposes to
standardize these filing requirements.
The Commission proposes to require
regulated entities that propose to cancel,
terminate, succeed or adopt tariff
changes to make a tariff filing which
would accompany the proposed tariff
change. This standardized requirement
will render the various notices of
adoption, succession or termination
superfluous.
64. The Commission proposes to
eliminate the grace period contained in
§§ 154.603 and 341.6. Both currently
require a filing from which the grace
period starts. With the Commission’s
proposed electronic tariff, regulated
entities will be able to quickly file
termination and succession tariffs by
downloading complete tariffs, loading
them into a tariff filing that reflects their
new data, and creating cancellation
tariff text for the superceded tariff.
Thus, the Commission concludes that
the current grace period is no longer
necessary.
2. Withdrawal of Pending Tariff Filings
and Amendments to Tariff Filings
65. Currently the electric, gas, and oil
programs at the Commission have
different procedures for withdrawing a
tariff filing. For a public utility to
withdraw a proposed tariff change, the
utility must make a new tariff filing that
amends the underlying tariff filing. This
withdrawal filing stops the statutory
notice period by which the Commission
must act on the underlying tariff filing
and initiates a new statutory action date
based on the date of the withdrawal
filing, and requires a Commission order
to effectuate the withdrawal of the

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filing.27 Filings by gas pipelines to
withdraw tariff filings are treated as
motions to withdraw pleadings
pursuant to § 385.216. This rule
provides that, if the motion has not been
protested or the Commission does not
act to deny the motion within 15 days,
then the motion is deemed granted.
Section 341.13 provides that oil
pipelines may withdraw any tariff filing
that has not gone into effect and filings
that are subject to investigation upon
notice to the Commission’s Secretary
and the parties to the proceeding. The
Commission’s electric and gas
regulations do not address amendments
to tariff filings prior to suspension,28 in
particular, whether such amendments
toll the statutory notice dates on which
the Commission must act before the
initial filing becomes effective.
66. Tariff withdrawal and amendment
filings affect the status of tariff
proposals, which is information that
will be included in the tariff filing
software. The principal differences exist
in the approaches taken with respect to
electric and gas filings. In order to create
greater standardization of this process,
the Commission proposes to revise the
process of withdrawing and amending
gas and electric tariff filings. Such
standardization should streamline the
withdrawal process, to the extent
possible, so as to reduce the
administrative burden for both the
regulated entities, the public which uses
the tariffs, and the Commission.
67. The Commission does not see the
need for public utilities or natural gas
pipelines to make new tariff filings to
effectuate withdrawal or a formal
Commission order as is now required.
The Commission therefore is proposing
to make withdrawal of public utility
tariff filings more similar to the
approach used for oil and gas pipelines.
68. The Commission proposes to
allow a gas pipeline or public utility to
withdraw in its entirety a rate schedule
or tariff filing upon which no
Commission or delegated order has been
issued by filing a withdrawal motion
with the Commission. The withdrawal
will become effective, and the filing
deemed withdrawn, at the end of 15
days, so long as no answer in opposition
to the withdrawal motion is filed within
that period and the Commission has not
acted to deny the withdrawal motion. If
such an answer in opposition is made,
the withdrawal is not effective until a
Commission or delegated order
accepting the withdrawal is issued.
27 See Canal Electric Co., 29 FERC ¶ 61,330
(1984).
28 Sections 35.17 and 154.205 address
amendments made after suspensions.

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Upon the filing of the withdrawal
motion, the notice periods of the FPA
and NGA will be tolled, so that the tariff
filing cannot become effective in the
absence of Commission action. The
Commission is also proposing to
delegate to the Director of the Office of
Markets, Tariffs and Rates the authority
to take appropriate action on contested
and uncontested motions to withdraw
tariff filings filed under parts 35 and
154.
69. All motions to withdraw pending
filings would be filed utilizing the
Commission’s tariff filing software.
Filings made utilizing this mechanism
will ensure that withdrawals become
automatically effective absent answers
in opposition or Commission action
denying the motion. Also, the software
will assist in the creation of the
necessary data to effect the withdrawal
in the tariff data base, and create a
historical record for that tariff section.
70. Amendments or modifications to
tariff provisions can correct minor
technical errors in a filing or may have
a substantive effect on the filing.
Because such modifications may have a
substantive effect, the Commission is
proposing that the filing of an
amendment or modification to a tariff
section will toll the period for action on
the prior filing and establish a new
period for action. The Commission,
however, will continue its past practice
of trying to process gas amendment
filings within the initial 30-day notice
period, as long as the amendment is not
significant or does not create a major
substantive difference in the tariff
proposal.
III. Prototype Testing
71. After the issuance of this NOPR,
the Commission will post on its Web
site the prototype tariff and tariff filing
software. Commission staff will work
with various regulated entities and
associations representing the natural
gas, electric, and oil industries to test
and improve the software prototype.
The testing will involve each of the
software’s modules, including the
installation of the software on clients’
machines, tariff recreation and
modification, tariff filings, tariff data
base maintenance and verification that
the Commission’s tariff filing and tariff
regulations are accurately implemented.
While the software will be posted and
available to clients, the Commission
will not accept tariffs or tariff filings
utilizing this software at this time. Nor
will the Commission support the
prototype software for parties who are
not part of the testing team.
72. When the Commission staff
determines that the software is ready for

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regulated entities to use for beginning
the process to create a baseline
electronic tariff, the Office of the
Secretary will provide a notice that the
tariff software is ready for experimental
use, and draft instructions will be
posted on the Commission’s Web site.
73. Commission staff will hold a
technical conference to address issues
that have arisen during the testing, and
any related software and electronic
format issues. The technical conference
should be held prior to the date
comments are due on this NOPR.
IV. Comment Procedures
74. The Commission invites interested
persons to submit comments on the
matters and issues proposed in this
notice to be adopted, including any
related matters or alternative proposals
that commenters may wish to discuss.
Comments are due October 4, 2004.
Comments must refer to Docket No.
RM01–5–000, and must include the
commenter’s name, the organization
they represent, if applicable, and their
address in their comments. Comments
may be filed either in electronic or
paper format.
75. Comments may be filed
electronically via the eFiling link on the
Commission’s Web site at http://
www.ferc.gov. The Commission accepts
most standard word processing formats
and commenters may attach additional
files with supporting information in
certain other file formats. Commenters
filing electronically do not need to make
a paper filing. Commenters that are not
able to file comments electronically
must send an original and 14 copies of
their comments to: Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, Office of the
Secretary, 888 First Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20426.
76. All comments will be placed in
the Commission’s public files and may
be viewed, printed, or downloaded
remotely as described in the Document
Availability section below. Commenters
on this proposal are not required to
serve copies of their comments on other
commenters.
V. Information Collection Statement
77. The following collections of
information contained in this proposed
rule have been submitted to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) for
review under § 3507(d) of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44
U.S.C. 3507(d). Comments are solicited
on the Commission’s need for this
information, whether the information
will have practical utility, the accuracy
of the provided burden estimates, ways
to enhance the quality, utility and
clarity of the information to be collected

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Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 141 / Friday, July 23, 2004 / Proposed Rules
and any suggested methods for
minimizing the respondent’s burden,
including the use of automated
information techniques.
78. OMB regulations 29 require OMB
to approve certain information
collection requirements imposed by
agency rule. The information collection
requirements in this NOPR will be
submitted to OMB for review.
Title: FERC–516: Electric Rate
Schedule Filings; FERC–545, Gas
Pipeline Rates: Rate Change(NonFormal); FERC–549 Gas Pipeline Rates:
NGPA Title III and NGA Blanket
Certificate Transactions; FERC–550 Oil
Pipeline Rates: Tariff Filings.
Action: Proposed Collections.
OMB Control Nos.: 1902–0096, 1902–
0154, 1902–0086, 1902–0089.
Respondents: Business or other for
profit, (public utilities, natural gas
pipelines and oil pipelines).
Frequency of respondents: Most tariff
filings are made at the discretion of the
applicant and are a function of their
business judgment.
Necessity of Information: This
proposed rule, if implemented would
require that all tariffs be filed
electronically in lieu of paper.

Electronically filed tariffs and rate case
filings should improve the efficiency of
the administrative process for tariff and
rate case filings, by providing time and
resource savings for all stakeholders.
Respondents should see savings by
reducing the number of personnel
required to assemble and submit paper
filings, and a reduction in duplication
and mailing expenses. Users of the
information will be able to access the
data at lower costs due to efficiencies
provided by electronic filing and
retrieval. Data filed electronically can be
processed faster than paper filings. This
is due in part because procedural steps
related to verifying the applicant,
receiving the tariff filing, routing the
tariff filing, entering the tariff filing into
FERC’s official record, public tariff
maintenance, public access to the tariff
and tariff filing, and confirming receipt
of the tariff filing largely can be
automated. Also the speed at which
tariff filings can be processed
electronically can increase the integrity
of the data by speeding the process by
which the applicants and public can
view the filings and identify errors, and
facilitating rapid filing of corrections.

This capability is beneficial as many
tariff filings involve statutory processing
deadlines.
This proposed rule will assist the
Commission in its efforts to comply
with the Government Paperwork
Elimination Act (GPEA) by developing
the capability to file electronically with
the Commission via the Internet with
uniform formats using software that is
readily available and easy to use and
also achieve the President’s
Management Agenda initiatives of
expanding electronic government.
Estimated Annual Burden: The public
reporting burden for these information
collections has two components. The
first impact will be the requirement for
all regulated entities to refile their
complete tariffs in the new electronic
format. This is a one-time cost that will
not recur. The Commission’s estimate
cost for this one-time requirement for all
three industries is approximately
$350,000. This estimate is for installing
the Commission’s software and
converting existing tariffs into the new
electronic format. The Commission’s
estimates for various classes of filer are
shown the in following table.

BASELINE TARIFF FILING COSTS
Number of
respondents

Data Collection
FERC–516:
Utilities ..................................................................................................................................
Marketers ..............................................................................................................................
RTOs/ISOs ...................................................................................................................................
FERC–545:
Small Pipelines .....................................................................................................................
Large Pipelines .....................................................................................................................
NGPA ....................................................................................................................................
FERC-550 Oil ..............................................................................................................................
Total ......................................................................................................................................

The second component of the cost
estimate is the impact on regulated
entities after the proposed regulations
go into effect. The Commission
estimates that the cost savings to the

industries of no longer having to print,
assemble and mail tariff filings to the
Commission will be approximately $1.4
million per year. This estimate does not
include additional cost savings that may

Cost per tariff

Total cost

152
984
5

$288
139
2,057

$43,836
136,415
10,283

96
60
200
200

482
579
168
216

46,245
34,740
33,539
43,225

........................

........................

348,283

result should the Commission grant
requests of regulated entities to
electronically provide service of their
filings.

GOING FORWARD COST SAVINGS PER YEAR
Total number
of filings

Cost per filing

Total cost
savings

Oil .................................................................................................................................................
Electric .........................................................................................................................................
Gas ..............................................................................................................................................

689
4,445
2,548

$55
203
203

$37,895
902,335
517,244

Total ......................................................................................................................................

........................

........................

1,457,474

29 5

CFR 1320.11.

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Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 141 / Friday, July 23, 2004 / Proposed Rules

Internal Review: The Commission has
conducted an internal review of the
public reporting burden associated with
this collection of information and
assured itself, by means of internal
review, that there is specific, objective
support for this information burden
estimate. Moreover, the Commission has
reviewed the collections of information
proposed by this NOPR and has
determined that these collections of
information are necessary and conform
to the Commission’s plans, as described
in this order, for the collection, efficient
management, and use of the required
information.30
79. Interested persons may obtain
information on the reporting
requirements by contacting the
following: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20426 (Attention:
Michael Miller, Office of the Executive
Director, phone: (202) 502–8415, fax:
(202) 273–0873, e-mail:
[email protected]).
VI. Environmental Analysis
80. The Commission is required to
prepare an Environmental Assessment
or an Environmental Impact Statement
for any action that may have a
significant adverse effect on the human
environment.31 The Commission has
categorically excluded certain actions
from these requirements as not having a
significant effect on the human
environment. The actions proposed here
fall within categorical exclusions in the
Commission’s regulations for rules that
are clarifying, corrective, or procedural,
for information gathering, analysis, and
dissemination, and for sales, exchange,
and transportation of natural gas that
requires no construction of facilities.
Therefore, an environmental assessment
is unnecessary and has not been
prepared in this NOPR.
VII. Regulatory Flexibility Act
Certification
81. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of
1980 (RFA)32 generally requires a
description and analysis of final rules
that will have significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The proposed rule will be
applicable to all entities regulated by
the Commission, a small number of
which may be small businesses. The
Commission finds that the regulations
proposed here should not have a
significant impact on these few small

businesses. The regulations only require
that a small business have a computer,
which the vast majority already have.
The software to file tariffs will be
provided for free by the Commission.
Indeed, by eliminating the requirement
to file numerous paper copies of tariffs
and documents associated with rate
filings, these regulations are designed to
reduce the filing burden on all
companies, including small businesses.
Accordingly, the Commission certifies
that these regulations will not impose a
significant economic impact on small
businesses and no regulatory flexibility
analysis is required pursuant to section
603 of the RFA.
VIII. Document Availability

44 U.S.C. 3506(c).
31 Regulations Implementing the National
Environmental Policy Act, Order No. 486, 52 FR
47897 (Dec. 17, 1987), FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 30,783
(1987).
32 5 U.S.C. 601–612.

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Administrative practice and
procedure, Natural gas, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
18 CFR Part 250
Natural gas, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
18 CFR Part 281
Natural gas, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
18 CFR Part 284
Continental Shelf, Natural gas,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Incorporation by
reference.

82. In addition to publishing the full
text of this document in the Federal
Register, the Commission provides all
interested persons an opportunity to
view and/or print the contents of this
document via the Internet through the
Commission’s home page at http://
www.ferc.gov and in the Commission’s
Public Reference Room during normal
business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
eastern time) at 888 First Street, NE.,
Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426.
83. From the Commission’s home
page on the Internet, this information is
available in the Commission’s document
management system, eLibrary. The full
text of this document is available on
eLibrary in PDF and Microsoft Word
format for viewing, printing, and/or
downloading. To access this document
in eLibrary, type the docket number
excluding the last three digits of this
document in the docket number field.
84. User assistance is available for
eLibrary and the Commission’s Web site
during normal business hours by
contacting FERC Online Support at
[email protected] or tollfree at 1–866–208–3676 or the Public
Reference Room at (202) 502–8371, TTY
(202) 502–8659 (or e-mail the Public
Reference Room at
[email protected]).

18 CFR Part 300

List of Subjects

18 CFR Part 385

18 CFR Part 35

Administrative practice and
procedure, Electric power, Penalties,
Pipelines, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.

Electric power rates, Electric utilities,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Electricity, Incorporation
by reference.
18 CFR Part 131
Electric power.

30 See

18 CFR Part 157

18 CFR Part 154
Natural gas, Pipelines, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Natural gas
companies, Rate schedules and tariffs.

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Administrative practice and
procedure, Electric power rates,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Electricity.
18 CFR Part 341
Maritime carriers, Pipelines,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
18 CFR Part 344
Pipelines, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
18 CFR Part 346
Pipelines, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
18 CFR Part 347
Pipelines, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
18 CFR Part 348
Pipelines, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
18 CFR Part 375
Authority delegations (Government
agencies), Seals and insignia, Sunshine
Act, Electric power rates, Electric
utilities, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.

By direction of the Commission.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.

In consideration of the foregoing, the
Commission proposes to amend parts
35, 154, 157, 250, 281, 284, 300, 341,
344, 346, 347, 348, 375 and 385, Chapter
I, Title 18, Code of Federal Regulations,
as follows.

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Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 141 / Friday, July 23, 2004 / Proposed Rules
PART 35—FILING OF RATE
SCHEDULES AND TARIFFS
1. The authority citation for part 35
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 791a–825r, 2601–
2645; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 7101–7352.

2. Section 35.1 is amended as follows:
a. In paragraphs (b) and (c) remove all
references to ‘‘supplement’’.
b. In paragraph (c), the reference to
‘‘Notices of Cancellation or
Termination’’ is revised to read
‘‘cancellation or termination’’.
c. Paragraph (a) is revised to read as
follows:
§ 35.1 Application; obligation to file rate
schedules and tariffs.

(a) Every public utility shall file with
the Commission and post, in conformity
with the requirements of this part, full
and complete rate schedules and tariffs,
as defined in section 35.2(b) and (f),
clearly and specifically setting forth all
rates and charges for any transmission
or sale of electric energy subject to the
jurisdiction of this Commission, the
classifications, practices, rules and
regulations affecting such rates and
charges and all contracts that in any
manner affect or relate to such rates,
charges, classifications, services, rules,
regulations or practices, as required by
section 205(c) of the Federal Power Act
(49 Stat. 851; 16 U.S.C. 824 d(c)). Where
two or more public utilities are parties
to the same rate schedule, each public
utility transmitting or selling electric
energy subject to the jurisdiction of this
Commission shall post and file such rate
schedule, or the rate schedule may be
filed by one such public utility on
behalf of all other parties having an
obligation to file; the concurrence of
other parties must also be filed.
*
*
*
*
*
3. Section 35.2 is amended as follows:
a. In paragraph (b), remove footnote 1.
b. In paragraph (d), remove the phrase
‘‘or schedules’’.
c. Add paragraph (f) to read as
follows:
§ 35.2

Definitions.

*

*
*
*
*
(f) Tariff. A ‘‘tariff’’ is the compilation
of any rates, schedules, rate schedules,
contracts, applications, rules, or similar
matters clearly and specifically setting
forth all rates, charges, and terms and
conditions for any transmission or sale
of electric energy subject to the
jurisdiction of this Commission, the
classifications, practices, rules and
regulations affecting such rates, charges,
and terms and conditions, and all
contracts that in any manner affect or
relate to such rates, charges, terms and

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conditions, classifications, services,
rules, regulations or practices.
4. Section 35.7 is revised to read as
follows:
§ 35.7

Electronic filing requirements.

(a) General rule. All filings made in
proceedings initiated under this part
must be made electronically, including
tariffs, rate schedules, and contracts, or
parts thereof, and material related
thereto, cancellation, termination or
adoption of tariffs, statements,
workpapers, responses to data requests,
compliance filings, and rehearings.
Paper submittals are not required to be
filed.
(b) Requirement for Signature. All
filings must be signed in compliance
with the following:
(1) The signature on a filing
constitutes a certification that: the
contents are true and correct to the best
knowledge and belief of the signer; and
that the signer possesses full power and
authority to sign the filing.
(2) A filing must be signed by one of
the following:
(i) The person on behalf of whom the
filing is made;
(ii) An officer, agent, or employee of
the company, governmental authority,
agency, or instrumentality on behalf of
which the filing is made; or,
(iii) A representative qualified to
practice before the Commission under
§ 385.2101 of this chapter who
possesses authority to sign.
(3) All signatures on the filing or any
document included in the filing must
comply, where applicable, with the
requirements in § 385.2005 of this
chapter with respect to sworn
declarations or statements and
electronic signatures.
(d) Format Requirements for
Electronic Filing. The requirements and
formats for electronic filing are listed in
instructions for electronic filing and for
each form. These formats are available
on the Internet at http://www.ferc.gov
and can be obtained at the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, Public
Information and Reference Branch, 888
First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
5. Section 35.9 is removed and
reserved.
6. Section 35.10 is revised to read as
follows:
§ 35.10 Filing a marked version of rate
schedule or tariff changes.

At the time a public utility files with
the Commission and posts under this
part to supersede or otherwise change
the provisions of a rate schedule or tariff
previously filed with the Commission
under this part, in addition to the other
requirements of this part, it must file

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43939

and post a marked version of the tariff
sections to be changed showing
additions and deletions. The new
language must be marked by highlight,
background shading, bold text, or
underlined text. Deleted language must
be marked by strike-through.
7. In § 35.10a(b), the reference to
‘‘§ 35.10(b)’’ is revised to read ‘‘§ 35.7’’.
8. In § 35.11, the reference to
‘‘purchasers under other rate schedules’’
is revised to read ‘‘purchasers under
other rate schedules or tariff
provisions’’.
9. In § 35.12, the section heading and
the last sentence of paragraph (a) are
revised to read as follows:
§ 35.12

Filing of rate schedules and tariffs.

(a) * * * In the case of coordination
and interchange arrangements in the
nature of power pooling transactions, all
supporting data required to be
submitted in support of a rate schedule
filing shall also be submitted by all
parties to the arrangement, or a
representative to file supporting data on
behalf of all parties may be designated
as provided in § 35.1.
*
*
*
*
*
10. Amend § 35.13 as follows:
a. In paragraph (a) introductory text,
remove the reference to ‘‘supplement,’’.
b. In paragraph (c)(1) introductory
text, remove the reference to ‘‘or
supplemented’’.
c. In paragraph (f), the reference to
‘‘each party filing a certificate of
concurrence’’ is revised to read ‘‘each
concurring party’’.
d. Revise the section heading, and add
a sentence to the end of paragraphs
(a)(2)(i)(F) and paragraph (a)(3) to read
as follows:
§ 35.13 Filing of changes in rate schedules
and tariffs.

(a) * * *
(2) * * *
(i) * * *
(F) * * * These filings must be made
electronically in conformance with the
electronic filing instructions.
*
*
*
*
*
(3) * * * These filings must be made
electronically in conformance with the
electronic filing instructions.
*
*
*
*
*
11. In § 35.15, the first sentence of
paragraph (a) is revised to read as
follows:
§ 35.15 Notices of cancellation or
termination.

(a) General rule. When a rate schedule
or tariff or part thereof required to be on
file with the Commission is proposed to
be cancelled or is to terminate by its
own terms and no new rate schedule or

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tariff or part thereof is to be filed in its
place, each party required to file the rate
schedule or tariff shall notify the
Commission of the proposed
cancellation or termination by filing a
cancellation tariff section at least sixty
days but not more than one hundredtwenty days prior to the date such
cancellation or termination is proposed
to take effect.* * *
*
*
*
*
*
12. In § 35.16, the reference to ‘‘on the
form indicated in § 131.51 of this
chapter’’ is revised to read ‘‘with a tariff
consistent with the electronic filing
requirements in § 35.7’’.
13. Section 35.17 is amended as
follows:
a. Paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) are
redesignated (c), (d), and (e),
respectively.
b. The section heading is revised and
paragraphs (a) and (b) are added to read
as follows:
§ 35.17 Withdrawals and amendments of
rate schedules or tariff filings.

(a) Withdrawals of rate schedule or
tariff filings prior to Commission action.
(1) A public utility may withdraw in its
entirety a rate schedule or tariff filing
upon which no Commission or
delegated order has been issued by
filing a withdrawal motion with the
Commission. Upon the filing of such
motion, the proposed rate schedule or
tariff sections will not become effective
under section 205(d) of the Federal
Power Act in the absence of
Commission action making the rate
schedule or tariff filing effective.
(2) The withdrawal motion will
become effective, and the rate schedule
or tariff filing will be deemed
withdrawn, at the end of 15 days from
the date of filing of the withdrawal
motion, if no answer in opposition to
the withdrawal motion is filed within
that period and if no order disallowing
the withdrawal is issued within that
period. If an answer in opposition is
filed within the 15 day period, the
withdrawal is not effective until an
order accepting the withdrawal is
issued.
(b) Amendments or modifications to
rates or tariff sections prior to
Commission action on the filing. A
public utility may file to amend or
modify a rate or tariff section contained
in a rate schedule or tariff filing upon
which no Commission or delegated
order has yet been issued. Such filing
will toll the notice period in section
205(d) of the Federal Power Act for the
original filing, and establish a new date
on which the entire filing will become
effective, in the absence of Commission
action, no earlier than 61 days from the

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date of the filing of the amendment or
modification.
*
*
*
*
*
§ 35.21

[Amended]

14. In § 35.21, in footnote 5, remove
the reference to ‘‘footnote 1 to’’.
15. In § 35.28, a last sentence is added
to paragraph (e)(1) introductory text to
read as follows:
§ 35.28 Non-discriminatory open access
transmission tariff.

*

*
*
*
*
(e) * * *
(1) * * * These tariff filings must be
made in accordance with the
requirements of § 35.7.
*
*
*
*
*
16. In § 35.30, a last sentence is added
to paragraph (c) to read as follows:
§ 35.30

General Provisions.

*

*
*
*
*
(c) * * * These tariff filings must be
made in accordance with the
requirements of § 35.7.
§§ 35.1, 35.2, 35.4, 35.6, 35.11, 35.12, 35.13,
and 35.17 [Amended]

17. In addition to the amendments set
forth above, in 18 CFR part 35, the
following nomenclature changes are
made to the sections indicated:
a. In §§ 35.1(b) and (c), 35.2(c), (d) and
(e), 35.4, 35.6, 35.11, 35.12(a), 35.13(a),
35.13(a)(1), 35.13(a)(2)(iii), 35.13(b)(1),
35.13(c)(1), 35.17(c), 35.17(d), and
35.17(e), all references to ‘‘rate
schedule’’ are revised to read ‘‘rate
schedule or tariff’’.
b. In the headings of §§ 35.17(c),
35.17(d), and 35.17(e), all references to
‘‘rate schedules’’ are revised to read
‘‘rate schedules or tariffs’’.
c. In §§ 35.2(c), 35.13(a)(3), all
references to ‘‘Director of the Office of
Electric Power Regulation’’ are revised
to read ‘‘Director of the Office of
Markets, Tariffs, and Rates’’.
PART 131—FORMS
18. The authority citation for part 131
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 791a–825r, 2601–
2645; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 7101–7352.
§§ 131.51, 131.52, and 131.53

[Removed]

19. Sections 131.51, 131.52, and
131.53 are removed.

21. In § 154.2, paragraph (b) is
amended by removing the phrase
‘‘either in book form or’’.
22. Section 154.4 is revised to read as
follows:
§ 154.4 Electronic filing of tariffs and
related materials.

(a) General rule. All filings made in
proceedings initiated under this part
must be made electronically, including
tariffs, rate schedules, and contracts, or
parts thereof, and material related
thereto, cancellation, termination or
adoption of tariffs, statements filed
pursuant to subpart D of this part,
workpapers, responses to data requests,
compliance filings, and rehearings.
Paper submittals are not required to be
filed.
(b) Requirement for signature. All
filings must be signed in compliance
with the following:
(1) The signature on a filing
constitutes a certification that the
contents are true to the best knowledge
and belief of the signer, and that the
signer possesses full power and
authority to sign the filing.
(2) A filing must be signed by one of
the following:
(i) The person on behalf of whom the
filing is made;
(ii) An officer, agent, or employee of
the company, governmental authority,
agency, or instrumentality on behalf of
which the filing is made; or,
(iii) A representative qualified to
practice before the Commission under
§ 385.2101 of this chapter who
possesses authority to sign.
(3) All signatures on the filing or any
document included in the filing must
comply, where applicable, with the
requirements in § 385.2005 of this
chapter with respect to sworn
declarations or statements and
electronic signatures.
(c) Format requirements for electronic
filing. The requirements and formats for
electronic filing are listed in
instructions for electronic filing and for
each form. These formats are available
on the Internet at http://www.ferc.gov
and can be obtained at the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, Public
Information and Reference Branch, 888
First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
§ 154.5

PART 154—RATE SCHEDULES AND
TARIFFS
20. The authority citation for part 154
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 717–717w; 31 U.S.C.
9701; 42 U.S.C. 7102–7352.

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[Amended]

23. Amend § 154.5 as follows:
a. Remove the words ‘‘Pipeline
Regulation’’ and add in their place the
words ‘‘Markets, Tariffs and Rates’’.
b. The reference to ‘‘(b)(2)’’ is revised
to read ‘‘(f)(2)’’.

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Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 141 / Friday, July 23, 2004 / Proposed Rules
§§ 154.101, 154.102, and 154.102
[Removed and Reserved]

24. Sections 154.101, 154.102, and
154.104 are removed and reserved.
§ 154.106

[Amended]

25. In § 154.106, paragraph (b) is
removed and reserved.
§ 154.112

[Amended]

26. Amend § 154.112 as follows:
a. In paragraph (a) remove the word
‘‘page’’ and add in its place ‘‘section’’.
b. In paragraph (a) remove the phrase
‘‘or insert sheets’’ and add in its place
‘‘tariff sections’’.
§ 154.201

[Amended]

27. Amend § 154.201 as follows:
a. Amend paragraph (a) to remove the
references to ‘‘pages’’ and add in its
place ‘‘tariff sections’’.
b. Amend paragraph (a) to remove the
words ‘‘each copy of’’.
28. Section 154.205 is amended as
follows:
a. Paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) are
redesignated (c), (d), and (e),
respectively.
b. The section heading is revised and
paragraphs (a) and (b) are added to read
as follows:
§ 154.205 Withdrawals and amendments of
tariff filings and executed service
agreements.

(a) Withdrawals of tariff filings or
service agreements prior to Commission
action. (1) A natural gas company may
withdraw in its entirety a tariff filing or
executed service agreement upon which
no Commission or delegated order has
been issued by filing a withdrawal
motion with the Commission. Upon the
filing of such motion, the proposed tariff
sections or service agreements will not
become effective under section 4(d) of
the Natural Gas Act in the absence of
Commission action making the rate
schedule or tariff filing effective.
(2) The withdrawal motion will
become effective, and the rate schedule
or tariff filing will be deemed
withdrawn, at the end of 15 days from
the date of filing of the withdrawal
motion, if no answer in opposition to
the withdrawal motion is filed within
that period and if no order disallowing
the withdrawal is issued within that
period. If an answer in opposition is
filed within the 15 day period, the
withdrawal is not effective until an
order accepting the withdrawal is
issued.
(b) Amendments or modifications to
tariff sections or service agreements
prior to Commission action on a tariff
filing. A natural gas company may file
to amend or modify a tariff or service
agreement contained in a tariff filing

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upon which no Commission or
delegated order has yet been issued.
Such filing will toll the notice period in
section 4(d) of the Natural Gas Act for
the original filing, and establish a new
date on which the entire filing will
become effective, in the absence of
Commission action, no earlier than 31
days from the date of the filing of the
amendment or modification.
*
*
*
*
*
§ 154.402

[Amended]

29. In § 154.402, paragraph (b)(1) is
amended to replace the word
‘‘schedules’’ with the words ‘‘rate
schedules’’.
§ 154.602

[Amended]

30. Section 154.602 is amended by
removing the phrase ‘‘on the form
indicated in § 250.2 or § 250.3 of this
chapter, whichever is applicable’’ and
add in its place the phrase ‘‘tariff filing
in the electronic format required by
§ 154.4’’.
31. Section 154.603 is revised as
follows:
§ 154.603 Adoption of the tariff by a
successor.

Whenever the tariff or contracts of a
natural gas company on file with the
Commission is to be adopted by another
company or person as a result of an
acquisition, or merger, authorized by a
certificate of public convenience and
necessity, or for any other reason, the
succeeding company must file with the
commission, and post within 30 days
after such succession, a tariff filing in
the electronic format required by § 154.4
bearing the name of the successor
company.
§§ 154.7, 154.111, 154.202, 154.206, 154.208,
154.402, and 154.403 [Amended]

32. In addition to the amendments set
forth above, in 18 CFR part 154, the
following nomenclature changes are
made to the sections as amended:
a. In §§ 154.7(a)(5), 154.111(c),
154.202 (b), 154.206(a), 154.208(a), all
references to ‘‘sheets’’ are revised to
read ‘‘sections’’.
b. In §§ 154.402(b), 154.402(b)(3),
154.403(b), all references to ‘‘sheet’’ are
revised to read ‘‘section’’.
PART 157—APPLICATIONS FOR
CERTIFICATES OF PUBLIC
CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY AND
FOR ORDERS PERMITTING AND
APPROVING ABANDONMNENT
UNDER SECTION 7 OF THE NATURAL
GAS ACT
33. The authority citation for part 157
continues to read as follows:

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Authority: 15 U.S.C. 717–717w, 3301–
3432; 42 U.S.C. 7101–7352.

34. Amend § 157.217 by adding a
sentence to the end of paragraph (a)(4)
to read as follows:
§ 157.217

Changes in rate schedules.

(a) * * *
(4) * * * This tariff filing must be
filed in the electronic format required
by § 154.4 of this chapter.
*
*
*
*
*
PART 250—FORMS
35. The authority citation for part 250
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 717–717w; 3301–
3432; 42 U.S.C. 7101–7352.
§§ 250.2, 250.3, and 250.4
Reserved]

[Removed and

36. Sections 250.2, 250.3, and 250.4
are removed and reserved.
PART 281—NATURAL GAS
CURTAILMENT UNDER THE NATURAL
GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978
37. The authority citation for part 281
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 717–717w; 3301–
3432; 16 U.S.C. 2601–2645; 42 U.S.C. 7101–
7352.

38. In § 281.204, the first sentence in
paragraph (a) is revised to read as
follows:
§ 281.204

Tariff filing requirements.

(a) General Rule. Each interstate
pipeline listed in § 281.202 shall file
tariff sheets, in accordance with § 154.4
of this chapter, including an index of
entitlements, which provides that if the
interstate pipeline is in curtailment,
natural gas will be delivered in
accordance with the provisions of this
subpart.* * *
*
*
*
*
*
§§ 281.204, 281.212, 281.213

[Amended]

39. In addition to the amendments set
forth above, in 18 CFR part 281, the
following nomenclature changes are
made to the sections as amended:
a. In §§ 281.204 (a), 281.212 (a),
281.212 (b), 281.212 (c), 281.213 (b),
281.213 (d), 281.213 (e), all references to
‘‘sheets’’ are revised to read as
‘‘sections’’.
b. In § 281.212, the section heading is
amended to remove the reference to
‘‘sheets’’ and add in its place ‘‘sections.’’

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PART 284—CERTAIN SALES AND
TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS
UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY
ACT OF 1978 AND RELATED
AUTHORITIES
40. The authority for part 284
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 717–717w; 3301–
3432; 42 U.S.C. 7101–7352; 43 U.S.C. 1331–
1356.
§ 284.8

[Amended]

41. In § 284.8, paragraph (i) is
removed.
42. In § 284.123, the heading of
paragraph (e)(1), paragraph (e)(2), and
paragraph (f) are added to read as
follows:
§ 284.123

Rates and charges.

*

*
*
*
*
(e) Filing requirements. (1)
Information to be filed.* * *
(2) Form of filing. The filed statement
must contain rates and operating
conditions for each rate schedule.
Additional sections such as forms of
service agreements may be added where
applicable. Each rate schedule must be
separately designated. Each rate
scheduled and section of the operating
conditions must be numbered for
convenient reference.
(f) Electronic filing of statements, and
related materials. (1) General Rule. All
filings made in proceedings initiated
under this part must be made
electronically, including rates and
charges, or parts thereof, and material
related thereto, statements, and all
workpapers. Paper submittals are not
required to be filed.
(2) Requirements for Signature. All
filings must be signed in compliance
with the following:
(i) The signature on a filing
constitutes a certification that the
contents are true to the best knowledge
and belief of the signer, and that the
signer possesses full power and
authority to sign the filing.
(ii) A filing must be signed by one of
the following:
(A) The person on behalf of whom the
filing is made;
(B) An officer, agent, or employee of
the company, governmental authority,
agency, or instrumentality on behalf of
which the filing is made; or,
(C) A representative qualified to
practice before the Commission under
§ 385.2101 of this chapter who
possesses authority to sign.
(iii) All signatures on the filing or any
document included in the filing must
comply, where applicable, with the
requirements in § 385.2005 of this
chapter with respect to sworn

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declarations or statements and
electronic signatures.
(3) Format requirements for electronic
filing. The requirements and formats for
electronic filing are listed in
instructions for electronic filing and for
each form. These formats are available
on the Internet at http://www.ferc.gov
and can be obtained at the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, Public
Information and Reference Branch, 888
First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
PART 300—CONFIRMATION AND
APPROVAL OF THE RATES OF
FEDERAL POWER MARKETING
ADMINISTRATIONS
43. The authority citation for part 300
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 825s, 832–8321, 838–
838k, 839–839h; 42 U.S.C. 7101–7352; 43
U.S.C. 485–485k.

44. Section 300.10 is amended as
follows:
a. In paragraph (h)(2), the reference to
‘‘Electric Power Regulation’’ is revised
to read ‘‘Markets, Tariffs and Rates’’.
b. Add paragraph (a)(4) to read as
follows:
§ 300.10 Application for confirmation and
approval.

(a) * * *
(4) Electronic Filing. All material must
be filed electronically in accordance
with the requirements of § 35.7 of this
chapter. Paper submittals are not
required to be filed.
*
*
*
*
*
PART 341—OIL PIPELINE TARIFFS:
OIL PIPELINE COMPANIES SUBJECT
TO SECTION 6 OF THE INTERSTATE
COMMERCE ACT
45. The authority citation for part 341
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7101–7352; 49 U.S.C.
1–27.
§ 341.0

[Amended]

46. Amend § 341.0 as follows:
a. In paragraph (a)(11), remove the
words ‘‘pages and supplements’’ and
add in their place ‘‘sections’’.
b. Paragraph (b)(3) is removed and
reserved.
47. Section 341.1 is revised to read as
follows:
§ 341.1 Electronic filing of tariffs and
related materials.

(a) General rule. All filings made in
proceedings initiated under this part
must be made electronically, including
tariffs, rate schedules, and contracts, or
parts thereof, and material related
thereto, cancellation, termination or
adoption of tariffs, statements,

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workpapers, responses to data requests,
compliance filings, and rehearings.
Paper submittals are not required to be
filed.
(b) Requirement for signature. All
filings must be signed in compliance
with the following:
(1) The signature on a filing
constitutes a certification that the
contents are true to the best knowledge
and belief of the signer, and that the
signer possesses full power and
authority to sign the filing.
(2) A filing must be signed by one of
the following:
(i) The person on behalf of whom the
filing is made;
(ii) An officer, agent, or employee of
the company, governmental authority,
agency, or instrumentality on behalf of
which the filing is made; or,
(iii) A representative qualified to
practice before the Commission under
§ 385.2101 of this chapter who
possesses authority to sign.
(3) All signatures on the filing or any
document included in the filing must
comply, where applicable, with the
requirements in § 385.2005 of this
chapter with respect to sworn
declarations or statements and
electronic signatures.
(c) Format requirements for electronic
filing. The requirements and formats for
electronic filing are listed in
instructions for electronic filing and for
each form. These formats are available
on the Internet at http://www.ferc.gov
and can be obtained at the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, Public
Information and Reference Branch, 888
First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
48. Section 341.2 is amended as
follows:
a. In paragraph (c)(1) the phrase
‘‘tariffs or supplement numbers’’ is
revised to read ‘‘tariff sections’’.
b. Paragraph (c)(3) is removed.
c. Paragraph (a) is revised to read as
follows:
§ 341.2

Filing requirements.

(a) Service of filings. Carriers must
serve a copy of the tariff publication and
any tariff justification to each shipper
and subscriber consistent with
§§ 385.2010 of this chapter.
*
*
*
*
*
49. Section 341.3 is amended as
follows:
a. Paragraphs (b)(2) and (c) are
removed.
b. Paragraphs (b)(3) through (b)(11)
are redesignated paragraphs (b)(2)
through (b)(10).
c. Paragraphs (a), (b) introductory text,
(b)(1), (b)(5)(ii), (b)(5)(iv), (b)(5)(v), (b)(9)
and the section heading are revised to
read as follows:

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Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 141 / Friday, July 23, 2004 / Proposed Rules
§ 341.3

Format of tariff publication.

(a) Structure of tariff. Each carrier’s
tariff publication must be structured so
that the rates for movements, rules and
regulations, and other information are
contained in sections of a single tariff
addressing each of the carrier’s
movements.
(b) Contents of tariff. All major tariff
sections must contain the following
information:
(1) General information. (i) The
number designation of the section,
numbered consecutively, and the
number designation of the section that
is canceled, if any, under it;
(ii) The type of rates, e.g., local, joint,
or proportional, and the commodity to
which the tariff or section applies, e.g.,
crude, petroleum product, or jet fuel;
(iii) Governing sections, e.g., separate
‘‘rules and regulations’’ tariffs or
sections, if any;
(iv) The specific Commission order
pursuant to which the tariff or section
is issued;
(v) The issue date;
(vi) The expiration date, if applicable;
(vii) The name of the issuing officer
or duly appointed official issuing the
relevant section, the complete street and
mailing address of the carrier, and the
name and phone number of the
individual responsible for compiling the
tariff publication.
*
*
*
*
*
(5) * * *
(ii) Each rule must be given a separate
number, and the title of each rule must
be shown in distinctive font.
*
*
*
*
*
(iv) Rules may be separately
published in a general rules section
when it is not desirable or practicable to
include the governing rules in the rate
section. Rate sections that do not
contain rules must make specific
reference to the governing general rules
section.
(v) When joint rate tariffs or sections
refer to a separate governing rules
section, such separate tariff must be
concurred in by all joint carriers.
*
*
*
*
*
(9) Changes to be indicated in tariff.
(i) A marked version of the tariff
sections to be changed or superseded
showing additions and deletions. All
new numbers and text must be marked
by either highlight, background shading,
bold, or underline. Deleted text and
numbers must be indicated by a strikethrough. A marked version of the tariff
sections to be changed must be included
in each copy of the filing required by
these regulations.
(ii) When a tariff publication that
cancels a previous tariff publication

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does not include points of origin or
destination, or rates, rules, or routes that
were contained in the prior tariff
publication, the new tariff publication
must indicate the cancellation.
*
*
*
*
*
50. Section 341.4 is revised to read as
follows:
§ 341.4 Postponing the effective date of a
pending tariff.

Tariff filings postponing the effective
date of pending tariffs must be filed
prior to the proposed effective date of
the filing. A postponement tariff filing
may not postpone the effective date for
more than 30 days. Postponements must
be filed in conformance with § 341.1.
51. Section 341.5 is revised to read as
follows:
§ 341.5

Cancellation of tariffs.

Carriers must cancel prior tariffs
when the tariffs are reissued. If the
service in connection with the tariff is
no longer in interstate commerce, the
tariff publication must so state.
Cancellation of tariffs must be filed in
accordance with the requirements of
§ 341.1.
52. In § 341.6, paragraph (b) is
amended to remove the last sentence,
and paragraphs (c) and (d) are revised to
read as follows:
§ 341.6

Adoption rule.

*

*
*
*
*
(c) Change of name. When a carrier
changes its legal name, the carrier must
file revised tariffs incorporating the
name change.
(d) Adoption. When the ownership of
a carrier’s properties is transferred in
whole or in part to another carrier, the
adopting and former carrier must
comply with the following:
(1) The adopting carrier must file and
post a revised tariff that reflects the
transfer and indicates whether the rates
remain unchanged after the transfer; and
(2) The former owner must
immediately file revisions to its tariff or
applicable sections covered by the
adoption that states that the movement
is transferred, names the adopting
carrier, and specifies the tariff section
where it can be found in the adopting
carrier’s tariff.
53. Section 341.7 is removed and
reserved.
54. In § 341.9, paragraph (f) is
removed and paragraph (e) is revised to
read as follows:

§ 341.9

Index of tariffs.

*

*
*
*
*
(e) Updating. The index must be kept
current by tariff section filings pursuant
to § 341.2. The index updates may be

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issued quarterly. At a minimum, the
index must be reissued every four years.
§ 341.11

[Amended]

55. In § 341.11, paragraph (b) is
removed and reserved.
56. In § 341.13, paragraph (b)
introductory text is revised to read as
follows:
§ 341.13 Withdrawal of proposed tariff
publications.

*

*
*
*
*
(b) Tariff publications that are subject
to investigation. A tariff publication that
has been permitted to become effective
subject to investigation may be
withdrawn at any time by filing a notice
with the Commission, which includes a
transmittal letter, a certification that all
subscribers have been notified of the
withdrawal, and the previous tariff
provisions that are to be reinstated upon
withdrawal of the tariff publication
under investigation. Such withdrawal
shall be effective immediately upon the
submission of the notice, unless a
specific effective date is set forth in the
notice, and must have the following
effects:
*
*
*
*
*
§ 341.14

[Amended]

57. In § 341.14 (a) remove the phrase
‘‘on the Title Pages’’.
§ 341.15

[Amended]

58. In § 341.15 (d), remove the
reference to ‘‘the title page of’’.
PART 344—FILING QUOTATIONS FOR
U.S. GOVERNMENT SHIPMENTS AT
REDUCED RATES
59. The authority citation for part 344
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7101–7352; 49 U.S.C.
1–27.

60. Amend § 344.2 as follows:
a. Remove and reserve paragraph (b).
b. Revise paragraphs (a) and (c) to
read as follows:
§ 344.2

Manner of submitting quotations.

(a) The quotation or tender must be
submitted to the Commission
concurrently with the submittal of the
quotation or tender to the Federal
department or agency for whose account
the quotation or tender is offered or the
proposed services are to be rendered.
(b) [Reserved]
(c) Filing procedure. (1) The quotation
must be filed with a letter of transmittal
that prominently indicates that the
filing is in accordance with section 22
of the Interstate Commerce Act.

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(2) All filings pursuant to this part
must be filed electronically consistent
with §§ 341.1 and 341.2 of this chapter.
*
*
*
*
*
PART 346—OIL PIPELINE COST-OFSERVICE FILING REQUIREMENTS
61. The authority citation for part 346
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7101–7352; 49 U.S.C.
60502; 49 App. U.S.C. 1–85.

62. In § 346.1, paragraph (b) is revised
to read as follows:
§ 346.1
rates.

Content of filing for cost-of-service

*

*
*
*
*
(b) The proposed tariff filed consistent
with the requirements of §§ 341.1 and
341.2 of this chapter; and
*
*
*
*
*
PART 347—OIL PIPELINE
DEPRECIATION STUDIES
63. The authority citation for part 347
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7101–7352; 49 U.S.C.
60502; 49 App. U.S.C. 1–85.

64. In § 347.1, remove and reserve
paragraph (b), remove the last two
sentences of paragraph (c), and
paragraph (a) is revised to read as
follows:

provided by § 388.122(b)(2) of this
chapter.
*
*
*
*
*
(c) A letter of transmittal must
describe the market-based rate filing,
including an identification of each rate
that would be market-based, and the
pertinent tariffs, state if a waiver is
being requested and specify the statute,
section, subsection, regulation, policy or
order requested to be waived. Letters of
transmittal must be certified pursuant to
§ 341.1(b).
*
*
*
*
*
PART 375—THE COMMISSION
67. The authority citation for part 375
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 551–557; 15 U.S.C.
717–717w, 3301–3432; 16 U.S.C. 791–825r,
2601–2645; 42 U.S.C. 7101–7352.

68. In § 375.307, paragraphs (i)(5),
(n)(1), and (o) are removed and reserved,
and paragraph (k)(5) is added to read as
follows:
§ 375.307 Delegations to the Director of
the Office of Markets, Tariffs and Rates.

*

*
*
*
*
(k) * * *
(5) Take appropriate action on
motions to withdraw tariff filings filed
under parts 35 and 154 of this chapter.
*
*
*
*
*

§ 347.1 Material to support request for
newly established or changed property
account depreciation studies.

PART 385—RULES OF PRACTICE AND
PROCEDURE

(a) Means of filing. Filing of a request
for new or changed property account
depreciation rates must be made
pursuant to part 347 and must be
consistent with §§ 341.1 and 341.2 of
this chapter.
*
*
*
*
*

69. The authority citation for part 385
continues to read as follows:

PART 348—OIL PIPELINE
APPLICATIONS FOR MARKET POWER
DETERMINATIONS
65. The authority citation for part 348
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7101–7352; 49 U.S.C.
60502; 49 App. U.S.C. 1–85.

66. In § 348.2, paragraphs (a) and (c)
are revised to read as follows:
§ 348.2

Procedures.

(a) A carrier must file in the manner
provided by §§ 341.1 and § 341.2 of this
chapter. A carrier must submit with its
application any request for privileged
treatment of documents and information
under § 388.112 of this chapter and a
proposed form of protective agreement.
In the event the carrier requests
privileged treatment under § 388.112 of
this chapter, it must file in the manner

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Authority: 5 U.S.C. 551–557; 15 U.S.C.
717–717z, 3301–3432; 16 U.S.C. 791a–825r,
2601–2645; 28 U.S.C. 2461; 31 U.S.C. 3701,
9701; 42 U.S.C. 7101–7352; 49 U.S.C. 60502;
49 App. U.S.C. 1–85 (1988).
§ 385.203

[Amended]

70. Amend § 385.203 as follows:
a. In paragraph (a)(1), remove the
reference to ‘‘symbols’’ and add in its
place ‘‘information’’.
b. In paragraph (a)(4) the reference to
‘‘sheets’’ is revised to read ‘‘sections’’.
71. In § 385.215, paragraph (a)(2) is
amended to add a first sentence to read
as follows:
§ 385.215 Amendment of pleadings and
tariff or rate filings (Rule 215).

(a) * * *
(2) A tariff or rate filing may be
amended or modified only as provided
in the regulations governing such
filings. * * *
*
*
*
*
*
72. In § 385.216, paragraph (a) is
redesignated as paragraph (a)(1) and
paragraph (a)(2) is added to read as
follows:

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§ 385.216 Withdrawal of pleadings and
tariff or rate filings (Rule 216).

(a) Filing. (1) * * *
(2) A tariff or rate filing may be
withdrawn only as provided in the
regulations governing such filings. The
procedures provided in this section do
not apply to withdrawals of tariff or rate
filings.
*
*
*
*
*
§ 385.217

[Amended]

73. In § 385.217 (d)(1)(iii), the
reference to ‘‘sheets’’ is revised to read
‘‘sections’’.
74. Section 385.2011 is amended as
follows:
a. Paragraphs (b)(4) and (b)(5) are
removed.
b. In paragraph (c)(1), the word
‘‘schedule’’ is revised to read ‘‘schedule,
tariff’’.
c. Paragraphs (b)(1), (c)(3), and (d)(1)
are revised to read as follows:
§ 385.2011 Procedures for filing on
electronic media (Rule 2011).

*

*
*
*
*
(b) * * *
(1) All tariff and rate filings required
by this chapter to be submitted
electronically.
*
*
*
*
*
(c) * * *
(3) With the exception of the Form
Nos. 1, 2, 2–A and 6, and the tariff and
rate filings required to be submitted
electronically, the electronic filing must
be accompanied by the traditional
prescribed number of paper copies.
*
*
*
*
*
(d)(1) Where to file. The electronic
media must be submitted according to
the electronic filing instructions
applicable to each filing. Electronic files
submitted on media such as diskettes or
CD Roms, as well as paper copies when
applicable, and accompanying cover
letter must be submitted to: Office of the
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20426.
*
*
*
*
*
[FR Doc. 04–16478 Filed 7–22–04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service
30 CFR Part 206
RIN 1010–AD05

Federal Gas Valuation
Minerals Management Service
(MMS), Interior.

AGENCY:

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