Pursuant to 5
CFR 1320.11(c), OMB files this comment on this information
collection request (ICR). In accordance with 5 CFR 1320, OMB is
withholding approval at this time. The agency shall examine public
comment in response to the proposed rulemaking and will include in
the supporting statement of the next ICR--to be submitted to OMB at
the final rule stage--a description of how the agency has responded
to any public comments on the ICR, including comments on maximizing
the practical utility of the collection and minimizing the
burden.
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
07/31/2018
36 Months From Approved
07/31/2018
491
0
491
57,803
0
57,803
0
0
0
The business practice standards under
FERC-549C are required to carry out the Commission's policies in
accordance with the general authority in Sections 4, 5, 7, 8, 10,
14, 16, and 20 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) (15 U.S.C. 717c-717w),
and sections 311, 501, and 504 of the Natural Gas Policy Act of
1978 (NGPA) (15 U.S.C. 3301-3432). The Commission adopted these
business practice standards in order to update and standardize the
natural gas industry's business practices and procedures as well as
to improve the efficiency of the gas market and the means by which
the gas industry conducts business across the interstate pipeline
grid. In various orders since 1996, FERC has adopted regulations to
standardize the business practices and communication methodologies
of interstate natural gas pipelines in order to create a more
integrated and efficient pipeline industry. In general, when and if
NAESB-proposed standards (e.g., consensus standards developed by
the Wholesale Gas Quadrant (WGQ), an accredited standards
organization under the auspices of the American National Standards
Institute (ANSI)) are approved by FERC, the Commission incorporates
them by reference into its approval. The process of standardizing
business practices in the natural gas industry began with a
Commission initiative to standardize electronic communication of
capacity release transactions. The outgrowth of the initial
Commission standardization efforts produced working groups composed
of all segments of the gas industry and ultimately, the Gas
Industry Standards Board (GISB), a consensus organization open to
all members of the gas industry was created. GISB was succeeded by
the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB). NAESB is a
voluntary non-profit organization comprised of members from the
retail and wholesale natural gas and electric industries. NAESB's
mission is to take the lead in developing standards across these
industries to simplify and expand electronic communication, and to
streamline business practices. Core to its objective is to lead to
a seamless North American marketplace for natural gas, as
recognized by its customers, the business community, industry
participants and regulatory bodies. NAESB WGQ standards are a
product of this effort. Industry participants seeking additional or
amended standards (including principles, definitions, standards,
data elements, process descriptions, technical implementation
instructions) submit a request to the NAESB office, detailing the
change, so that the appropriate process may take place to amend the
standards.
US Code:
15
USC 717-717w Name of Law: Natural Gas Act
US Code: 15
USC 3371 Name of Law: Natural Gas Policy Act
In the NOPR in RM96-1-038, the
Commission is proposing to approve changes to the NAESB standards.
The resulting burden change is primarily related to start-up to
implement these standards and regulations. The proposed changes
include: • modifying WGQ Standard 4.3.23 to add "Request to
Purchase Releasable Capacity" as a subcategory of information
contained in a transportation service provider's information
posting website • adding new WGQ Standard 5.3.73, containing
requirements regarding requests to purchase capacity that is
releasable • using proprietary codes to identify the location of
points of receipt and delivery and requiring pipelines to post on
their websites information on each of the proprietary points (and
no longer using the current common code database which industry
decided is not worth the expense and effort) that can be used to
determine which points are interconnecting points between pipelines
• approving NAESB's approach of separately reporting both "Design
Capacity" and "Operating Capacity" as part of the reporting data
set, because they are not synonymous and this will provide shippers
and the Commission with added information. Accordingly, the
Commission proposes to incorporate by reference revised WGQ
Standards 0.3.18, 0.3.20, and 0.3.21, and Dataset 0.4.2, as the
revised standards and dataset meet the Commission's past concerns
and no longer conflict with section 284.13(d) of the Commission's
regulations.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
RM96-1-038_549C_eCFR.docx
RM96-1-038_NAESB errata_20150707-5191.pdf
Standards for Business Practices of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines