FERC-547 30-day (issued)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. IC19-31-000]

COMMISSION INFORMATION COLLECTION ACTIVITIES

(FERC-547);

COMMENT REQUEST; EXTENSION

(December 12, 2019)

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of information collection and request for comments.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) is soliciting public comments on the currently approved information collection, FERC-547 (Gas Pipeline Rates: Refund Report Requirements) and submitting the information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. Any interested person may file comments directly with OMB and should address a copy of those comments to the Commission as explained below.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due by [Insert date 30 days after date of publication in the Federal Register].

ADDRESSES: Comments filed with OMB, identified by the OMB Control No. 1902-0084, should be sent via email to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs: [email protected] Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Desk Officer.

A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Commission, in Docket No. IC19-31-000, by either of the following methods:

• eFiling at Commission’s Web Site: http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp.

• Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426.

Instructions: All submissions must be formatted and filed in accordance with submission guidelines at http://www.ferc.gov/help/submission-guide.asp. For user assistance contact FERC Online Support by e-mail at [email protected], or by phone at: (866) 208-3676 (toll-free), or (202) 502-8659 for TTY.

Docket: Users interested in receiving automatic notification of activity in this docket or viewing/downloading comments and issuances in this docket may do so at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/docs-filing.asp.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Brown may be reached by e-mail at [email protected], by telephone at (202) 502-8663, and by fax at (202) 273-0873.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: FERC-547, Gas Pipeline Rates: Refund Report Requirements

OMB Control No.: 1902-0084

Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-547 information collection requirements with no changes to the reporting requirements.

Abstract: The Commission uses FERC-547 (Gas Pipeline Rates: Refund Report Requirements) to implement the statutory refund provisions governed by Sections 4, 5 and 16 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA).¹ Sections 4 and 5 authorize the Commission to order a refund (with interest) for any portion of a natural gas company’s increased rate or charge found to be unjust or unreasonable. Refunds may also be instituted by a natural gas company as a stipulation to a Commission-approved settlement agreement or a provision under the company’s tariff. Section 16 of the NGA authorizes the Commission to prescribe rules and regulations necessary to administer its refund mandates. The Commission’s refund reporting requirements are in 18 Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) 154.501 and 154.502.

The Commission uses the data to monitor refunds owed by natural gas companies to ensure that the flow-through of refunds owed by these companies are made as expeditiously as possible and to assure that refunds are made in compliance with the Commission’s regulations.

On July 30, 2019 (84 FR 41708), the Commission published a Notice in the Federal Register in Docket No. IC19-31-000 requesting public comments. The Commission received no comments and is noting that in the related submittal to OMB.

Type of Respondents: Jurisdictional natural gas companies.

Estimate of Annual Burden²: The Commission estimates the annual public reporting³ burden and cost⁴ for the information collection as:

FERC-547: Gas Pipeline Rates: Refund Report Requirements
	Number of Respondents (1)	Annual Number of Responses per Respondent (2)	Total Number of Responses (1)*(2)=(3)	Average Burden Hrs. & Cost ($) Per Response (4)	Total Annual Burden Hours & Total Annual Cost ($) (3)*(4)=(5)	Cost per Respondent ($) (5)÷(1)
Natural Gas Pipelines	19	2	38	2 hrs.; $160	76 hrs.; $6,080	$160

Comments: Comments are invited on: (1) whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden and cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.

1 15 U.S.C. 717-717w.

2 “Burden” is defined as the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. For further explanation of what is included in the information collection burden, refer to 5 Code of Federal Regulations 1320.3.

3 The change in number of respondents is an update due to normal industry fluctuations. The changes to the estimated numbers for frequency of filing and burden per filing are due to improved estimates.

4 The Commission staff estimates that industry is similarly situated in terms of hourly cost (for wages plus benefits). Based on the Commission’s FY (Fiscal Year) 2019 average cost (for wages plus benefits), $80.00/hour is used.

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