FERC-550, Oil Pipeline Rates - Tariff Filings and Depreciation Studies (PL24-1-000)

The Commission's regulatory jurisdiction over oil pipelines includes: (a)the regulation of rates and practices of oil pipeline companies engaged in interstate transportation; (b)the establishment of equal service conditions to provide shippers with equal access to pipeline transportation; and (c)the establishment of reasonable rates for transporting petroleum and petroleum products by pipeline. Order No. 561 (issued 10/22/1993 in Docket No. RM93-11) revised the Commission’s “regulations of oil pipelines in order to implement the requirements of Title XVIII of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. The revisions provide a simplified and generally applicable method for regulating oil pipeline rates by use of an index for setting rate ceilings for such rates. In certain circumstances, an oil pipeline would be permitted to establish rates using a traditional cost of service or other methods of ratemaking.” As discussed further in Order No. 650 (issued 8/27/2004 in Docket RM93-11-002), “[a]mong other things, Order No. 561 established a price cap for oil pipeline rates, to be adjusted annually based upon changes in the Producer Price Index for Finished Goods (published each May by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics) minus one percent (PPI-1). Order No. 561 recognized that its responsibilities under the Interstate Commerce Act, to both shippers and pipelines, required monitoring of the relationship between the change in the selected index and the actual cost changes experienced by the industry. Therefore, the Commission stated that it would review the choice of index every 5 years. ” The filing requirements for oil pipeline tariffs and rates under the FERC-550 data collection provide the Commission with the information it needs to analyze the rates, practices, and service conditions of oil pipelines. As a result, the Commission can implement statutory directives for the federal regulation of these carriers to determine whether the proposed tariffs and rates are just and reasonable.

The latest form for FERC-550, Oil Pipeline Rates - Tariff Filings and Depreciation Studies (PL24-1-000) expires 2023-02-28 and can be found here.