

[Federal Register: July 13, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 134)]
[Notices]               
[Page 39676-39677]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13jy06-65]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[IC06-544-001, FERC-544]

 
Commission Information Collection Activities, Proposed 
Collection; Comment Request; Extension

June 27, 2006.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of section 3507 of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507, the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission (Commission) has submitted the information 
collection described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review and extension of this information collection requirement. 
Any interested person may file comments directly with OMB and should 
address a copy of those comments to the Commission as explained below. 
The Commission received no comments in response to an earlier Federal 
Register notice of March 17, 2006 (71 FR 13819-13820) and has made this 
notation in its submission to OMB.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due by July 31, 
2006.

ADDRESSES: Address comments on the collection of information to the 
Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Desk Officer. 
Comments to OMB should be filed electronically, c/o 
oira_submission@omb.eop.gov and include the OMB Control No. as a point of 

reference. The Desk Officer may be reached by telephone at 202-395-
4650. A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, Office of the Executive Director, ED-34, 
Attention: Michael Miller, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. 
Comments may be filed either in paper format or electronically. Those 
persons filing electronically do not need to make a paper filing. For 
paper filings, and original and 14 copies of such comments should be 
submitted to the Secretary of the Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426 and should 
refer to Docket No. IC06-544-001.
    Documents filed electronically via the Internet must be prepared in 
WordPerfect, MS Word, Portable Document Format, or ASCII format. To 
file the document, access the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov
 and click on ``Make an E-Filing,'' and then follow the 

instructions for each screen. First time users will have to establish a 
user name and password. The Commission will send an automatic 
acknowledgement to the sender's e-mail address upon receipt of 
comments. User assistance for electronic filings is available at 202-
502-8258 or by e-mail to efiling@ferc.gov. Comments should not be 
submitted to this e-mail address.
    All comments may be viewed, printed or downloaded remotely via the 
Internet through FERC's homepage using the ``eLibrary'' link. Enter the 
docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number 
field to access the document. For user assistance, contact 
FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll-free at (866) 208-3676, or for TTY, 

contact (202) 502-8659.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Miller may be reached by 
telephone at (202) 502-8415, by fax at (202) 273-0873, and by e-mail at 
michael.miller@ferc.gov.


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Description

    The information collection submitted for OMB review contains the 
following:
    1. Collection of Information: FERC-544 ``Gas Pipeline Rates: Rate 
Change (Formal).''
    2. Sponsor: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
    3. Control No. 1902-0153.
    The Commission is now requesting that OMB approve and extend the 
expiration date for an additional three years with no changes to the 
existing collection. The information filed with the Commission is 
mandatory.
    4. Necessity of the Collection of Information: Submission of the 
information is necessary for the Commission to carry out its 
responsibilities in implementing the statutory provisions of sections 
4, 5, and 16 of the Natural Gas Act (U.S.C. 717c-717o, Pub. L. 75-688). 
The Commission implements FERC-544 filing requirements in the Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR part 154.
    General rate change applications filed under section 4(e) of the 
Natural Gas

[[Page 39677]]

Act reflect changes in rates based generally upon changes in the 
pipeline company's overall costs of providing service. Staff analyses 
are performed to determine whether the proposed rates and charges are 
consistent with the Commission's statutory responsibilities, policies, 
conditions. A preliminary review and report to the Commission of all 
changes filed under the NGA must be made by staff. Based upon the 
report, the Commission determines whether the filing should be accepted 
or suspended and set for hearing and investigation. 18 CFR 154.301-
154.313 govern the filing requirements for rate changes and define the 
statements and schedules pipeline companies must file in support of 
their proposed rates and changes. 18 CFR 154.205 governs the filing 
requirements for changes relating to suspended tariffs, executed 
agreements or parts thereof. 18 CFR 154.206 permits the proposed change 
in rate, charge, classification or service to go into effect upon 
motion of the jurisdictional gas pipeline at the expiration of the 
suspension period or upon receipt of the motion, whichever is later.
    Formal rate change filings (FERC-544) are suspended and set for 
hearing. When the NGA Section 4(e) filing is suspended, the rate 
becomes the subject of a hearing process and may go into effect subject 
to refund with interest. All suspended filings that go through the 
hearing process are considered formal cases and an investigation is 
instituted to determine the reasonableness of the rate filing. If the 
rates and charges are deemed unjust, unreasonable or unduly 
discriminatory, the appropriate rate, charge or service condition is 
ascertained. The formal proceeding is terminated by the issuance of a 
final Commission order.
    5. Respondent Description: The respondent universe currently 
comprises 11 companies (on average) subject to the Commission's 
jurisdiction.
    6. Estimated Burden: 50,413 total hours, 11 respondents (average), 
1 response per respondent, and 4,583 hours per response (average).
    7. Estimated Cost Burden to respondents: 50,413 hours/2080 hours 
per years x $117,321 per year = $2,843,511. The cost per respondent is 
equal to $258,501.

    Statutory Authority: Statutory provisions of sections 4, 5, and 
16 of the Natural Gas Act (U.S.C. 717c-717o, Pub. L. 75-688). The 
Commission implements FERC-544 filing requirements in the Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR part 154.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-10987 Filed 7-12-06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
