Notice2022-07402
Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC Form Nos. 6, 6T, 6-Q, and 6-QT); Comment Request; Extension
Primary source
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Published
April 8, 2022
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Abstract
In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) is soliciting public comment on the currently approved information collections, FERC Form Nos. 6 and 6T (Annual Report of Oil Pipeline Companies) and 6-Q and 6-QT (Quarterly Report of Oil Pipeline Companies). The Commission published a 60-day notice in the Federal Register on November 18, 2021. The Commission received two comments.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 68 (Friday, April 8, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 68 (Friday, April 8, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20835-20838]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07402]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. IC22-4-000]
Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC Form Nos. 6,
6T, 6-Q, and 6-QT); Comment Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of information collections and request for comments.
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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 comment on the currently approved
information collections, FERC Form Nos. 6 and 6T (Annual Report of Oil
Pipeline Companies) and 6-Q and 6-QT (Quarterly Report of Oil Pipeline
Companies). The Commission published a 60-day notice in the Federal
Register on November 18, 2021. The Commission received two comments.
DATES: Comments on collections of information are due May 9, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments on FERC Form Nos. 6, 6T, 6-Q, and 6-QT
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) through <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>, Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Desk
Officer. Please identify the OMB Control Number 1902-0022 (FERC Form
No. 6), 1902-0206 (FERC Form No. 6-Q), 1902-0314 (FERC Form No. 6T),
and/or 1902-0310 (FERC Form No. 6-QT) in the subject line. Your
comments should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice in
the Federal Register. Please submit copies of your comments (identified
by Docket No. IC22-4-000) to the Commission as noted below. Electronic
filing through <a href="http://www.ferc.gov">http://www.ferc.gov</a>, is preferred.
<bullet> Electronic Filing: Documents must be filed in acceptable
native applications and print-to-PDF, but not in scanned or picture
format.
<bullet> For those unable to file electronically, comments may be
filed by USPS mail or by hand (including courier) delivery.
[cir] Mail via U.S. Postal Service only, addressed to: Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First
Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.
[cir] Hand (including courier) delivery to: Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852.
Instructions: OMB submissions must be formatted and filed in
accordance with submission guidelines at <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Using the search function under the ``Currently Under Review
field,'' select Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; click ``submit''
and select ``comment'' to the right of the subject collection. FERC
submissions must be formatted and filed in accordance with submission
guidelines at: <a href="http://www.ferc.gov">http://www.ferc.gov</a>. For user assistance, contact FERC
Online Support by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#086e6d7a6b67666461666d7b7d7878677a7c486e6d7a6b266f677e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="781e1d0a1b17161411161d0b0d0808170a0c381e1d0a1b561f170e">[email protected]</span></a>, or by phone at:
(866) 208-3676 (toll-free).
Docket: Users interested in receiving automatic notification of
activity in this docket or in viewing/downloading comments and
issuances in this docket may do so at <a href="http://www.ferc.gov">http://www.ferc.gov</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Brown may be reached by email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#dc98bda8bd9fb0b9bdaebdb2bfb99c9a998e9ff2bbb3aa"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5b1f3a2f3a18373e3a293a35383e1b1d1e0918753c342d">[email protected]</span></a> and telephone at (202) 502-8663.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Titles: FERC Form Nos. 6 and 6T (Annual Report of Oil Pipeline
Companies), 6-Q and 6-QT (Quarterly Report of Oil Pipeline Companies).
OMB Control Nos.: 1902-0022 (FERC Form No. 6), 1902-0206 (FERC Form
No. 6-Q), 1902-0314 (FERC Form No. 6T), and 1902-0310 (FERC Form No. 6-
QT).
Type of Respondent: Oil pipelines.
Type of Request: Three-year extensions of FERC Form Nos. 6, 6T, 6-
Q, and 6-QT information collections with no changes to the current
reporting and recordkeeping requirements.<SUP>1 2</SUP> This
[[Page 20836]]
renewal incorporates the requirements and burden represented by the 6T
and 6-QT into FERC Form Nos. 6 and 6Q, respectively. Staff anticipates
that the Commission will seek to retire the 6T and 6-QT as duplicative
after OMB decisions are made.
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\1\ Due to expiration dates in 2019 for many of the Commission's
financial forms, the renewal work for several of the forms was in
process or pending at OMB during the 2019 Forms Refresh rulemaking
effort in Docket No. RM19-12-000. OMB can only have one OMB Control
No. pending review at a time. To submit the rulemaking timely to
OMB, we assigned alternate ``temporary'' information collection
numbers (FERC Form No. 6-T and FERC Form No. 6-QT). Accordingly,
FERC Form Nos. 6T and 6-QT represent the additional burden
associated with final rule in RM19-12-000. Revisions to the Filing
Process for Comm'n Forms, Order No. 859, 84 FR 30620 (June 27,
2019), 167 FERC ] 61,241 (2019).
\2\ For purposes of this notice, unless otherwise stated, FERC
Form Nos. 6 and 6T are collectively referred to as ``FERC Form No.
6,'' and FERC Form Nos. 6Q and 6-QT are collectively referred to as
``FERC Form No. 6Q.''
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The Commission published a 60-day notice on November 18, 2021 in
the Federal Register (86 FR 67052) and received comments from the
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and XBRL US, Inc. (XBRL US).
FERC Form No. 6, Annual Report of Oil Pipeline Companies
In 1977, the Department of Energy Organization Act transferred to
the Commission from the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) the
responsibility to regulate oil pipeline companies. In accordance with
the transfer of authority, the Commission was delegated the
responsibility to require oil pipelines to file annual reports of
information necessary for the Commission to exercise its statutory
responsibilities.\3\ The transfer included the ICC Form P, the
predecessor to FERC Form No. 6.\4\
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\3\ Section 402(b) of the Department of Energy Organization Act
(DOE Act), 42 U.S.C. 7172 provides that; ``[t]here are hereby
transferred to, and vested in, the Commission all functions and
authority of the Interstate Commerce Commission or any officer or
component of such Commission where the regulatory function
establishes rates or charges for the transportation of oil by
pipeline or established the valuation of any such pipeline.''
\4\ The ICC developed the Form P to collect information on an
annual basis to enable it to carry out its regulation of oil
pipeline companies under the Interstate Commerce Act. A
comprehensive review of the reporting requirements for oil pipeline
companies was performed on September 21, 1982, when the Commission
issued Order 260 revising the former ICC Form P, ``Annual Report of
Carriers by Pipeline'' and redesignating it as FERC Form No. 6,
``Annual Report of Oil Pipeline Companies''.
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To reduce burden on industry, FERC Form No. 6 has three tiers of
reporting requirements:
1. Each oil pipeline carrier whose annual jurisdictional operating
revenues has been $500,000 or more for each of the three previous
calendar years must file FERC Form No. 6 (18 CFR 357.2 (a)). Oil
pipeline companies subject to the provisions of section 20 of the ICA
must submit FERC Form No. 6-Q (18 CFR 357.4(b)). Newly established
entities must use projected data to determine whether FERC Form No. 6
must be filed.
2. Oil pipeline carriers exempt from filing FERC Form No. 6 whose
annual jurisdictional operating revenues have been more than $350,000
but less than $500,000 for each of the three previous calendar years
must prepare and file page 301, ``Operating Revenue Accounts (Account
600),'' and page 700, ``Annual Cost of Service Based Analysis
Schedule,'' of FERC Form No. 6. When submitting pages 301 and 700, each
exempt oil pipeline carrier must include page 1 of FERC Form No. 6, the
Identification and Attestation schedule (18 CFR 357.2 (a)(2)).
3. Oil pipeline carriers exempt from filing FERC Form No. 6 and
page 301 and whose annual jurisdictional operating revenues were
$350,000 or less for each of the three previous calendar years must
prepare and file page 700, ``Annual Cost of Service Based Analysis
Schedule,'' of FERC Form No. 6. When submitting page 700, each exempt
oil pipeline carrier must include page 1 of FERC Form No. 6, the
Identification and Attestation schedule (18 CFR 357.2 (a)(3)).
The Commission uses the data in FERC Form Nos. 6 and 6-Q to perform
audits and to review the financial condition of oil pipelines; assess
energy markets; conduct oil pipeline rate proceedings and economic
analysis; conduct research for use in administrative litigation; and
administer the requirements of the ICA. Data from FERC Form No. 6
facilitates the calculation of the actual rate of return on equity for
oil pipelines. The actual rate of return on equity is particularly
useful information when evaluating a pipeline's rates.
The Commission also uses data on page 301 of FERC Form No. 6 to
compute annual charges which are then assessed against oil pipeline
companies to recover the Commission's annual costs as mandated by Order
No. 472. The annual charges are required by Section 3401 of the Omnibus
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986.
Furthermore, the majority of state regulatory commissions use FERC
Form Nos. 6 and 6-Q and the Commission's Uniform System of Accounts
(USofA) to satisfy their reporting requirements for those companies
under their jurisdiction. In addition, the public uses the data in FERC
Form Nos. 6 and 6-Q to assist in monitoring rates, the financial
condition of the oil pipeline industry, and in assessing energy
markets.
FERC Form No. 6-Q, Quarterly Financial Report of Oil Pipeline Companies
The Commission uses the information collected in FERC Form No. 6-Q
to carry out its responsibilities in implementing the statutory
provisions of the ICA to include the authority to prescribe rules and
regulations concerning accounts, records, and memoranda, as necessary
or appropriate. Financial accounting and reporting provide necessary
information concerning a company's past performance and its future
prospects. Without reliable financial statements prepared in accordance
with the Commission's USofA and related regulations, it would be
difficult for the Commission to accurately determine the costs that
relate to a particular time period, service, or line of business.
The Commission uses data from FERC Form No. 6-Q to assist in: (1)
Implementation of its financial audits and programs; (2) continuous
review of the financial condition of regulated companies; (3)
assessment of energy markets; and (4) rate proceedings and economic
analyses.
Financial information reported on the quarterly FERC Form No. 6-Q
provides the Commission, as well as customers, investors and others, an
important tool to help identify emerging trends and issues affecting
jurisdictional entities within the energy industry. It also provides
timely disclosures of the impacts that new accounting standards, or
changes in existing standards, have on jurisdictional entities, as well
as the economic effects of significant transactions, events, and
circumstances. The reporting of this information by jurisdictional
entities assists the Commission in its analysis of profitability,
efficiency, risk, and in its overall monitoring.
XBRL, Order No. 859, and FERC Form Nos. 6 and 6-Q
Previously, FERC Form Nos. 6 and 6-Q filers would transmit the
information in the forms to the Commission using a software application
called Visual FoxPro (VFP). This application is no longer supported by
its developer, Microsoft Corporation. As a result, in April 2015, the
Commission issued an order announcing its intention to replace the VFP
filing format for certain
[[Page 20837]]
Commission forms (including FERC Form Nos. 6 and 6-Q) with an
eXtensible Markup Language (XML)-based filing format. On June 20, 2019,
the Commission issued Order No. 859, which adopted XBRL as the standard
for filing FERC Form Nos. 6 and 6-Q and certain other Commission
forms.\5\
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\5\ Revisions to the Filing Process for Comm'n Forms, Order No.
859, 167 FERC ] 61,241 (2019).
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FERC Form Nos. 6 and 6-Q
Estimates of Annual Burden \6\ and Cost: \7\
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\6\ ``Burden'' is the total time, effort, or financial resources
expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, 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 CFR 1320.3. The burden hours and costs are
rounded for ease of presentation.
\7\ The cost is based on FERC's 2021 Commission-wide average
salary cost (salary plus benefits) of $87.00/hour. The Commission
staff believes the FERC FTE (full-time equivalent) average cost for
wages plus benefits is representative of the corresponding cost for
the industry respondents.
Form 6 (OMB Control No. 1902-0022) Including Form 6-T (OMB Control No. 1902-0314)
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Average annual Average annual Total average
Number of number of Total number of burden (hrs.) & annual burden Cost per
Requirements respondents responses per responses cost per (hrs.) & total respondent ($)
respondent response ($) annual cost ($)
1 2 (1) * (2) = (3) 4 (3) * (4) = (5) (5) / (1)
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Form 6........................................ 262 1 262 161 42,182 $14,007
$14,007 $3,669,834
Form 6-T...................................... 262 1 262 14 3,668 1,218
$1,218 $319,116
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Total (includes both Form 6 and Form 6-T). .............. ................ ................. ................ 45,850 15,225
$3,988,950
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Form 6Q (OMB Control No. 1902-0206) Including Form 6-QT (OMB Control No. 1902-0310)
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Average annual Average annual Total average
Number of number of Total number of burden (hrs.) & annual burden Cost per
Requirements respondents responses per responses cost per (hrs.) & total respondent ($)
respondent response ($) annual cost ($)
1 2 (1) * (2) = (3) 4 (3) * (4) = (5) (5) / (1)
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Form 6Q....................................... 262 3 786 150 117,900 $39,150
$13,050 $10,257,300
Form 6-QT..................................... 262 3 7786 0 0 0
$0 $0
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Total (includes both Form 6Q and Form 6- .............. ................ ................. ................ 17,900 39,150
QT)...................................... $10,257,300
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The quarterly filings are generally a subset of the annual filings.
For this reason, the XBRL burden (``6-QT'') hours are ``0'' because the
burden associated with the 6-QT is already incorporated into other
burden numbers for FERC Form No. 6-T.
60-Day Comments
Comments
BEA Comments: BEA supports the collection of the FERC Form Nos. 6
and 6-Q data and comments that it is interested in any modifications
that are made to the forms. BEA explains that it uses data from FERC
Form Nos. 6 and 6-Q indirectly in estimating the U.S. Census Bureau's
Construction Value Put in Place (VPIP) for oil pipeline utilities. BEA
further explains that census VPIP serves a major source data input to
the national income and product account (NIPA) structures investment
estimates. BEA states that NIPA estimates for electric, gas, and
pipeline structures rely on the VPIP source data, and that estimates of
utility industry structures investiment for the BEA fixed assests
accounts relies upon the VIP-based NIPA structures estimates.
BEA points out that the FERC Form No. 6 is used indirectly to
derive annual pipeline transportation output in the industry accounts
program. Moreover, BEA highlights that data obtained by the industry
accounts from the Association of Oil Pipelines ``Shifts in Petroleum
Transportation'' report is based, in part, on this survey. Finally, BEA
indicates that it currently uses the forms information indirectly
through the VPIP program and the trade association, and is considered
an indispensable data source to the NIPA estimates and industry account
estimates.
FERC Response: The Commission finds BEA's comments regarding the
usefulness of the Form Nos. 6 and 6-Q to be helpful. With respect to
BEA's concerns about modifications to the forms, the Commission
generally does not make any changes to the data collected in the
financial forms without first offering a public process by which
interested parties, like BEA, may comment on any proposals to change
the collection.
XBRL US Comment: XBRL US supports the current requirements that the
FERC Form Nos. 6 and 6-Q be prepared in XBRL format. XBRL US explains
that the requirement for XBRL-structured data ensures that the forms
data is machine-readable data, which XBRL US believes improves the
ability of the Commission to perform audits and reviews, and conduct
research. XBRL US further comments that the use of XBRL also enhances
the usefulness of the data for the public who rely on FERC data to
monitor rates as well as
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the financial condition of the oil pipeline industry and the energy
markets.
FERC Response: The Commission recognizes XBRL US's support for the
requirement that filers prepare the FERC Form Nos. 6 and 6-Q in XBRL
format.
Abstract: Under the Interstate Commerce Act (ICA),\8\ the
Commission is authorized and empowered to make investigations and to
collect and record data to the extent the Commission may consider to be
necessary or useful for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of
the ICA. The Commission must ensure just and reasonable rates for
transportation of crude oil and petroleum products by pipelines in
interstate commerce.
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\8\ 49 U.S.C. part 1, Sec. 20, 54 Stat. 916.
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30-Day Comments
Comments: Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the collections of
information are 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 estimates of the
burden and cost of information collections, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information collections; 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.
Dated: April 1, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-07402 Filed 4-7-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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