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Proposed Rule2025-20325

Standards for Business Practices of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines

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Published

November 19, 2025

Issuing agencies

Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission

Abstract

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) proposes to amend its regulations to incorporate by reference certain modifications to the latest version (Version 4.0) of Standards for Business Practices of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines adopted by the Wholesale Gas Quadrant (WGQ) of the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB). NAESB's revisions in Version 4.0 of the standards streamline the process for accessing publicly available gas-electric coordination data during extreme cold weather or emergency events.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 221 (Wednesday, November 19, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 221 (Wednesday, November 19, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52012-52019]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-20325]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

18 CFR Part 284

[Docket No. RM96-1-044]

Standards for Business Practices of Interstate Natural Gas
Pipelines

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) proposes
to amend its regulations to incorporate by reference certain
modifications to the latest version (Version 4.0) of Standards for
Business Practices of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines adopted by the
Wholesale Gas Quadrant (WGQ) of the North American Energy Standards
Board (NAESB). NAESB's revisions in Version 4.0 of the standards
streamline the process for accessing publicly available gas-electric
coordination data during extreme cold weather or emergency events.

DATES: Comments are due January 20, 2026.

ADDRESSES: Comments, identified by docket number, may be filed in the
following ways. Electronic filing through <a href="https://www.ferc.gov">https://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 U.S. Postal Service 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.

[[Page 52013]]

[cir] Hand (including courier) delivery: Deliver to: Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852.
The Comment Procedures Section of this document contains more
detailed filing procedures.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jerry Chiang (Technical Issues), Office of Technical Reporting and
Economics, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE,
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8786, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#48222d3a3a31662b202129262f082e2d3a2b662f273e">[email&#160;protected]</a>.
Oscar F. Santillana (Technical Issues), Office of Energy Market
Regulation, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE,
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-6392, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a6c9d5c5c7d488d5c7c8d2cfcacac7c8c7e6c0c3d4c588c1c9d0">[email&#160;protected]</a>.
David Faerberg (Legal Issues), Office of the General Counsel,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington,
DC 20426, (202) 502-8275, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3a5e5b4c535e145c5b5f48585f485d7a5c5f4859145d554c">[email&#160;protected]</a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

Paragraph
Nos.

I. Overview................................................ 1
II. Background............................................. 3
III. Discussion............................................ 9
A. Modifications to Version 4.0 of Business Practice 11
Standards.............................................
1. WGQ Additional Standards........................ 12
2. WGQ Quadrant Electronic Delivery Mechanism 13
Standards.........................................
3. WGQ Capacity Release Related Standards.......... 14
B. Proposed Implementation Procedures.................. 15
IV. Notice of Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards......... 23
V. Incorporation by Reference.............................. 24
VI. Information Collection Statement....................... 31
VII. Environmental Analysis................................ 38
VIII. Regulatory Flexibility Act........................... 39
IX. Comment Procedures..................................... 42
X. Document Availability................................... 45

I. Overview

1. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) proposes
to amend its regulations at 18 CFR 284.12 to incorporate by reference
the latest modifications to Version 4.0 of Standards for Business
Practices of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines adopted by the Wholesale
Gas Quadrant (WGQ) of the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB)
applicable to interstate natural gas pipelines. The incorporation by
reference of these standards into the Commission's regulations would
improve the coordination between the natural gas pipelines and electric
utilities. Such coordination is essential to maintaining reliability
for both the natural gas pipeline network system and the bulk electric
system, especially during periods when both systems have coincident
peak requirements.
2. NAESB is an American National Standards Institute-accredited,
non-profit standards development organization formed for the purpose of
developing voluntary standards and model business practices that
promote more competitive and efficient natural gas and electric
markets. On December 4, 2024, NAESB filed a report informing the
Commission that it had modified Version 4.0 of the business practice
standards (Informational Report).\1\ These revisions to the standards
would improve the reliability of the interstate natural gas
infrastructure to support the bulk electric system and improve
communication among gas and electric market participants to enhance
situational awareness during extreme cold weather events.\2\
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\1\ See NAESB WGQ Business Practice Standards Version 4.0
Report, Docket No. RM96-1-044 (Dec. 4, 2024).
\2\ As explained below, NAESB has adopted two new standards and
revisions to one existing standard in response to Recommendation 5
of the report that the staffs of the Commission, North American
Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), and Regional Entities
issued November 7, 2023: FERC et al., FERC, NERC & Reg'l Entity
Staff Rep.: Inquiry into Bulk-Power Sys. Operations During Dec. 2022
Winter Storm Elliott, Docket No. AD23-8-000, at 143 (Nov. 7, 2023)
(Recommendation 5), <a href="https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/filedownload?fileid=00F8FAAC-A049-C84B-8784-8BB5FEC00000">https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/filedownload?fileid=00F8FAAC-A049-C84B-8784-8BB5FEC00000</a> (as updated
Feb. 28. 2024, <a href="https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/filedownload?fileid=BB92A244-97DD-C8A7-96AC-8D897D600000">https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/filedownload?fileid=BB92A244-97DD-C8A7-96AC-8D897D600000</a>)
[hereinafter Winter Storm Elliot Report].
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II. Background

3. Since 1996, the Commission has incorporated by reference in its
regulations NAESB's business practice standards and communication
methodologies of interstate natural gas pipelines to create a more
integrated and efficient pipeline network system. These regulations
have been promulgated in the Order No. 587 series of orders,\3\ wherein
the Commission has incorporated by reference the standards for
interstate natural gas pipeline business practices and electronic
communications developed by NAESB's WGQ. Upon incorporation by
reference, these revisions to the standards will modify the currently
incorporated version (Version 4.0) of NAESB's business practice
standards.
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\3\ This series of orders began with the Commission's issuance
of Order No. 587, Standards for Bus. Pracs. of Interstate Nat. Gas
Pipelines, 61 FR 39053 (July 26, 1996), FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,038
(1996) (cross-referenced at 76 FERC ] 61,042).
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4. On July 25, 2022, then-Chairman Richard Glick of the Commission
and Jim Robb, President and CEO of the NERC, sent a letter to NAESB
requesting NAESB convene a forum ``to identify actions that will
improve the reliability of the natural gas infrastructure system as
necessary to support the bulk electric system and to address recurring
challenges stemming from natural gas-electric infrastructure
interdependency.'' \4\
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\4\ Letter from then-Chairman Richard Glick of the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission and Jim Robb, President and CEO of the
North American Reliability Corporation to Michael Desselle, Chairman
of NAESB, and Jonathan Booe, Executive Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer (July 25, 2022) (on file at NAESB), <a href="https://naesb.org/pdf4/FERC_NERC_Letter_072922_to_NAESB.pdf">https://naesb.org/pdf4/FERC_NERC_Letter_072922_to_NAESB.pdf</a>. See also, FERC,
NERC, and Regional Entity Staff Report, The February 2021 Cold
Weather Outage in Texas and the South Central United States (Nov.
2021) (Recommendation 7), <a href="https://www.ferc.gov/media/february-2021-cold-weather-outages-texas-and-south-central-united-states-ferc-nerc-and">https://www.ferc.gov/media/february-2021-cold-weather-outages-texas-and-south-central-united-states-ferc-nerc-and</a>.
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5. In response to that letter, NAESB convened a Gas-Electric
Harmonization Forum to consider issues related to the challenges
stemming from natural gas-electric interdependency. Over 700
individuals representing more than 370 different organizations from all
segments of the natural gas and electric markets participated in the
Gas-Electric Harmonization Forum. NAESB released

[[Page 52014]]

its Gas-Electric Harmonization Forum Report on July 28, 2023, which
identified 20 recommendations for consideration to improve the
reliability of natural gas infrastructure as necessary to support the
bulk electric system and to address the recurring challenges stemming
from natural gas-electric interdependency.
6. On November 7, 2023, as updated on February 28, 2024, the
Commission, NERC, and various regional entities published a report on
the performance of the bulk power system during Winter Storm Elliot in
December of 2022.\5\ The report looked at the cold weather event that
occurred between December 21 and December 26, 2022 (Winter Storm
Elliott), in which unplanned cold-weather outages significantly
jeopardized grid reliability. Part of this analysis looked at how the
events affected the interrelation between transportation on natural gas
pipelines and generator outages. The Winter Storm Elliot Report
included several recommendations concerning natural gas-electric
coordination. Specifically, to help improve the interrelation between
natural gas pipelines and the electric system, the report recommended
that NAESB ``convene natural gas infrastructure entities, electric grid
operators, and LDCs (local distribution companies) to identify
improvements in communication during extreme cold weather events to
enhance situational awareness.'' \6\
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\5\ Winter Storm Elliott Report, supra note 2.
\6\ Id. at 143.
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7. In response to the Winter Storm Elliot Report, the NAESB Board
of Directors created a jointly assigned annual plan item as part of the
WGQ, Wholesale Electric Quadrant (WEQ), and Retail Market Quadrant
(RMQ) 2024 Annual Plans. The Annual Plan directed the Joint WGQ, WEQ,
and RMQ Business Practices Subcommittees to review and modify the NAESB
Gas/Electric Coordination Business Practice Standards, and any
corresponding standards, that could improve communications among gas
and electric market participants and enhance situational awareness
during extreme weather events without endangering sensitive commercial
information. Between January and July 2024, the Joint WGQ, WEQ, and RMQ
Business Practices Subcommittees held ten meetings to identify and
evaluate possible areas of standards development. NAESB states that
``on July 19, 2024, the joint subcommittees voted out a recommendation
proposing new and revised WGQ Business Practice Standards.'' NAESB
further states that ``[o]n October 24, 2024, the NAESB WGQ Executive
Committee voted to approve the recommendation with super majority
support. NAESB WGQ membership subsequently ratified the new and revised
standards on November 25, 2024.'' \7\
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\7\ Informational Filing at 3.
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8. On December 4, 2024, NAESB filed its Informational Report
informing the Commission that it had modified Version 4.0 of the NAESB
WGQ Business Practice Standards applicable to interstate natural gas
pipelines. The NAESB Informational Report identifies three
modifications to the WGQ Version 4.0 standards, which include one
revised standard and two new standards, and discusses the deliberations
that led to the changes. The revision creates a central location on
pipeline Informational Postings websites where transportation service
providers can post publicly available data, including scheduled
quantity information. This revision establishes a new information
posting category, ``Gas Electric Coordination,'' for use, when
applicable, by a transportation service provider to help streamline the
process for Regional Transmission Organizations/Independent System
Operators (RTO/ISO) and other parties accessing this data during
extreme weather or emergency events. One new standard facilitates the
posting of applicable scheduled quantity information for power plants
that are directly connected to the pipeline as part of the ``Gas
Electric Coordination'' category. The second new standard supports the
inclusion of the geographic information of impacted area(s),
location(s), and/or pipeline facility(ies) by a transportation service
provider when issuing a critical notice. Pipelines are currently
required to make this information available through computer-to-
computer electronic data interchange in addition to other batch file
downloadable formats they may provide.\8\
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\8\ 18 CFR 284.12 (a)(1)(v), (b)(3)(i)(A). See Standards for
Bus. Pracs. of Interstate Nat. Gas Pipelines, Order No. 587-G, 83
FERC ] 61,029, at text accompanying note 58 (1998), 63 FR 20072
(April 23, 1998).
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III. Discussion

9. In this notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR), we propose to
incorporate by reference in our regulations the three modifications to
Version 4.0 of the NAESB WGQ consensus business practice standards. As
an initial matter, we note that the modified WGQ Version 4.0 standards
include two new standards and one revised standard to the following
sets of existing Version 4.0 WGQ Business Practice Standards. Each set
of Business Practice Standards is hereafter referred to as a
``manual.''

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Manual Business practice standards
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0............................. Additional Standards.
4............................. Quadrant Electronic Delivery Mechanism
Related Standards.
5............................. Capacity Release Related Standards.
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We propose that compliance filings to revise pipeline tariffs to
reflect the changes in accordance with a final rule be filed with the
Commission no later than 120 days after the Commission issues a final
rule in this proceeding or, if the compliance filing date falls on a
weekend or holiday, on the first business day thereafter, with a
proposed effective date 180 days from the date compliance filings are
due in this proceeding.

10. We discuss below some specific aspects of NAESB's Informational
Report.

A. Modifications to Version 4.0 of Business Practice Standards

11. NAESB uses its consensus process to develop and approve WGQ
business practice standards. As the Commission found in the Order No.
587 series of orders, incorporation by reference of consensus standards
is appropriate, because the consensus process helps ensure the
reasonableness of the standards by requiring that the standards draw
support from a broad spectrum of industry participants representing all
segments of the industry. Moreover, because the industry conducts
business under these standards, the Commission has found value in
incorporating standards that have the widest possible support. In
section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act
of 1995,\9\ Congress affirmatively requires federal agencies to use
technical standards developed by voluntary consensus standards
organizations, like NAESB, to carry out policy objectives or
activities.
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\9\ Public Law 104-113, 12(d), 110 Stat. 775 (1996).
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1. WGQ Additional Standards
12. The modified WGQ Version 4.0 added a new standard, WGQ Standard
No. 0.3.30, to the Additional Standards manual, which supports a
natural gas transportation service provider in posting scheduled
quantity information for power plants directly connected to the
pipeline, as part of the newly established Gas Electric Coordination

[[Page 52015]]

category. WGQ Standard No. 0.3.30 identifies examples of the data that
could be posted in the new category, including Cycle Indicator (Cycle)
which are the specific times throughout the gas day for shippers to
submit nomination requests for natural gas transportation. According to
existing NAESB standard provisions, ``Cycle'' would include each of the
five standard daily nominations cycles (Timely, Evening, Intraday 1,
Intraday 2, and Intraday 3) or additional transportation service
provider defined cycles. WGQ Standard 0.3.30 also includes the
Effective Gas Day (Eff Gas Day), which is the Gas Day for which the
information is applicable, beginning at 9AM Central Clock Time and
ending 9AM Central Clock Time the next day. It also includes the
Effective Time (Eff Time), the time for which the posted information is
applicable, which may be subsequent to the posting.
13. Additionally, WGQ Standard No. 0.3.30 also includes fields
describing the applicable generators' locations including the
generator's location (Loc), which may be the transportation service
providers' assigned identifier where transactions may take place,
Location Name (Loc Name), Location County (Loc Cnty), Location State
Abbreviation (Loc St Abbrev). The standard also includes the
Measurement Basis (Meas Basis), such or Million British Thermal Units.
14. WGQ Standard No. 0.3.30 includes Posting Date (Post Date) and
Posting Time (Post Time) the date and time at which transportation
service providers post the relevant information. Finally, the standard
includes posting of the RTO/ISO in whose service territory the affected
generator is directly connected to the interstate pipeline and Total
Scheduled Quantity (TSQ)--the net quantity scheduled to be delivered to
each applicable generator at the effective date and time of the
posting.
2. WGQ Quadrant Electronic Delivery Mechanism Standards
15. The modified WGQ Version 4.0 revised existing standard WGQ
Standard No. 4.3.23 under the Quadrant Electronic Delivery Mechanism
Standards manual by establishing a new information posting category,
Gas Electric Coordination, for use by a transportation service provider
as part of its Informational Postings website. The revised WGQ Standard
No. 4.3.23 creates a central location on an Informational Postings
website where a transportation service provider can post publicly
available data, including scheduled quantity information, to help RTOs/
ISOs and other parties access these data.
3. WGQ Capacity Release Related Standards
16. The modified WGQ Version 4.0 added a new standard, WGQ Standard
No. 5.3.74 under the Capacity Release Related Standards manual, to
support the inclusion of geographic information when a natural gas
transportation service provider issues a critical notice, such as
geographic information of impacted areas, locations, and pipeline
facilities.\10\ The inclusion of geographic information in a critical
notice can help parties receiving critical notices, including end users
and RTOs/ISOs, identify and assess any possible impact to their
systems.
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\10\ Critical notices are notices posted on a transportation
service provider's website that, according to existing WGQ Version
4.0 Standard No. 5.2.1, ``pertain to information on transportation
service provider conditions that affect scheduling or adversely
affect scheduled gas flow.''
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B. Proposed Implementation Procedures

17. We propose to use the compliance filing requirements explained
below, as revised and prescribed in Order No. 587-V, to increase the
transparency of the interstate natural gas pipelines' incorporation by
reference of the NAESB WGQ Standards so that shippers and the
Commission will know which tariff provision(s) implements each standard
as well as the status of each standard.\11\
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\11\ Standards for Bus. Pracs. of Interstate Nat. Gas Pipelines,
Order No. 587-V, 77 FR 43711 (July 26, 2012), 140 FERC ] 61,036, at
PP 36-39 (2012).
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18. We propose that compliance filings to revise pipeline tariffs
to reflect the changes in accordance with a final rule be filed with
the Commission no later than 120 days after issuance of a final rule by
the Commission in this proceeding or, if the compliance filing date
falls on a weekend or holiday, on the first business day thereafter,
with a proposed effective date 180 days from the date compliance
filings are due in this proceeding. As the Commission found in Order
No. 587-V, incorporation by reference of the revised compliance filing
requirements would increase the transparency of the interstate natural
gas pipelines' incorporation by reference of the NAESB WGQ Standards so
that shippers and the Commission would know which tariff provision(s)
implements each standard as well as the status of each standard.\12\
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\12\ Trans-Union Interstate Pipeline L.P., 141 FERC ] 61,167, at
P 36 (2012) (Order No. 587-V Compliance Order).
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19. Consistent with the Commission's practice since Order No. 587-
V, each interstate natural gas pipeline must designate a single tariff
section under which every NAESB WGQ Standard incorporated by reference
by the Commission is listed.\13\ For each NAESB standard, the pipeline
must specifically list in that tariff section:
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\13\ Id. P 36; Standards for Bus. Pracs. of Interstate Nat. Gas
Pipelines, 174 FERC ] 61,103, at P 21 (2021) (Version 3.2 NOPR).
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(a) whether the standard is incorporated by reference;
(b) for those standards not incorporated by reference, the tariff
provision that complies with the standard; or
(c) for those standards with which the pipeline does not comply, an
indication in the tariff section of whether the pipeline has been
granted a waiver, extension of time, or other variance with respect to
compliance with the standard.\14\
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\14\ Shippers can use the Commission's electronic tariff system
to locate the tariff record containing the NAESB standards, which
will indicate the docket in which any waiver or extension of time
was granted.
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20. For those standards with which the pipeline does not comply,
the pipeline must provide an explanatory statement in the transmittal
letter of whether the pipeline has been granted a waiver, extension of
time, or other variance with respect to compliance with the standard.
21. Likewise, consistent with past practice, we will post on the
Commission's eLibrary website (under Docket No. RM96-1-044) a sample
tariff format to provide filers with an illustrative example to aid
them in preparing their compliance filings.
22. Consistent with our policy since Order No. 587-V,\15\ entities
may request waivers under the requirements set forth in Order No. 587-V
and the Commission will then evaluate those requests.\16\
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\15\ Order No. 587-V, 140 FERC ] 61,036.
\16\ Order No. 587-V Compliance Order, 141 FERC ] 61,167 at PP
4, 38 (a pipeline does not need to seek a waiver for standards that
address business practices that the pipeline does not offer).
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23. If a pipeline is requesting a continuation of an existing
waiver or extension of time, it must include a table in its transmittal
letter that identifies the standard for which the Commission granted
the waiver or extension of time, and the docket number or order
citation to the proceeding in which the Commission granted the waiver
or extension of time. The pipeline also must present an explanation for
why such waiver or extension of time should remain in force with regard
to the modified WGQ Version 4.0 Standards incorporated by reference in
any final rule.
24. This continues the Commission's practice of having pipelines
include in

[[Page 52016]]

their tariffs a common location that identifies the way in which the
pipeline is incorporating all the NAESB WGQ Standards and the standards
with which it is required to comply.

IV. Notice of Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards

25. Office of Management and Budget Circular A 119 (February 10,
1998) provides that Federal Agencies should publish a request for
comment in a NOPR when the agency is seeking to issue or revise a
regulation proposing to incorporate by reference a voluntary consensus
standard or a government-unique standard. In this NOPR, the Commission
is proposing to incorporate by reference a new WGQ Version 4.0
Additional Business Practice Standard No. 0.3.30, a revised WGQ Version
4.0 Quadrant Electronic Delivery Mechanism Related Business Practice
Standard No. 4.3.23, and a new WGQ Version 4.0 Capacity Release Related
Business Practice Standard No. 5.3.74, which are voluntary consensus
standards developed by the WGQ.

V. Incorporation by Reference

26. The Office of the Federal Register requires agencies proposing
to incorporate material by reference into their regulations to discuss
the ways that the materials it incorporates by reference are reasonably
available to interested parties and how interested parties can obtain
the materials.\17\ The regulations also require agencies to summarize,
in the preamble of the final rule, the material that it incorporates by
reference. The latest modifications to the Version 4.0 standards we are
proposing to incorporate by reference consist of revisions to three
sets of NAESB WGQ Business Practice Standards that address a variety of
topics and are designed to streamline the transactional processes for
the wholesale natural gas industry by promoting a more reliable and
efficient market. The applicable sets comprise a new WGQ Additional
Business Practice Standard, a revised WGQ Quadrant Electronic Delivery
Mechanism Related Business Practice Standard, and a new WGQ Capacity
Release Related Business Practice Standard. We summarize these three
sets of standards below.\18\
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\17\ 1 CFR 51.5. See Incorporation by Reference, 79 FR 66267
(Nov. 7, 2014).
\18\ In addition to the new and revised standards described
above and included in NAESB's December 4, 2024 report, the
Commission also is incorporating by reference recently revised WGQ
Invoicing Related Standards (Version 4.0) that includes the Minor
Correction incorporated by reference in Standards for Bus. Pracs. of
Interstate Nat. Gas Pipelines, Order No. 587-AA, 89 FR 97518 (Dec.
9, 2024), 189 FERC ] 61,135 (2024). The standard contains no
substantive changes from those adopted in Order No. 587-AA.
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27. The WGQ Additional Standards address standards that are in
addition to the five distinct areas of business activities--
Nominations, Flowing Gas, Invoicing, Electronic Delivery Mechanism, and
Capacity Release. The six categories within the WGQ Additional
Standards are: (1) General; (2) Creditworthiness; (3) Gas/Electric
Operational Communications; (4) Operating Capacity and Unsubscribed
Capacity; (5) Location Data Download; and (6) Storage Information.
28. The WGQ Quadrant Electronic Delivery Mechanism Related
Standards define the framework for the electronic dissemination and
communication of information between parties in the North American
wholesale gas marketplace for Electronic Data Interchange/EDM
transfers, batch flat file/EDM transfers, informational postings
websites, Electronic Bulletin Boards/EDM, and interactive flat file/
EDM.
29. The WGQ Capacity Release Related Standards define the business
processes for communication of information related to the selling of
all or any portion of a transportation service requester's contract
rights.
30. Commission regulations provide that copies of the standards
incorporated by reference may be obtained through purchase or otherwise
from the North American Energy Standards Board, 1415 Louisiana, Suite
3460, Houston, Texas 77002, phone: (713) 356-0060, website: <a href="https://www.naesb.org/">https://www.naesb.org/</a>. The standards can also be reviewed without purchasing
them.
31. The procedures used by NAESB make its standards reasonably
available to those affected by Commission regulations, which generally
is comprised of entities that have the means to acquire the information
they need to effectively participate in Commission proceedings.
Participants can join NAESB, for an annual membership cost of $8,000,
which entitles them to full participation in NAESB and enables them to
obtain these standards at no additional cost. Non-members may obtain
any of the ten individual standards manuals for $250 per manual, which
in the case of these standards would total $750 for all three manuals.
Non-members also may obtain the complete set of Standards Manuals for
$2,000.
32. NAESB provides ample opportunities for non-members, including
agents, subsidiaries, and affiliates of NAESB members, to obtain access
to the copyrighted standards through a no-cost limited copyright
waiver. The limited copyright waivers are issued by the NAESB office
and are granted to non-members on a case-by-case basis for the purpose
of evaluating standards prior to purchase and/or reviewing the
standards to prepare comments to a regulatory agency. Following the
granting of a limited copyright waiver, the non-member is provided with
read-only access to the standards through the end of the comment period
or some other set period of time via Locklizard Safeguard Secure
Viewer.\19\ NAESB will grant one limited copyright wavier per company
for each set of standards or final actions. Any entity seeking a
limited copyright waiver should contact the NAESB office.
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\19\ For more information on Locklizard, please refer to the
company's website: <a href="https://www.locklizard.com">https://www.locklizard.com</a>.
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VI. Information Collection Statement

33. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations require
that OMB approve certain reporting, record keeping, and public
disclosure requirements (information collection) imposed by an
agency.\20\ Therefore, we are submitting our proposed information
collection to OMB for review in accordance with section 3507(d) of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Upon approval of a collection of
information, OMB will assign an OMB control number and an expiration
date. Respondents subject to the filing requirements of a rule will not
be penalized for failing to respond to these collections of information
unless the collection of information displays a valid OMB control
number.
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\20\ 5 CFR 1320.11.
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34. We solicit comments on our need for this information, whether
the information will have practical utility, the accuracy of the
provided burden estimates, ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be collected, and any suggested methods
for minimizing respondents' burden, including the use of automated
information techniques.
35. Public Reporting Burden: The Commission's burden estimates for
the proposals in this NOPR are for one-time implementation of the
information collection requirements of this NOPR (including tariff
filing, documentation of the process and procedures, and information
technology work).
36. The collections of information related to this NOPR fall under
FERC-545 (Gas Pipeline Rates: Rate Change (Non-Formal)) \21\ and FERC-
549C

[[Page 52017]]

(Standards for Business Practices of Interstate Natural Gas
Pipelines).\22\ The following estimates of reporting burden are related
only to this NOPR and anticipate the costs to interstate natural gas
pipelines for compliance with our proposals in this NOPR. The burden
estimates are related to implementing these standards and regulations
and will not result in ongoing costs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\21\ FERC-545 covers rate change filings made by natural gas
pipelines, including tariff changes.
\22\ FERC-549C covers Standards for Business Practices of
Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines.
\23\ The number of respondents is the number of entities in
which a change in burden from the current standards to the proposed
exists, not the total number of entities from the current or
proposed standards that are applicable.
\24\ The estimated hourly cost (salary plus benefits) provided
in this section is based on the salary figures for May 2024 posted
on April 2, 2025 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Utilities
sector (available at <a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm">https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_22.htm</a>)
and scaled to reflect benefits using the relative importance of
employer costs for employee compensation (available at <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm">https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm</a>). The hourly estimates for
salary plus benefits are:
Computer and Information Systems Manager (Occupation Code: 11-
3021), $110.62.
Computer and Information Analysts (Occupation Code: 15-1210),
$68.34.
Electrical Engineer (Occupation Code: 17-2071), $71.19.
Legal (Occupation Code: 23-0000), $140.76.
The average hourly cost (salary plus benefits), weighting these
skill sets evenly, is $97.728. We round it to $98/hour.

RM96-1-044 NOPR (Standards for Business Practices of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Annual number
respondents of responses Total number of Average burden hr. per response Total annual burden hours & total annual Annual costs per
\23\ per respondent responses cost \24\ respondent ($)
(1) (2) (1) * (2) = (3) (4).................................... (3) * (4) = (5).......................... (5)/(1) = (6)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FERC-545 (one-time)..................... 193 1 193 10 hrs.; $980.......................... 1,930 hrs.; $189,140..................... $980
FERC-549C (one-time).................... 193 1 193 100 hrs.; $9,800....................... 19,300 hrs.; $1,891,400.................. 9,800
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total............................... .............. 386 ................ ....................................... 21,230 hrs.; $2,080,540.................. ................
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The total one-time burden (for both the FERC-545 and FERC-549C)
would take place in Year 1 as follows:

FERC-545: 193 entities x 1 response/entity (10 hours/response x $98/
hour) = $189,140
FERC-549C: 193 entities x 1 response/entity (100 hours x $98/hour) =
$1,891,400

Title: FERC-545, Gas Pipeline Rates: Rates Change (Non-Formal);
FERC-549C, Standards for Business Practices of Interstate Natural Gas
Pipelines.
Action: Proposed information collections
OMB Control Nos.: 1902-0154 (FERC-545), 1902-0174 (FERC-549C).
Respondents: Business or other for profit (e.g., Natural Gas
Pipelines, applicable to only a few small businesses).
Frequency of Responses: One-time implementation (related to
business procedures, capital/start-up).
37. Necessity of Information: In response to NAESB's standard
development activities, the proposals in this NOPR would, if
implemented, make minor adjustments to the standards previously
incorporated by reference by the Commission. First, a revised standard
in the WGQ Quadrant Electronic Delivery Mechanism Related Standards
manual, WGQ Standard No. 4.3.23, establishes a new information posting
category--Gas Electric Coordination, for use by a transportation
service provider when applicable, to help streamline the process for
RTOs/ISOs and other parties accessing critical data during extreme cold
weather or emergency events. Second, a new standard in the WGQ
Additional Standards manual, WGQ Standard No. 0.3.30, facilitates the
posting of applicable scheduled quantity information for directly
connected power plants, as part of the Gas Electric Coordination
category. Types of data that could be provided include, Cycle
Indicator, Effective Gas Day, Location, Location Name, Location County,
Location State Abbreviation, Measurement Bases, Posting Date, Posting
Time, RTO/ISO, and Total Scheduled Quantity. Third, a new standard in
the WGQ Capacity Release Related Standards manual, WGQ Standard No.
5.3.74, would support the inclusion of the geographic information of
impacted areas, locations, or pipeline facilities by a transportation
service provider when issuing a critical notice. If the above standards
are implemented, the Commission's Office of Enforcement will use the
data for general industry oversight.
Internal Review: We have reviewed the requirements pertaining to
business practices of interstate natural gas pipelines and made a
preliminary determination that the proposed revisions are necessary to
establish a more efficient and integrated pipeline network. These
requirements conform to our plan for efficient information collection,
communication, and management within the natural gas pipeline
industries. We determined through our internal review that there is
specific, objective support for the burden estimates associated with
the information requirements.
38. Interested persons may obtain information on the reporting
requirements by contacting the following: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426; email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7d391c091c3e11181c0f1c131e183d1b180f1e531a120b">[email&#160;protected]</a>.
39. Comments concerning the collection of information(s) and the
associated burden estimate(s), should be sent to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs, the Office of Management and
Budget, Washington, DC 20503: attention: Desk Officer for the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, phone: (202) 395-0710; fax: (202) 395-
4718. A copy of the comments on information collection should also be
sent to the Commission, in Docket No. RM96-1-044 by any of the
following methods:
<bullet> eFiling at Commission's Website: <a href="https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp">https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp</a>;
<bullet> U.S. Postal Service Mail: Persons unable to file
electronically may mail similar pleadings to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426; or
<bullet> Delivery of filings other than by eFiling or the U.S.
Postal Service should be delivered to the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852.

VII. Environmental Analysis

[[Page 52018]]

40. The Commission is required to prepare an Environmental
Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement for any action that may
have a significant adverse effect on the human environment.\25\ The
actions that we propose to take here fall within categorical exclusions
in the Commission's regulations for rules that are clarifying,
corrective, or procedural, for information gathering, analysis, and
dissemination, and for rules regarding sales, exchange, and
transportation of natural gas that require no construction of
facilities.\26\ Therefore, an environmental review is unnecessary and
has not been prepared as part of this NOPR.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\25\ Reguls. Implementing the Nat'l Envt'l Pol'y Act, Order No.
486, 52 FR 47897 (Dec. 17, 1987), FERC Stats. & Regs. Preambles
1986-1990 ] 30,783 (1987) (cross-referenced at 41 FERC ] 61,284).
\26\ See 18 CFR 380.4(a)(2)(ii), 380.4(a)(5), 380.4(a)(27).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

VIII. Regulatory Flexibility Act

41. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) \27\ generally
requires a description and analysis of proposed rules that will have
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The Commission is not required to make such an analysis if proposed
regulations would not have such an effect.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\27\ 5 U.S.C. 601-612.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

42. Approximately 193 interstate natural gas pipelines, both large
and small, are potential respondents subject to the requirements
proposed in this NOPR. Most of the natural gas pipelines regulated by
the Commission do not fall within the RFA's definition of a small
entity,\28\ which is currently defined for natural gas pipelines as a
company that, in combination with its affiliates, has total annual
receipts of $41.5 million or less.\29\ For the year 2022, only 14
companies not affiliated with larger companies had annual revenues in
combination with their affiliates of $41.5 million or less and
therefore could be considered a small entity under the RFA. This
represents about seven percent of the total universe of potential
respondents that may have a significant burden imposed on them. We
estimate that the one-time implementation cost of the proposals in this
NOPR is $2,080,540 (or $10,780 per entity, regardless of entity
size).\30\ We do not consider the estimated $10,780 impact per entity
to be significant. Moreover, these requirements are designed to benefit
all customers, including small businesses that must comply with them.
Further, as noted above, incorporation by reference of consensus
standards helps ensure the reasonableness of the standards by requiring
that the standards draw support from a broad spectrum of industry
participants representing all segments of the industry. Because of that
representation and the fact that industry conducts business under these
standards, the Commission has found value in incorporating standards
that have the widest possible support.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\28\ See 5 U.S.C. 601(3) citing section 3 of the Small Business
Act (SBA), 15 U.S.C. 623. Section 3 of the SBA defines a ``small
business concern'' as a business that is independently owned and
operated, and that is not dominant in its field of operation.
\29\ 13 CFR 121.201 (Subsector 486-Pipeline Transportation;
North American Industry Classification System code 486210; Pipeline
Transportation of Natural Gas) (2025) ``Annual Receipts'' are total
income plus cost of goods sold.
\30\ This number is derived by dividing the total cost figure by
the number of respondents. $2,080,504/193 = $10,780.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

43. Accordingly, pursuant to section 605(b) of the RFA,\31\ the
Commission certifies that the regulations proposed herein should not
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\31\ 5 U.S.C. 605(b).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

IX. Comment Procedures

44. The Commission invites interested persons to submit comments on
the matters and issues proposed in this notice to be incorporated by
reference, including any related matters or alternative proposals that
commenters may wish to discuss. Comments are due January 20, 2026.
Comments must refer to Docket No. RM96-1-044, and must include the
commenter's name, the organization they represent, if applicable, and
their address in their comments. All comments will be placed in the
Commission's public files and may be viewed, printed, or downloaded
remotely as described in the Document Availability section below.
Commenters on this proposal are not required to serve copies of their
comments on other commenters.
45. The Commission encourages comments to be filed electronically
via the eFiling link on the Commission's website at <a href="https://www.ferc.gov">https://www.ferc.gov</a>. The Commission accepts most standard word processing
formats. Documents created electronically using word processing
software must be filed in native applications or print-to-PDF format
and not in a scanned format. Commenters filing electronically do not
need to make a paper filing.
46. Commenters that are not able to file comments electronically
may file an original of their comment by USPS mail or by courier-or
other delivery services. For submission sent via USPS only, filings
should be mailed to: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of
the Secretary, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426. Submission of
filings other than by USPS should be delivered to: Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852.

X. Document Availability

47. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the
internet through the Commission's Home Page (<a href="https://www.ferc.gov">https://www.ferc.gov</a>).
48. From the Commission's Home Page on the internet, this
information is available on eLibrary. The full text of this document is
available on eLibrary in PDF and Microsoft Word format for viewing,
printing, and/or downloading. To access this document in eLibrary, type
the docket number excluding the last three digits of this document in
the docket number field.
49. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the Commission's
website during normal business hours from FERC Online Support at 202-
502-6652 (toll free at 1-866-208-3676) or email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7b1d1e091814151712151e080e0b0b14090f3b1d1e0918551c140d">[email&#160;protected]</a>, or the Public Reference Room; phone (202)
502-8371, TTY (202) 502-8659; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#25555047494c460b5740434057404b4640574a4a4865434057460b424a53">[email&#160;protected]</a>.

XI. Regulatory Planning and Review

50. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess the
costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if
regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize
net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public
health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). Executive
Order 13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and
benefits, of reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of promoting
flexibility. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA)
has determined this regulatory action is not a ``significant regulatory
action,'' under section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866, as amended.
Accordingly, OIRA has not reviewed this regulatory action for
compliance with the analytical requirements of Executive Order 12866.

List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 284

Continental shelf, Incorporation by reference, Natural gas,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

[[Page 52019]]

By direction of the Commission. Commissioner Chang is concurring
with a separate statement attached.

Issued: October 16, 2025.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.

In consideration of the foregoing, the Commission proposes to amend
18 CFR part 284 as follows.

PART 284--CERTAIN SALES AND TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS UNDER THE
NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978 AND RELATED AUTHORITIES

0
1. The authority citation for part 284 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 717-717z, 3301-3432; 42 U.S.C. 7101-7352;
43 U.S.C. 1331-1356.

0
2. Amend Sec. 284.12 by:
0
a. Revising paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (iv) through (vii); and
0
b. Removing paragraph (a)(1)(viii).
The revisions read as follows:

Sec. 284.12 Standards for pipeline business operations and
communications.

(a) * * *
(1) * * *
(i) WGQ Additional Standards (Version 4.0, September 29, 2023),
adding Standard No. 0.3.30, November 25, 2024;
(ii) * * *
(iii) * * *
(iv) WGQ Invoicing Related Standards (Version 4.0, September 29,
2023), with Minor Correction MC24002 applied May 17, 2024;
(v) WGQ Quadrant Electronic Delivery Mechanism Related Standards
(Version 4.0, September 29, 2023), revising Standard No. 4.3.23,
November 25, 2024;
(vi) WGQ Capacity Release Related Standards (Version 4.0, September
29, 2023), adding Standard No. 5.3.74, November 25, 2024; and
(vii) WGQ Cybersecurity Related Standards (Version 4.0, September
29, 2023).
* * * * *
United States of America
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Standards for Business Practices of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines
Docket No. RM96-1-044
(Issued October 16, 2025)
CHANG, Commissioner, concurring:
1. I concur with the Commission's order proposing to incorporate
the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) gas-electric
coordination standards into Commission-jurisdictional natural gas
tariffs. I applaud NAESB and industry stakeholders for years of effort
to address critical findings and recommendations from the Commission
and North American Electricity Reliability Corporation's reports
following Winter Storms Uri and Elliott. I write separately to urge
NAESB and industry stakeholders to continue working to improve
communication between transportation service providers (interstate
pipelines) and generators and electricity system operators and to
address outstanding gas-electric coordination matters.
2. The NAESB standards proposed here exemplify the type of brick-
by-brick incremental improvements needed to address pressing gas-
electric coordination challenges. However, these proposed standards
alone may not be enough to fully address the on-going challenges. More
information sharing will improve situational awareness for grid
operators and power generators, which would help improve service to
customers, particularly when the systems are stressed. I therefore
encourage NAESB and industry stakeholders to continue this work and
further enhance such information-sharing standards, potentially
including providing information related to the natural gas scheduled by
generators that are not directly connected to interstate pipelines. I
further encourage continued collaboration between pipelines, suppliers,
natural gas marketers, and owners of upstream gas gathering systems to
update pipeline operators and ultimately downstream gas users and
electricity system operators of changes in system conditions, such as
wellhead freezes, that could affect natural gas users and consumers.
3. Given the criticality of natural gas for the electricity sector,
combined with increasingly tight supply and demand balance, continued
improvements in gas-electric coordination are paramount for ensuring
reliability. In addition to providing feedback on the NAESB standards
proposed in this NOPR, I urge stakeholders to provide comments in this
proceeding on areas where additional improvements on gas-electric
coordination would be valuable, particularly regarding information-
sharing along the chain of entities that physically control or have
financial rights to natural gas deliveries, starting at the wellhead
and ending at generators or the gas local distribution companies.
Further, I welcome input from stakeholders to help inform the
Commission's next steps as we address this critical issue.
With these interests in mind, I respectfully concur.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Judy W. Chang,
Commissioner.

[FR Doc. 2025-20325 Filed 11-18-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P

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