Agency information collection activities: Proposed collection; comment request,

[Federal Register: March 29, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 59)]

[Notices]

[Page 14891-14893]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr29mr99-50]

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration

Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Energy Information Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Agency information collection activities: Proposed collection; comment request.

SUMMARY: The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is soliciting comments on the proposed extensions and revisions of the Natural Gas Program Package Forms: EIA-176, ``Annual Report of Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply and Disposition;'' EIA-191, ``Monthly Underground Gas Storage Report;'' EIA-857, ``Monthly Report of Natural Gas Purchases and Deliveries to Consumers;'' and EIA-895, ``Monthly Quantity of Natural Gas Report.'' In addition, EIA proposes extensions without revision of the EIA-191S, ``Weekly Underground Gas Storage Report (Standby Form),'' and EIA-857S, ``Weekly Report of Natural Gas Supplies and Deliveries to Consumers (Standby Form).''

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before May 28, 1999. If you anticipate difficulty in submitting comments within the 60 days, contact the person identified below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Margaret Natof, Energy Information Administration, Office of Oil and Gas, Natural Gas Division, EI-44, Forrestal Building, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C. 20585. Alternatively, Ms. Natof may be reached by phone at 202-586-6303, by e- mail at margaret.natof@eia.doe.gov, or by FAX at 202-585-4420.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or copies of the form and instructions should be directed to Ms. Natof at the address listed above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background II. Current Actions III. Request for Comments

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1. Background

   The Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-275, 15 U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the Department of Energy Organization Act (Pub. L. No. 95-91, 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) requires the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to carry out a centralized, comprehensive, and unified energy information program. This program collects, evaluates, assembles, analyzes, and disseminates information on energy resource reserves, production, demand, technology, and related economic and statistical information. This information is used to assess the adequacy of energy resources to meet near and longer term domestic demands.

   The EIA, as part of its effort to comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), provides the general public and other Federal agencies with opportunities to comment on collections of energy information conducted by or in conjunction with the EIA. Any comments received help the EIA to prepare data requests that maximize the utility of the information collected, and to assess the impact of collection requirements on the public. Also, the EIA will later seek approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the collections under section 3507(h) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

   The individual forms are discussed in detail below:

   Form EIA-176, ``Annual Report of Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply and Disposition''

   The Form EIA-176 provides the EIA with the major elements of information required in conjunction with data collected in other EIA surveys to develop gas supply and disposition balances and relevant cost, price, and related information at the State level.

   The information collected on the Form EIA-176 is needed and used for the following purposes:

   (1) To develop and make available to Congress, the States, and the public an accurate quantified overview of the supply of natural and supplemental gas available to each of the various States from all sources both internal and external to the State, and the manner in which such supply was utilized or otherwise disposed of,

   (2) To determine the quantity of natural and supplemental gas consumed within each of the various States by market sector, the average prices for such gas, and the changes in consumption and price patterns over time, and

   (3) For various EIA publications (including the Natural Gas Annual (NGA), Natural Gas Monthly (NGM), Annual Energy Review (AER), Annual Energy Outlook (AEO), Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO), and the Monthly Energy Review (MER), which are widely used by both public and private individuals and organizations.

   EIA-191, ``Monthly Underground Gas Storage Report'

   Form EIA-191 requests monthly data on the location, capacity, and operations of all active underground natural gas storage fields. Storage data are a critical link in understanding the deliverability of the natural gas system of the United States and overall system operations.

   The information collected on Form EIA-191 will be used in the following ways:

   (1) To provide State-level data on underground natural gas storage with respect to injections, withdrawals, inventories, type of storage facility, location of facilities, and capacity for the EIA's NGM, MER, and AER. This monthly data collection also provides reliable baseline data on storage operations necessary for analyses, modeling, and comparison with normal industry operations in cases of severe weather, natural disaster, or other extreme circumstances,

   (2) To provide data on underground natural gas storage inventories for the EIA's AEO and STEO, and

   (3) To provide data on all aspects of underground natural gas storage to enable EIA and other elements of DOE to identify and assess the supplies of gas in storage by geographic location.

   EIA-857, ``Monthly Report of Natural Gas Purchases and Deliveries to Consumers

   Monthly State-level data collected on Form EIA-857 consist of the average price of natural gas purchased by local distribution companies at their citygates, consumption of natural gas by sector, and average price by sector. These data are necessary to provide timely information needed to measure the combined impact of government, industry, and consumer actions; geographic location; interfuel competition; climatic conditions; and a host of other factors upon the natural gas industry and natural gas consumers.

   The data collected on the Form EIA-857 are used to develop information for publication in EIA's NGM and MER, and to make the data available to Congress, State governments, industry, and the public.

   Form EIA-895, ``Monthly Quantity of Natural Gas Report''

   Form EIA-895 collects monthly information from the appropriate State agencies concerning natural gas production. It provides details on gross withdrawals from gas and oil wells, on volumes vented and flared, used for repressuring, nonhydrocarbon gases removed, used as fuel on leases, and the amount of natural gas available for marketing. These data are routinely collected by the States for taxation and statistical purposes. The aggregate data are published in the NGM, NGA, MER, and AER.

   Standby Forms EIA-857S, ``Weekly Report of Natural Gas Supplies and Deliveries to Consumers,'' and EIA-191S, ``Weekly Underground Gas Storage Report''

   The standby Forms EIA-857S and EIA-191S are designed to fill gaps in the natural gas data collections where monthly data are not sufficient for informed responses to natural disasters, severe weather, or other catastrophic events. The data would permit EIA to monitor the impact of regional disruptions on a weekly basis when the EIA Administrator determines that conditions or events warrant more frequent data.

   Data elements are similar to those on the ``parent'' Forms EIA-857 and EIA-191, except the weekly forms are simplified to the maximum extent possible. The standby forms are intended only for use as determined necessary in extreme situations. EIA would notify OMB of the intent to use the form(s), the region(s) affected, and the estimated burden before EIA would begin using the forms.

2. Current Actions

   This notice includes a request for a three-year extension of all previously approved Natural Gas Program Package forms. EIA is proposing modifications to the Form EIA-176 and its instructions to simplify the form and instructions, clarify terms used in the form and instructions, change the reporting deadlines, collapse certain reporting categories, require the reporting of transportation revenues, and eliminate the short form. Proposed changes to Form EIA-857 include simplification and clarification of the form and its instructions, collapsing of certain data reporting lines, and a requirement for reporting of transportation revenues. For Forms EIA-191, and EIA-895, EIA is proposing minimal clarifications to the instructions. No changes are proposed

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   for the standby Forms EIA-857S and EIA-191S.

   Significant changes proposed for the Form EIA-176 include:

   (1) Changing the filing date from April 1 to March 1 following the end of the report year,

   (2) Changing the extension-for-filing date from May 15 to April 1,

   (3) Simplifying and clarifying the instructions, reporting requirements, and definitions of terms,

   (4) Eliminating the requirement to distinguish between firm and interruptible deliveries, whether sold and delivered directly to consumers (Part V, line 5.4.1 through 5.4.6) or transported and delivered to consumers for the account of others (Part V, lines 7.4.1 through 7.4.6),

   (5) Eliminating the requirement to distinguish between gas volumes delivered to commercial or industrial consumers having nonutility generation of electricity from those not generating electricity, whether sold and delivered directly to consumers (Part V, lines 5.4.2 and 5.4.3) or transported and delivered to consumers for the account of others (Part V, lines 7.4.2 and 7.4.3),

   (6) Adding a requirement to report the cost or revenue for data items in Part V, 7.4.1 through 7.4.6, ``Transported and delivered to consumers for the account of others,'' and

   (7) Eliminating the short form version of the EIA-176.

   Significant proposed changes to the Form EIA-857 include:

   (1) Simplifying and clarifying the instructions, reporting requirements, and definitions of terms,

   (2) Eliminating the requirement for respondents to distinguish between gas volumes delivered to commercial or industrial consumers having nonutility generation of electricity, whether sold and delivered directly to consumers (lines 7 through 10) or transported and delivered by consumers for the account of others (lines 14 through 17), and

   (3) Adding a requirement to report revenues for all volumes of gas transported and delivered for the account of others to residential, commercial, or industrial consumers (lines 13 though 18).

3. Request for Comments

   Prospective respondents and other interested persons are invited to comment on the actions discussed in item II. The following guidelines are provided to assist in the preparation of comments. Please indicate to which form(s) your comments apply.

   General Issues

   1. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency and does the information have practical utility? Practical utility is defined as the actual usefulness of information to or for an agency, taking into account its accuracy, adequacy, reliability, timeliness, and the agency's ability to process the information it collects.

   2. What enhancements can be made to the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected?

      As a Potential Respondent

   1. Are the instructions and definitions clear and sufficient? If not, which instructions require clarification?

   2. Can information be submitted by the due date?

   3. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to average 20 hours for the annual EIA-176, 2 hours per month for the EIA- 191, 3 hours per month for the EIA-857, and \1/2\ hour per month for the EIA-895. Burden estimates for the Forms EIA-857S and EIA-191S would be determined and reported to the Office of Management and Budget at such time as the need to collect those data were invoked by the Administrator. The estimated burden includes the total time, effort, or financial resources expended to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide the information.

      Please comment on (1) the accuracy of the agency's estimate and (2) how the agency could minimize the burden of the collecting this information, including the use of information technology.

   4. The agency estimates respondents will incur no additional costs for reporting other than the hours required to complete the collection. What is the estimated: (1) Total dollar amount annualized for capital and start-up costs; and (2) recurring annual costs of operation and maintenance, and purchase of services associated with this data collection?

   5. Does any other Federal, State, or local agency collect similar information? If so, specify the agency, the data element(s), and the methods of collection.

      As a Potential User

   1. Is the information useful at the levels of detail indicated on the form?

   2. For what purpose(s) would the information be used? Be specific.

   3. Are there alternate sources for the information and are they useful? If so, what are their deficiencies and/or strengths?

      Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the form. They also will become a matter of public record.

      Statutory Authority: Sec. 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. No. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

      Issued in Washington, DC, March 23, 1999. Lynda T. Carlson, Director, Statistics and Methods Group, Energy Information Administration.

      [FR Doc. 99-7647Filed3-26-99; 8:45 am]

      BILLING CODE 6450-01-P