141 FERC ¶ 61,124

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

18 C.F.R. Part 152

[Docket No. RM13-1-000]

Enhanced Natural Gas Market Transparency

(Issued November 15, 2012)

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of Inquiry.

SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) seeks 

comments on what changes, if any, should be made to its regulations under the natural 

gas market transparency provisions of section 23 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA), as 

adopted in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005). In particular, the Commission 

is considering the extent to which quarterly reporting of every natural gas transaction 

within the Commission’s NGA jurisdiction that entails physical delivery for the next day 

(i.e., next day gas) or for the next month (i.e., next month gas) would provide useful 

information for improving natural gas market transparency. 

DATES: Comments are due [insert date 60 days after publication in the FEDERAL 

REGISTER].

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number an in 

accordance with the requirements posted on the Commission’s web site, 

http://www.ferc.gov. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
Docket No. RM13-1-000 ii

• Agency Web Site: Documents created electronically using word processing 

software should be filed in native applications or print-to-PDF format and not in a 

scanned format, at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filings/efiling.asp.

• Mail/Hand Delivery: Commenters unable to file comments electronically must 

mail or hand deliver an original and copy of their comments to: Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street, NE, 

Washington, DC 20426.

Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments and additional 

information on the rulemaking process, see the Comment Procedures Section of this 

document

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jamie Marcos (Legal Information)

Office of Enforcement

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

888 First Street, NE

Washington, DC 20426

(202) 502-6628

Jamie.Marcos@ferc.gov

Kamaria Martin (Technical Information)

Office of Enforcement

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

888 First Street, NE

Washington, DC 20426

(202) 502-8015

Kamaria.Martin@ferc.gov
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

Enhanced Natural Gas Market Transparency Docket No. RM13-1-000

NOTICE OF INQUIRY

(Issued November 15, 2012)

1. In this Notice of Inquiry, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

(Commission) seeks comments on what changes, if any, should be made to its regulations 

under the natural gas market transparency provisions of section 23 of the Natural Gas Act 

(NGA), as adopted in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005).

1

 In particular, the 

Commission is considering the extent to which quarterly reporting of every natural gas 

transaction within the Commission’s NGA jurisdiction that entails physical delivery for 

the next day (i.e., next day gas) or for the next month (i.e., next month gas)2 would 

provide useful information for improving natural gas market transparency. 

 1 Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-5, § 316, 119 Stat. 594 (2005) 

(EPAct 2005) (codified as 15 U.S.C. 717t-2).

2 Under section 1(b) of the NGA, the Commission has jurisdiction to regulate the 

transportation and sale for resale of natural gas in interstate commerce and any natural 

gas company engaged in such transportation or sale. 15 U.S.C. 717(b). The 

Commission’s jurisdiction, however, does not extend to “first sales” removed from the 

Commission’s NGA section 1(b) jurisdiction by the Wellhead Decontrol Act of 1989, 

sales of imported natural gas, sales of imported liquefied natural gas, and sales and 

transportation by NGA section 1(b)-(d) entities. See infra n.25.
Docket No. RM13-1-000 2

2. The Commission is considering amending its regulations pursuant to the natural 

gas market transparency provisions added to the NGA by EPAct 2005.3

 Section 23 of the 

NGA directs the Commission “to facilitate price transparency in markets for the sale or 

transportation of physical natural gas in interstate commerce” and states that the

Commission may obtain “information about the availability and prices of natural gas

sold at wholesale and in interstate commerce” from “any market participant.”4

 Thus, 

section 23 grants the Commission the authority to require submission of information 

regarding the availability and prices of wholesale physical natural gas in interstate 

commerce as it is considering in this Notice of Inquiry. In addition, section 4A of the 

 3 EPAct 2005 § 316 (codified as 15 U.S.C. 717t-2).

4 Natural Gas Act § 23, 15 U.S.C. 717t-2 (2006) (NGA § 23). Section 23 of the 

NGA states: “[(a)](2) The Commission may prescribe such rules as the Commission 

determines necessary and appropriate to carry out the purposes of this section. The rules 

shall provide for the dissemination, on a timely basis, of information about the 

availability and prices of natural gas sold at wholesale and in interstate commerce to the 

Commission, State commissions, buyers and sellers of wholesale natural gas, and the 

public.

[(a)](3) The Commission may(A) obtain the information described in paragraph 

(2) from any market participant; and (B) rely on entities other than the Commission to 

receive and make public the information, subject to the disclosure rules in subsection (b). 

. . .

(b)(1) Rules described in subsection (a)(2), if adopted, shall exempt from 

disclosure information the Commission determines would, if disclosed, be detrimental to 

the operation of an effective market or jeopardize system security.

[(b)](2) In determining the information to be made available under this section and 

the time to make the information available, the Commission shall seek to ensure that 

consumers and competitive markets are protected from the adverse effects of potential 

collusion or other anticompetitive behaviors that can be facilitated by untimely public 

disclosure of transaction-specific information.” NGA § 23.
Docket No. RM13-1-000 3

NGA states that “[i]t shall be unlawful for any entity, directly or indirectly, to use or 

employ, in connection with the purchase or sale of natural gas . . . subject to the 

jurisdiction of the Commission, any manipulative or deceptive device or contrivance . . . 

in contravention of such rules and regulations as the Commission may prescribe as 

necessary in the public interest or for the protection of natural gas ratepayers.”5

 

3. This Notice of Inquiry will assist the Commission in determining whether

additional changes should be made to its regulations under the natural gas market 

transparency provisions of section 23 of the NGA, as adopted in the EPAct 2005,

6 and 

the appropriate scope and particulars of any such changes. 

I. Background

A. Commission Authority

4. EPAct 2005 amended the NGA by adding the natural gas market transparency

provisions at section 23.7 Section 23 of the NGA directs the Commission “to facilitate 

price transparency” and grants it the authority to “prescribe such rules as the Commission 

determines necessary and appropriate to carry out the purposes of this section [23]” and 

to obtain “information about the availability and prices” from “any market participant,” 

except for natural gas producers, processors, or users with a de minimis market presence 

 5 Natural Gas Act § 4A, 15 U.S.C. 717C-1 (2006) (NGA § 4A).

6 EPAct 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-58, 119 Stat. 594. 

7 See EPAct 2005 § 316 (codified as 15 U.S.C. 717t-2). EPAct 2005 similarly 

amended the Federal Power Act. See EPAct 2005 § 1281 (codified as 16 U.S.C. 824t) 

(amending the FPA to add the Electricity Market Transparency Rules in section 220).
Docket No. RM13-1-000 4

of natural gas sold at wholesale in interstate commerce.8 In so doing, NGA section 23 

requires that the Commission consider the degree of price transparency provided by 

existing price publishers and trade processing services, and rely on such publishers and 

services to the maximum extent possible. In addition, any rules issued pursuant to NGA 

section 23 must provide for “the dissemination, on a timely basis, of information about 

the availability and prices of natural gas sold at wholesale and in interstate commerce to 

the Commission, State commissions, buyers and sellers of wholesale natural gas, and the 

public.”9

 However, NGA section 23 also directs the Commission to exempt from 

disclosure information that, if disclosed, would be “detrimental to the operation of an 

effective market or [that would] jeopardize system security,” and “to ensure that 

consumers and competitive markets are protected from the adverse effects of potential 

collusion or other anticompetitive behaviors that can be facilitated by untimely public 

disclosure of proprietary trading information.”10

5. In 2006 after EPAct 2005 added section 23 to the NGA, Commission staff 

conducted an extensive outreach effort to formulate options for implementing EPAct 

2005’s transparency provisions for wholesale natural gas and electric markets. As a 

result, the Commission used its new transparency authority to adopt additional filing and 

 8 NGA § 23.

9 Id. § 23(a)(2).

10 Id. § 23(b).
Docket No. RM13-1-000 5

posting requirements for the sale or transportation of physical natural gas in interstate 

commerce in Order Nos. 704, 720, and 720-A.11 

6. Specifically, Order No. 704 requires that “any buyer or seller of more than a 

de minimis volume of natural gas report volumes of relevant transactions in an annual 

filing using a new Form No. 552.”12 In issuing Order No. 704, the Commission 

explained that the “final rule will facilitate transparency of the price formation process in 

natural gas markets by collecting information to understand in broad terms the size of the 

natural gas market and the use of fixed prices and of index prices.” 13

7. In Order No. 720, the Commission required, pursuant to NGA section 23, major 

non-interstate pipelines to post scheduled flow information and information for each 

 11 Transparency Provisions of Section 23 of the Natural Gas Act, Order No. 704, 

FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,260 (2007), order on reh’g, Order No. 704-A, 73 FR 55726 

(Sept. 26, 2008), FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,275 (2008), order dismissing reh’g and 

clarification, Order No. 704-B, 125 FERC ¶ 61,302 (2008) (Order No. 704) (“Without 

confidence in the basic processes of price formation, market participants cannot have 

faith in the value of their transactions, the public cannot believe that the prices they see 

are fair, and it is more difficult for the Commission to ensure that jurisdictional prices are 

‘just and reasonable.’”); see also Pipeline Posting Requirements under Section 23 of the 

Natural Gas Act, Order No. 720, 73 FR 73494 (Dec. 2, 2008), FERC Stats. & Regs. 

¶ 31,283, at P 3 (2008), order on reh’g, Order No. 720-A, 130 FERC ¶ 61,040 (2010) 

(Order No. 720). The Commission has also exercised its authority to issue rules pursuant 

the Electric Market Transparency Rules in section 220 of the Federal Power Act. See 

Electricity Market Transparency Provisions of Section 220 of the Federal Power Act, 

Order No. 768, 77 FR 61896 (Oct. 11, 2012), FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,336 (2012)

(Order No. 768) (extending Electric Quarterly Report filing requirements additional 

market participants that are exempt from the Commission jurisdiction under section 205 

of the Federal Power Act).

12 Order No. 704, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,260 at PP 2-3.

13 Id. P 7.
Docket No. RM13-1-000 6

receipt and delivery point with a design capacity greater than 15,000 MMBtu per day.14 

Order No. 720 also requires interstate pipelines to post information regarding no-notice 

service.15 The Commission also issued Order No. 720-A, which broadly affirmed Order 

No. 720, but granted certain requests for rehearing and clarification, including a finding 

that major non-interstate pipelines must post scheduled flow data for virtual or pooling 

points, subject to certain conditions. On appeal in Texas Pipeline Association v. FERC, 

the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated Order Nos. 720 and 720-A as the reporting 

requirements contained therein applied to major non-interstate pipelines.16 However, the

court’s decision did not disrupt the reporting and posting obligations of interstate 

pipelines.17

8. In addition to adding the natural gas market transparency provisions to the NGA,

EPAct 2005 also added section 4A, which prohibits market manipulation in the natural 

gas markets and authorized the Commission to prescribe rules “as necessary in the public 

interest or for the protection of natural gas ratepayers.”18 Pursuant to section 4A, the 

Commission issued Order No. 670, which added Part 1c to the Commission’s 

 14 Order No. 720, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,283 at P 1.

15 Id.

16 Texas Pipeline Ass’n v. FERC, 661 F.3d 258 (5th Cir. 2011).

17 Order Granting Motion to Clarify Opinion, Texas Pipelines Ass'n v. FERC, 661 

F.3d 258 (Dec. 20. 2011).

18 EPAct 2005 § 315 (codified as 15 U.S.C. 717c).
Docket No. RM13-1-000 7

regulations19 setting forth rules that prohibit market manipulation in the natural gas 

market.20 Since issuing Order No. 670, the Commission has increased its efforts to 

prevent and detect market manipulation. As part of that effort, the Commission has 

sought to increase price transparency in the natural gas and electric markets to deter 

manipulative activities21 and to obtain additional market information to be able to better 

detect potential manipulative activities.22

9. While Order Nos. 704 and 720 began the Commission’s effort to facilitate price 

transparency in the natural gas markets as directed by Congress in EPAct 2005, the 

Commission has identified additional areas of the natural gas market in which it believes 

increased transparency may be necessary for market participants to better understand the 

market activities that produce the prices that are reported to indices. The additional 

information that may be necessary to facilitate price transparency may also assist the 

Commission in detecting, and ultimately deterring, market manipulation in the natural 

gas markets. As a result, the Commission is now seeking comments on whether it should 

 19 18 CFR Part 1c (2012).

20 Prohibition of Energy Market Manipulation, Order No. 670, FERC Stats. & 

Regs. ¶ 31,202 (2006).

21 See, e.g., Order No. 704, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,260, Order No. 720, FERC 

Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,283, Order No. 768, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,336.

22 See, e.g., Order No. 768; Enhancement of Electricity Market Surveillance and 

Analysis through Ongoing Electronic Delivery of Data from Regional Transmission 

Organizations and Independent System Operators, Order No. 760, 77 FR 26674, FERC 

Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,330 (2012) (requiring each regional transmission organization and 

independent system operator to electronically deliver to the Commission, on an ongoing 

basis, data related to the markets that it administers.) 
Docket No. RM13-1-000 8

amend its regulations to further facilitate price transparency in the natural gas markets. 

In particular, the Commission is considering proposing to require all market participants 

engaged in sales of wholesale physical natural gas in interstate commerce to report 

quarterly to the Commission every natural gas transaction within the Commission’s NGA 

jurisdiction that entails physical delivery for the next day (i.e., next day gas) or for the 

next month (i.e., next month gas). 

B. Areas Identified to Increase Price Transparency in the Natural Gas 

Markets

10. The Commission recognizes that some data are currently available to assess the 

validity of price signals to the market and the incentives for natural gas market 

manipulation. In particular, under Order No. 704, natural gas market participants that 

buy or sell above 2.2 Bcf annually of wholesale natural gas for next day delivery or next 

month delivery are required to report annually through Form No. 552 their annual sales 

and purchase volumes, by product (i.e., gas for next day vs. next month delivery) and by 

transaction type (e.g., fixed and index priced), and whether the specific transaction was 

reported to natural gas index price publishers. These data may be reported either by 

individual company affiliates as their traded volumes or by their parent company as 

rolled-up aggregate volumes. The data reported through Form No. 552 are publicly 

available.23 In addition to the Form No. 552 data, the Commission receives tick data 

from the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) for physical and financial natural gas 

 23 Order No. 704, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,260.
Docket No. RM13-1-000 9

transactions and natural gas futures tick data from NYMEX.24 These tick data are also 

available to market participants. The Commission and market participants also have 

access to some information about the transactions that contribute to the formation of the 

daily and monthly indices reported by Platts and the daily indices reported by Natural 

Gas Intelligence. Additionally, the Commission surveys publicly available scheduled 

flows on natural gas pipelines to discern fundamental activities underpinning regional 

prices. 

11. However, the information that is currently available does not provide full market 

visibility or price transparency. Much of the data that is currently available is aggregated 

and does not provide transaction-specific details. For example, the transactional details 

of off-exchange transactions of physical natural gas are unavailable. Similarly, the data 

available through Form No. 552 reporting do not include information on price, date, 

location, or counterparty. The buyers and sellers who report through Form No. 552 are 

only required to report those monthly transactions that are conducted during bid week for 

next calendar month delivery. And, while buyers and sellers report whether a transaction 

was reported to an index publisher, they do not identify the index publisher to whom the 

transaction was reported. Moreover, the publicly available information on scheduled 

natural gas pipeline flows is also only available in an aggregated format. 

12. The Commission is considering amending its regulations to provide greater natural 

gas market transparency and to assist the Commission in detecting potential 

 24 “Tick data” refers to market data that shows the price and volume of every 

consummated trade.
Docket No. RM13-1-000 10

manipulation. Specifically, the Commission is considering whether requiring all market 

participants engaged in sales of wholesale physical natural gas in interstate commerce to

report quarterly to the Commission every natural gas transaction within the 

Commission’s NGA jurisdiction that entails physical delivery for the next day (i.e., next 

day gas) or for the next month (i.e., next month gas) will improve natural gas market 

transparency.

25 In particular, the Commission is considering requiring market 

participants to report the following data elements for all jurisdictional transactions that 

entail physical delivery for the next day (i.e., next day gas) or for the next month (i.e., 

next month gas), in a standardized, electronic format and on a quarterly basis: name, 

address, and contact information of the trading company, name and location of its 

holding company, product traded (i.e., next day-delivery natural gas and next month-

 25 As noted above, supra n.2, the Commission has jurisdiction to regulate the 

transportation and sale for resale of natural gas in interstate commerce and any natural 

gas company engaged in such transportation or sale. 15 U.S.C. 717(b). The 

Commission’s jurisdiction, however, does not extend to “first sales” removed from the 

Commission’s NGA section 1(b) jurisdiction by the Wellhead Decontrol Act of 1989, 

and sales and transportation by NGA sections 1(c) and (d) entities. The term “first sale” 

is defined in section 2(21) of the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978. Section 2(21) sets forth 

a general rule that all sales in the chain from the producer to the ultimate consumer are 

“first sales” until the gas is purchased by an interstate pipeline, an intrastate pipeline, or 

an LDC. If an interstate pipeline, intrastate pipeline, or LDC purchases the gas, no 

subsequent sale of that gas is a “first sale.” In addition, sales by an interstate pipeline, 

intrastate pipeline, LDC, or their affiliates are not “first sales,” unless the sale is 

attributable to volumes produced by the pipeline, LDC or any affiliate. See In the Matter 

of Amendments to Blanket Sales Certificates, 107 FERC ¶ 61,174, at PP 19-28 (2004). 

NGA section 3(b)(1) also provides that the importation of natural gas from a nation with 

which there is in effect a free trade agreement and the importation of liquefied natural gas 

shall be treated as a first sale within the meaning of NGPA section 2(21). 15 U.S.C. 

717b(b)(1). The Commission is not currently considering requiring reporting of those 

sales of natural gas that have been excluded from its NGA section 1(b) jurisdiction.
Docket No. RM13-1-000 11

delivery natural gas), trade execution method (i.e., exchange or off-exchange, and name 

of exchange or broker) and settlement type (e.g., fixed or index priced), volume (in 

MMBtu) of natural gas traded, location (hub), price, and date and time of the transaction, 

name of the counterparty, and the name(s) of the Index publisher(s) to which each 

transaction was reported. 

13. As the Commission is considering whether it should amend its regulations 

pursuant to NGA section 23, it is also considering whether it should disseminate any

transactional data that it would collect publicly to comply with section 23’s requirement 

that any rules issued pursuant to section 23 provide for timely public dissemination of 

information about the availability and prices of natural gas.

26 Specifically, the 

Commission is considering releasing the transactional information to the public on a 

quarterly basis, one month after it is reported to the Commission.

14. The Commission believes such regular reporting of every natural gas transaction 

within the Commission’s NGA jurisdiction that entails physical delivery for the next day 

or for the next month would facilitate price transparency in the natural gas market by 

enabling buyers and sellers of natural gas to better understand the trading and prices that 

contribute to the daily and monthly indices. Market participants lack a complete 

understanding of the actions that produce the prices that are reported to the indices. 

Increased confidence in these indices requires greater transparency to assure prices are a 

 26 NGA § 23(a)(2).
Docket No. RM13-1-000 12

result of fundamental supply and demand forces and not the result of manipulation or 

other abusive market conduct. 

15. Furthermore, obtaining such information would significantly increase the 

information available to the Commission concerning transactions in the natural gas 

markets thereby enhancing its ability to identify the potential for manipulation in the 

natural gas markets, to examine more efficiently the manipulative behavior, and to assess 

the effects of manipulation. 

II. Questions

16. The Commission invites all comments on the best approaches to enhance the 

Commission’s surveillance of natural gas markets and transparency. In particular, the 

Commission requests comment as to what extent market transparency would be enhanced 

by requiring market participants to report the transactional data it is considering. The

Commission also asks commenters to respond to the following questions.

A) Questions Related to the Type of Transactional Information the 

Commission Should Consider Requiring Market Participants to 

Report.

17. Data received through exchanges and collected through other Commission reports 

neither provide full market visibility necessary for surveillance purposes nor facilitate 

price transparency, because much of it is only available in an aggregate format without 

transaction-specific details. Thus, the Commission is considering requiring market 

participants to report key data elements for all jurisdictional sales of wholesale physical 

natural gas in interstate commerce that entail physical delivery for the next day (i.e., next 

day gas) or for the next month (i.e., next month gas), in a standardized, electronic format 
Docket No. RM13-1-000 13

and on a quarterly basis. Such key elements could include name, address and contact 

information of the trading company, name and location of its holding company, product 

traded (i.e., next day-delivery natural gas and next month-delivery natural gas), trade 

execution method (i.e., exchange or off-exchange, and name of exchange or broker) and 

settlement type (e.g., fixed or index priced), volume (in MMBtu) of natural gas traded, 

location (hub), price, and date and time of the transaction, name of the counterparty, and 

the name(s) of the Index publisher(s) to which each transaction was reported. With this 

context, the Commission requests comments on the following questions:

1) What specific data elements should the Commission require to be filed? 

Should the key data elements noted above be required to be included in 

such submission or are there additional data elements the Commission 

should require? Explain why or why not. Are there data elements that the 

Commission should not require to be reported for commercial or burden 

reasons? If so, explain why.

2) Should the Commission collect this data on a quarterly basis? If not, which 

other reporting frequency should be considered by the Commission and 

why (i.e. monthly, semi-annually, annually)? 

3) Should the Commission limit the transactional reporting requirements being 

considered to near-term delivery (i.e., next-day and next-month delivery 

physical natural gas products) or should the Commission consider reporting 

requirements for other products as well (i.e., intra-day, balance of month, 

other non-next day delivery strips, exercised next-month gas options, 
Docket No. RM13-1-000 14

and/or futures that have delivery obligations beyond prompt month)? 

Explain why or why not.

B) Questions Related to Possible Public Dissemination.

18. In order to satisfy section 23’s requirement that the information obtained through 

rules issued pursuant to section 23 be publicly disseminated on a timely basis,27 the 

Commission is considering whether and how to publicly disseminate any transactional 

data collected. In particular, the Commission is considering releasing all of the 

information submitted quarterly, one month after it is submitted to the Commission. For 

example, transactions completed from January 1 through March 31 would be reported by 

May 1. Data collected through this process would provide a timely retrospective view of 

the trading activities. Thus, the Commission requests comment on the following 

questions:

1) Which of the key data elements mentioned above in paragraph 17, if any,

should be made public? Explain why the Commission should or should not 

make certain data elements public.

 27 NGA § 23(a)(2). Section 23 also requires the Commission to consider whether 

public dissemination of this information could be detrimental to the operation of an 

effective market or jeopardize system security. Id. § 23(b)(1). Moreover, the 

Commission must also seek to ensure that consumers and competitive markets are 

protected from the adverse effects of anticompetitive behavior that could be facilitated by 

untimely disclosure of transactional information. Id. § 23(b)(2).
Docket No. RM13-1-000 15

2) Should the Commission mask, aggregate, or modify the reported data in 

any manner prior to public dissemination? Explain why the collected data 

should or should not be masked, aggregated, or modified.

3) If commercial sensitivity is an issue, is there an appropriate time lag for 

making information available (i.e., one month, two months)? What are the 

competitive impacts of publicly disseminating the transactional data being 

considered by the Commission on a lagged basis? Would public disclosure 

of transactional data negatively affect the competitiveness of market 

participants? Provide a detailed explanation as to why public disclosure of 

transactional data would or would not negatively affect the competitiveness 

of market participants. 

C) Questions Related to the Scope of the Transactional Reporting 

Requirement Being Considered by the Commission.

19. As noted above, the Commission is considering limiting the scope of the 

reporting requirement to only natural gas sales within the Commission’s NGA 

section 1(b) jurisdiction that entail physical delivery for the next day or next month. 

Under section 1(b) of the NGA, the Commission has jurisdiction to regulate the 

transportation and sale for resale of natural gas in interstate commerce and any natural 

gas company engaged in such transportation or sale.28 The Commission’s jurisdiction, 

however, does not extend to “first sales,” which were removed from the Commission’s 

NGA section 1(b) jurisdiction by the Wellhead Decontrol Act, and sales and 

 28 15 U.S.C. 717(b). 
Docket No. RM13-1-000 16

transportation by NGA section 1(c)-(d) entities.29 Thus, the Commission is considering 

not requiring reporting of information relating to transactions that are outside of the 

Commission’s NGA section 1(b) jurisdiction. The Commission, therefore, requests 

comment on the following questions: 

1) Should the Commission consider including all sales “at wholesale and in 

interstate commerce”30 in the reporting requirement being considered by 

the Commission, including any such sales removed from the Commission’s 

NGA section 1(b) jurisdiction by the Wellhead Decontrol Act of 1989? 

Explain why or why not. 

2) How could the Commission minimize any difficulties in determining 

whether a sale is subject to the Commission’s NGA section 1(b) 

jurisdiction?

3) What would be the commercial impacts, if any, of limiting the reporting 

requirement to sales subject to the Commission’s NGA section 1(b) 

jurisdiction? Would the benefits of increased market transparency from 

requiring the reporting of jurisdictional sales outweigh any disadvantages 

of limiting the reporting requirement to such sales?

 29 See supra n.25. 

30 NGA § 23(a)(2).
Docket No. RM13-1-000 17

D) Questions Regarding the Burden to Market Participants.

20. The Commission recognizes that there would be some burden to market 

participants in instituting this requirement to report transactional data as discussed in this 

Notice of Inquiry. As such, the Commission is considering several conditions to the 

reporting requirements that would help to alleviate some of the burden. For example, the 

Commission recognizes that companies already gather data and report in Form No. 552, 

the Annual Report of Natural Gas Transactions, which requires reporting of information 

on an annual, aggregated basis that is similar to the information that the Commission is 

now, in this Notice of Inquiry, considering to require be reported on a quarterly, 

transaction-specific basis. However, after several years of receiving and analyzing 

annual, aggregated information through Form No. 552, the Commission believes that it 

may be necessary for market participants to report more granular transaction-specific 

information on a more frequent basis to increase natural gas price transparency and to 

assist in the Commission’s surveillance efforts. Therefore, in order to alleviate any 

additional burden to market participants, the Commission is considering discontinuing 

the existing public data reporting requirements through Form No. 552, after a full year of 

individual transactions data are reported to the Commission. Additionally, the 

Commission is considering instituting a de minimis volume for which market participants 

are required to report to the Commission.

1) What would the burden be on market participants to adapt their existing 

systems to be able to provide the information in compliance with new 

reporting requirements for market participants engaged in sales of 
Docket No. RM13-1-000 18

wholesale physical natural gas in interstate commerce above a de minimis

volume to report to the Commission every natural gas trade within the 

Commission’s NGA jurisdiction that entails physical delivery for the next 

day (i.e., next day gas) or for the next month (i.e., next month gas)? 

Estimate the incremental burden of reporting such transactional data on a 

quarterly basis given that much of the same information is currently 

gathered for and reported annually through Form No. 552. Estimate the 

initial reporting burdens (start up time and resources) as well as the ongoing 

reporting burden that would be necessary for market participants to comply 

with the reporting requirement being considered, the percentage of those 

additional costs compared with normal business operation costs, and 

provide an explanation and support for any estimate. Is there an additional 

burden for those market participants who do not report to index publishers 

versus those who do?

2) If the Commission decides to require transaction-specific reporting as it is 

considering in this Notice of Inquiry, should the Commission discontinue 

the existing public data reporting requirements through Form No. 552, 

initiated by Order No. 704, after a full year of individual transaction data 

are reported to the Commission? What would be the benefits and 

drawbacks with regard to market transparency of collecting only one or 

both data sets? 
Docket No. RM13-1-000 19

3) Should the Commission establish a threshold up to which market 

participants with a de minimis market presence would not be subject to the 

reporting requirements? The Annual Report of Natural Gas Transactions, 

Form No. 552, collects information from market participants that sold and 

purchased 2.2 Bcf or more of physical gas in the reporting year. Should the 

Commission establish a similar threshold for the reporting requirements 

being considered in this NOI? If so, what is a reasonable threshold and on 

what basis should it be established (i.e., by total quarterly sales and 

purchases, prior year’s annual sales and purchases)? 

III. Comment Procedures

21. The Commission invites interested persons to submit comments on the matters and 

issues proposed in this notice to be adopted, including any related matters or alternative 

proposals that commenters may wish to discuss. Comments are due [insert date 60 days 

from publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER]. Comments must refer to Docket 

No. RM13-1-000, and must include the commenter's name, the organization they 

represent, if applicable, and their address in their comments.

22. The Commission encourages comments to be filed electronically via the eFiling 

link on the Commission's web site at http://www.ferc.gov. The Commission accepts 

most standard word processing formats. Documents created electronically using word

processing software should be filed in native applications or print-to-PDF format and not 
Docket No. RM13-1-000 20

in a scanned format. Commenters filing electronically do not need to make a paper 

filing.

23. Commenters that are not able to file comments electronically must mail or hand 

deliver an original and copy of their comments to: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.

24. 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.

IV. Document Availability

25. 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 FERC's Home Page 

(http://www.ferc.gov) and in FERC's Public Reference Room during normal business 

hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First Street, NE, Room 2A, 

Washington, DC 20426.

26. From FERC'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.
Docket No. RM13-1-000 21

27. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the FERC’s web site during normal 

business hours from FERC Online Support at 202-502-6652 (toll free at 1-866-208-3676) 

or email at ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or the Public Reference Room at (202) 502-

8371, TTY (202) 502-8659. E-mail the Public Reference Room at 

public.referenceroom@ferc.gov. 

By direction of the Commission.

( S E A L )

Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,

Deputy Secretary.