130 FERC ¶ 61,039 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION 

[Docket No. RM10-12-000] 

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

(Issued January 21, 2010) 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of Inquiry. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) seeks 

comments on whether the Commission’s Electric Quarterly Report (EQR) filing 

requirements should be applied to market participants that are excluded from the 

Commission’s jurisdiction under section 205 of the Federal Power Act (FPA). This 

Notice of Inquiry will assist the Commission in determining what changes, if any, should 

be made to its regulations under the electric market transparency provisions of section 

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

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

REGISTER]

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number by any of the 

following methods: 

 Agency Web Site: http://ferc.gov. Documents created electronically using word 

processing software should be filed in native applications or print-to-PDF format 

and not in a scanned format. 
Docket No. RM10-12-000 ii

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

mail or hand deliver an original and 14 copies 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: 

Raymond Montini 

Office of Enforcement 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, NE 

Washington, DC 20426 

(202) 502-8714 

Raymond.Montini@ferc.gov 

Christina Switzer (Legal Information) 

Office of the General Counsel 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, NE 

Washington, DC 20426 

(202) 502-6379 

Christina.Switzer@ferc.gov
130 FERC ¶ 61,039 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION 

Before Commissioners: Jon Wellinghoff, Chairman; 

 Marc Spitzer, Philip D. Moeller, 

 and John R. Norris. 

Electricity Market Transparency Provisions 

 of Section 220 of the Federal Power Act 

Docket No. RM10-12-000 

NOTICE OF INQUIRY 

(Issued January 21, 2010) 

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

(Commission) seeks comments on whether the Commission’s Electric Quarterly Report 

(EQR)1

 filing requirements should be applied to market participants that are excluded 

from the Commission’s jurisdiction under section 205 of the Federal Power Act (FPA).2

 

Section 201(f) of the FPA excludes certain entities (i.e., federal entities, municipalities, 

and certain cooperatives with Rural Electrification Act financing and that sell less than 

 1

 At present, all public utilities, including power marketers, must file EQRs 

summarizing contractual terms and conditions in their agreements for all jurisdictional 

power sales. In addition to other requirements, EQR filers must provide detailed 

transactional information, including product type, price, quantity, duration and receipt 

and delivery points. 

2

 16 U.S.C. § 824d (2006). 
Docket No. RM10-12-000 2

4,000,000 MWh of electricity per year) from the Commission’s jurisdiction.3

 However, 

section 201(b)(2) states that, notwithstanding section 201(f), several sections of the FPA, 

including section 220,4

 shall apply to the entities described in those sections and such 

entities shall be subject to the Commission’s jurisdiction for the purposes of carrying out 

those particular provisions. Section 220 of the FPA directs the Commission “to facilitate 

price transparency in markets for the sale and transmission of electric energy in interstate 

commerce...” and states that the Commission may obtain “information about the 

availability and prices of wholesale electric energy and transmission service” from “any 

market participant.” Thus, section 220 of the FPA, when read in conjunction with 

section 201(b)(2), provides the Commission with jurisdiction to require information 

regarding the availability and prices of wholesale electric energy and transmission service 

from market participants, including those that are typically beyond the Commission’s 

jurisdiction for other purposes. 

2. This Notice of Inquiry will assist the Commission in determining what changes, if 

any, should be made to its regulations under the electric market transparency provisions 

of section 220 of the FPA, as adopted in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005).5

 

 

(continued...) 

3

 16 U.S.C. § 824(f) (2006). 

4

 16 U.S.C. § 824t (2006). 

5

 EPAct 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-58, 119 Stat. 594. EPAct 2005 § 1281(a)(1)-(2) 

states: 

(1) The Commission is directed to facilitate price 

transparency in markets for the sale and transmission of 
Docket No. RM10-12-000 3

In addition, the Commission is considering other refinements to the existing EQR filing 

requirements that may significantly enhance the effectiveness of the information 

gathered. 

I. Background

A. Commission Authority

3. EPAct 2005’s transparency provisions6

 enhance the Commission’s authority to 

collect “information about the availability and prices” of natural gas and electricity sold 

at wholesale in interstate commerce “to facilitate price transparency.”7

 EPAct 2005 

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 

 

electric energy in interstate commerce, having due regard for 

the public interest, the integrity of those markets, fair 

competition, and the protection of consumers. 

(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 wholesale electric energy and 

transmission service to the Commission, State commissions, 

buyers and sellers of wholesale electric energy, users of 

transmission services, and the public. 

6 See EPAct 2005 § 316 (codified as 15 U.S.C. § 717t-2) (amending the Natural 

Gas Act (NGA) to add the Natural Gas Market Transparency Rules in section 23); EPAct 

2005 § 1281 (codified as 16 U.S.C. § 824t) (amending the FPA to add the Electricity 

Market Transparency Rules in section 220). 

7 Id.
Docket No. RM10-12-000 4

services to the maximum extent possible.8

 However, if the Commission determines that 

existing price publications do not adequately provide price discovery or market 

transparency, the Commission may establish an electronic information system.9

 EPAct 

2005 also permits the Commission to require “any market participant,” except for entities 

with a de minimis market presence, to provide information with “due regard for the 

public interest, the integrity of those markets, fair competition, and the protection of 

consumers.”10 

4. In 2006, 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 posting requirements for the sale or transportation 

of physical natural gas in interstate commerce. Specifically, Order No. 704 requires 

buyers and sellers of more than a de minimis volume of natural gas to report aggregate 

volumes of relevant transactions in an annual filing.11 

 8 Id. 

9

 EPAct 2005 § 1281(a)(4). 

10 EPAct 2005 § 1281(d). In addition, EPAct 2005 § 1281(b)(1-2) directs the 

Commission to exempt from disclosure information that is “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.” 

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

FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,260, at P 32 (2007), order on reh’g, Order No. 704-A, 73 FR 

(continued...) 
Docket No. RM10-12-000 5

5. In exercising its new market transparency authority, the Commission explained 

that it required information from a market participant regardless of whether it is subject to 

the Commission’s traditional jurisdiction because “[p]rice formation in natural gas 

markets makes no distinction between transactions that are jurisdictional.” The 

Commission further 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.” 

In turn, this information 

further[s] the Commission’s efforts to monitor price formation 

in the wholesale natural gas markets, which supports the 

Commission’s market-oriented policies for the wholesale 

natural gas industries. [Such] policies require that interested 

persons have broad confidence that reported market prices 

accurately reflect the interplay of legitimate market forces. 

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 

 

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) (“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). In addition, if 

a market participant buys or sells less than a de minimis volume, but operates under 

blanket sales certificate authority pursuant to section 284.402 or section 284.284 of the 

Commission’s regulations, then it must make a filing with the Commission for 

identification and reporting purposes. However, it is not required to report aggregate 

volumes of relevant transactions. A market participant that buys or sells less than a de 

minimis volume and does not operate under blanket sales certificate authority is not 

required to make an annual filing with the Commission. 
Docket No. RM10-12-000 6

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

that jurisdictional prices are “just and reasonable.”12

6. In Order No. 720, the Commission required major non-interstate pipelines to post 

scheduled flow information and information for each receipt and delivery point with a 

design capacity greater than 15,000 MMBtu per day.13 Order No. 720 also requires 

interstate pipelines to post information regarding no-notice service.14 Similar to the 

Commission’s reasoning in Order No. 704, the Commission explained that Order 

No. 720’s 

posting requirements ... are grounded in the Commission's 

authority under section 23 of the NGA (as added by EPAct 

2005), which directs the Commission, in relevant part, to 

obtain and disseminate ‘information about the availability and 

prices of natural gas at wholesale and in interstate commerce.’ 

This provision enhances the Commission's authority to ensure 

confidence in the nation's natural gas markets. The 

Commission's market-oriented policies for the wholesale 

natural gas industry require that interested persons have broad 

confidence that reported market prices accurately reflect the 

interplay of legitimate market forces. Without confidence in 

the efficiency of price formation, the true value of 

transactions is very difficult to determine.15

 12 Order No. 704, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,260 at P 7. 

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

contemporaneously with this order is Order No. 720-A, which broadly affirms Order No. 

720, but grants 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. 

14 Id.

15 Id. P 3. 
Docket No. RM10-12-000 7

7. In the Natural Gas Transparency Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR), the 

Commission declined to extend such requirements to wholesale electric markets because, 

at the time, the Commission was considering other reforms to its regulation of electric 

markets.16 In particular, the Commission referred to its open access transmission service 

reforms and the more general review of competition in wholesale electric markets.17 

These efforts eventually led to two final rules. In Order No. 890, the Commission 

exercised its remedial authority “to limit further opportunities for undue discrimination, 

by minimizing areas of discretion, addressing ambiguities and clarifying various aspects 

of the pro forma [Open Access Transmission Tariff].”18 Moreover, in Order No. 719, the 

Commission made reforms “to improve the operation [and competitiveness] of organized 

wholesale electric power markets” in connection with “fulfilling its statutory mandate to 

ensure supplies of electric energy at just, reasonable and not unduly discriminatory or 

 16 See Transparency Provisions of Section 23 of the Natural Gas Act; 

Transparency Provisions of the Energy Policy Act, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking,

FERC Stats. & Regs. 32,614, at P 9-11 (2007) (Natural Gas Transparency NOPR) (“The 

Commission does not propose action with respect to electric markets at this time. The 

Commission has recently addressed and is currently addressing electric market 

transparency in other proceedings.”). 

17 Id.

18 Preventing Undue Discrimination and Preference in Transmission Service,

Order No. 890, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,241, at P 40, order on reh'g, Order No. 890-A, 

FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,261 (2007), order on reh'g and clarification, Order No. 890-B, 

73 FR 39092 (Jul. 8, 2008), 123 FERC ¶ 61,299 (2008), order on reh’g, Order No. 890-C, 

126 FERC ¶ 61,228 (2009), order on clarification, Order No. 890-D, 129 FERC ¶ 61,126 

(2009). 
Docket No. RM10-12-000 8

preferential rates.”19 Nonetheless, these final rules did not specifically address the 

facilitation of price transparency in electric markets. As a result, the Commission now 

seeks comments on whether the EQR filing requirements should be applied to market 

participants that are excluded from the Commission’s jurisdiction under section 205 of 

the FPA. 

B. Current Collection and Uses of EQR Data

8. At present, market participants that fall within the Commission’s jurisdiction 

under section 205(c) of the FPA must file EQRs summarizing contractual terms and 

conditions in their agreements for all jurisdictional services, including market-based rate 

power sales, cost-based rate power sales and transmission service sales that are part of 

power sales. EQR filers also must provide detailed transactional information, including 

product type, price, quantity, duration and receipt and delivery points for all power sales. 

9. As explained in Order No. 2001, one goal of the EQR is to ensure that customers 

and the Commission have the information “to identify situations that indicate the possible 

exercise of market power that warrant specific investigation.”20 Requiring EQR 

 19 Wholesale Competition in Regions with Organized Electric Markets, Order 

No. 719, 73 FR 64100 (Oct. 28, 2008), FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,281, at P 1 (2008),

order on reh’g, Order No. 719-A, 74 FR 37776 (Jul. 29, 2009), FERC Stats. & Regs. 

¶ 31,292 (2009), order denying reh’g and providing clarification, Order No. 719-B, 129 

FERC ¶ 61,252 (2009). 

20 Revised Public Utility Filing Requirements, Order No. 2001, FERC Stats. 

& Regs. ¶ 31,127, at P 1,4, reh’g denied, Order No. 2001-A, 100 FERC ¶ 61,074, reh’g 

denied, Order No. 2001-B, 100 FERC ¶ 61,342, order directing filing, Order No. 2001-C, 

101 FERC ¶ 61,314 (2002), order directing filing, Order No. 2001-D, 102 FERC 

¶ 61,334 (2003). 

(continued...) 
Docket No. RM10-12-000 9

information from market participants that are excluded from the Commission’s section 

205 jurisdiction will enhance the Commission’s ability to effectively examine and 

monitor: (1) price formation; (2) the number of sales; and (3) the market concentration 

occurring in electric markets where market participants that are excluded from the 

Commission’s section 205 jurisdiction play a large role.21 Because numerous market 

participants that are excluded from the Commission’s section 205 jurisdiction do not file 

EQRs, a jurisdictional seller’s market presence (i.e., its role in price formation) is 

difficult to determine.22 Obtaining more complete price and volume information for sales 

of electricity will increase the Commission’s ability to monitor power sales for 

indications of market power and manipulation. 

10. In addition, the EQR assists the Commission’s analysis of whether to grant a 

seller market-based rate authority (ex ante analysis) and provides an after the fact look at 

market-based rate authorization (ex post analysis).23 Collecting information from market 

 

21 The Energy Information Administration’s Electric Power Industry Overview 

2007 estimated that 29 percent of electric utility sales are made by publicly-owned 

electric utilities (municipals, public utility districts or public power districts, state 

authorities, irrigation districts, and joint municipal action agencies), consumer-owned 

rural electric cooperatives, and Federal electric utilities. Energy Information 

Administration, Electric Power Industry Overview 2007 (March 2009), 

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/page/prim2/toc2.html. 

22 For example, obtaining the sales information from market participants that are 

excluded from the Commission’s jurisdiction under section 205 of the FPA in the West 

and Southeast would enhance Commission staff’s ability to assess market conditions and 

identify the sales volumes transacted at major trading hubs in these regions. 

23 Ex post analysis includes ongoing oversight (EQR post analysis) and a timely 

(continued...) 
Docket No. RM10-12-000 10

participants that are excluded from the Commission’s section 205 jurisdiction would 

strengthen the Commission’s regulatory scheme and enhance its oversight of the marketbased rate program. 

11. For instance, the Commission’s ex ante analysis of whether to grant a seller 

market-based rate authority 24 may include, among other things, a detailed review of price 

data. One tool used by the Commission is the delivered price test (DPT),25 a well-

 

reconsideration of market-based rate authorization (triennial review). Ongoing EQR post 

analysis is conducted by Commission staff after each quarterly filing. A triennial review 

is an updated market power analysis filed every three years by large jurisdictional sellers 

that have been granted market-based rate authorization. The filing includes, among other 

things, representations of how the seller satisfies the Commission’s concerns with regard 

to horizontal and vertical market power. 

24 The Commission’s market-based rate program does not rely on an ex ante

finding alone, but instead depends on a consistent review of transaction data to ensure 

that such rates are just and reasonable. In approving the Commission’s market-based rate 

program, the Ninth Circuit upheld the Commission’s program because it relies on a 

“system [that] consists of a finding that the applicant lacks market power (or has taken 

sufficient steps to mitigate market power), coupled with strict reporting requirements to 

ensure that the rate is ‘just and reasonable’ and that markets are not subject to 

manipulation.” State of California, ex rel. Bill Lockyer v. FERC, 383 F.3d 1006, 1013 

(9th Cir. 2004), cert. denied (S. Ct. Nos. 06-888 and 06-1100, June 18, 2007)). 

25 The DPT defines the relevant market by identifying potential suppliers based on 

market prices, input costs and transmission availability, and then calculates each 

supplier’s economic capacity and available economic capacity for each season/load 

condition. Market-Based Rates For Wholesale Sales Of Electric Energy, Capacity And 

Ancillary Services By Public Utilities, Order No. 697, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,252, at 

P 106 (2007), clarified, 121 FERC ¶ 61,260 (2007), order on reh’g, Order No. 697-A, 

73 FR 25832 (May 7, 2008), FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,268, order on reh’g, Order No. 

697-B, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,285 (2008), order on reh’g, Order No. 697-C, FERC 

Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,291 (2009). The Commission requires the DPT if a seller fails one of 

the indicative screens. The indicative screens analyze the number of megawatts of 

capacity an applicant owns or controls, rather than analyzing actual price data. However, 

“sellers that do not pass the indicative screens are allowed to provide additional analysis 

(continued...) 
Docket No. RM10-12-000 11

established test that has been used routinely to analyze market power for market-based 

rate authorizations and merger analyses. Commission staff and outside parties preparing 

a DPT analysis rely on proxy prices and published price indices to determine the price at 

which market participants that do not file EQRs may be able to deliver power. A better 

approach would be to obtain more complete price and volume information for sales of 

electricity to more accurately reflect market prices, improve the quality of the DPT 

results and assist the Commission in determinations regarding the ability of sellers to 

exercise market power. Further, market participants also will benefit as a result of having 

more transparency in the market because enhanced transparency will provide more 

information for market participants to make decisions regarding the value of transactions. 

In addition, with regard to mergers and acquisitions, because the DPT is a primary tool 

used to evaluate the effect on competition, obtaining power sales information from 

market participants that are excluded from the Commission section 205 jurisdiction will 

provide a better basis for consideration of whether to approve merger/acquisition 

proposals under section 203 of the FPA.26

12. Ex post analysis using market information from market participants that are 

excluded from the Commission’s section 205 jurisdiction would provide the Commission 

with critical information to consider whether, based on actual sales data,27 a seller with 

 

for Commission consideration,” including price data. Id. P 62. 

26 16 U.S.C. § 824b (2006). 

27 The use of actual sales information is consistent with the analysis used by the 

(continued...) 
Docket No. RM10-12-000 12

market-based rate authority has obtained an excessive market share since the original 

authorization to transact at market-based rates or since its last review of such rates. 

Ex post analyses that fail to include sales by all market participants, except for those with 

a de minimis market presence, are under-inclusive and may provide unreliable results. In 

addition, because market information from market participants that are excluded from the 

Commission’s section 205 jurisdiction is not available, the Commission is not able to 

compare prices for power sold by section 205 jurisdictional sellers with those prices of 

certain sellers in the same market. The Commission’s post-approval reporting 

requirements are a crucial aspect of the Commission’s market-based rate program.28 

Thus, requiring market participants that are excluded from the Commission’s section 205 

jurisdiction to file market information would improve the quality of the information 

available to the Commission and enhance staff’s ability to evaluate jurisdictional markets. 

 C. Refinements to Existing EQR Requirements

13. In combination with the broader effort to improve the Commission’s access to 

information about the availability and prices of wholesale sales of electricity outlined 

above, the Commission is also considering other refinements to the existing EQR filing 

 

Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission. 

28 As noted above, the Ninth Circuit upheld the Commission’s market-based rate 

regulatory scheme and found that it was valid due to the Commission’s “dual requirement 

of an ex ante finding of the absence of market power and sufficient post-approval 

reporting requirements.”28 State of California, ex rel. Bill Lockyer, Attorney General of 

the State of California, 125 FERC ¶ 61,016 (2008) (denying the California Parties’ 

request for rehearing). 
Docket No. RM10-12-000 13

requirements that may significantly enhance the effectiveness of the information. The 

specific refinements include: (1) reporting the trade date (i.e., the date on which a 

transaction price is set) and the type of rate (i.e., fixed price, a formula, or an index); 

(2) reporting resales of financial transmission rights in secondary markets; 

(3) standardizing the unit for reporting energy and capacity transactions (i.e., dollars per 

MWh and dollars per MW/month); and (4) omitting the time zone from the contract 

section of the EQR. 

II. Discussion

14. Applying the EQR filing requirements to all market participants that are excluded 

from the Commission’s section 205 jurisdiction, except for those with a de minimis

market presence, would aid the Commission’s oversight and surveillance of wholesale 

electric markets and increase price transparency for market participants. The 

Commission requests comments on what EQR information should be obtained from these 

market participants for the Commission to ensure that electricity markets are transparent. 

Specifically, the Commission requests comments on the following questions: 

 1) Should the Commission extend EQR filing requirements to market 

participants that are excluded from the Commission’s section 205 jurisdiction? 

 2) Should the Commission establish a threshold pursuant to which market 

participants (that are excluded from the Commission’s jurisdiction under section 205 of 

the FPA) with a de minimis market presence would not be subject to the EQR filing 

requirements? If so, what should that threshold be and on what basis should it be 
Docket No. RM10-12-000 14

established (i.e., by total annual sales, total annual sales for resale, power exchanges 

delivered)? 

 3) Would extending the EQR reporting requirements to market participants 

that are excluded from the Commission’s section 205 jurisdiction impact liquidity (e.g., 

the number of power sales) or the amount of power made available in the markets? If so 

how, and, to the extent possible, quantify it. 

 4) What specific information should the Commission require to be filed? 

Include specific data elements from the Commission’s EQR Data Dictionary, version 1.1 

(issued October 28, 2008) and explain why the information with respect to these specific 

data elements should be required. 

 5) Are there certain EQR filing requirements that should not extend to market 

participants that are excluded from the Commission’s section 205 jurisdiction? If so, 

specify the data elements from the Commission’s EQR Data Dictionary, version 1.1 

(issued October 28, 2008) and explain why the information with respect to these specific 

data elements should not be required. 

 6) What would the burden be on market participants that are excluded from 

the Commission’s section 205 jurisdiction that must adapt their existing systems to be 

able to provide the information to comply with the Commission’s EQR filing 

requirements? Please estimate the amount of time and resources that would be necessary 

for market participants that are excluded from the Commission’s section 205 jurisdiction 

to comply with the Commission’s EQR filing requirements and provide explanation and 

support for any estimate. 
Docket No. RM10-12-000 15

15. In addition, as described above in section I.C., the Commission is evaluating 

whether refinements are needed to improve the effectiveness and analytical potential of 

the existing EQR filing requirements. Accordingly, the Commission requests comments 

on the following additional questions: 

 7) Should the EQR filing requirements include the date on which parties to a 

reported transaction agreed upon a price (trade date) and type of rate by which the price 

was set (i.e., fixed price, a formula, or an index)? If so, how should the trade date be 

defined and are there any issues in determining the trade date for sales under master 

agreement or evergreen contracts? 

 8) Should the Commission collect information about the resale of financial 

transmission rights in secondary markets? Would collecting this information enhance 

market transparency? If so, what current EQR filing requirements should be imposed on 

resales of financial transmission rights in secondary markets? Include data elements from 

the Commission’s EQR Data Dictionary, version 1.1 (issued October 28, 2008) and 

explain how the information with respect to these specific data elements would improve 

market transparency. In addition, identify all other filing requirements that may be 

applicable to resales of financial transmission rights in secondary markets that are not 

current EQR filing requirements and explain whether and, if so, how collection of the 

information would improve market transparency. 

 9) Should the Commission require market participants to use a standardized 

unit for reporting energy and capacity transactions (i.e., $/MWh or $/MWmonth for 
Docket No. RM10-12-000 16

energy and $/MW or $/KW for capacity)? Would requiring market participants to use a 

standardized unit enhance market transparency? 

 10) Should the Commission eliminate the requirement to report the time zone 

in the contract section of the EQR? Would doing so be detrimental to the market as a 

whole? 

III. Comment Procedures

16. 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 [60 days from 

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

No. RM10-12-000, and must include the commenter's name, the organization they 

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

17. 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 

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

filing. 

18. Commenters that are not able to file comments electronically must send an 

original and 14 copies of their comments to: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 

Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426. 
Docket No. RM10-12-000 17

19. 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

20. 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. 

21. 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. 

22. 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) 
Docket No. RM10-12-000 18

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 the Commission. Commissioner Norris voting present. 

( S E A L ) 

Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr., 

Deputy Secretary.