129 FERC ¶ 61,227 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION 

18 CFR Parts 366 and 367 

(Docket No. RM09-21-000; Order No. 731) 

Revised Filing Requirements for Centralized Service Companies Under the Public Utility 

Holding Company Act of 2005, the Federal Power Act, and the Natural Gas Act 

(Issued December 17, 2009) 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 

ACTION: Final Rule. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is revising its regulations to 

require every centralized service company that provides non-power services to any public 

utility, natural gas company, or both, to file Form No. 60 (Annual Report of Centralized 

Service Companies) annually and abide by the Uniform System of Accounts, unless 

exempted or granted a waiver. This rule provides greater transparency and will aid the 

Commission in fulfilling its regulatory obligations under the Federal Power Act and the 

Natural Gas Act to ensure that rates are just and reasonable. 

EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule will become effective [insert date 30 days after 

publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER]. 
Docket No. RM09-21-000 ii 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Thomas Russo (Technical Information) 

Division of Financial Regulation 

Office of Enforcement 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, N.E. 

Washington, DC 20426 

Telephone (202) 502-8792 

Lawrence Greenfield (Legal Information) 

Office of the General Counsel – Energy Markets 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, N.E. 

Washington, DC 20426 

Telephone (202) 502-6415 

Gary D. Cohen (legal issues) 

Office of the General Counsel 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, N.E. 

Washington, DC 20426 

(202) 502-8321 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
129 FERC ¶ 61,227 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION 

Before Commissioners: Jon Wellinghoff, Chairman; 

 Suedeen G. Kelly, Marc Spitzer, 

 and Philip D. Moeller. 

Revised Filing Requirements for Centralized Docket No. RM09-21-000 

Service Companies Under the Public Utility 

Holding Company Act of 2005, the Federal 

Power Act, and the Natural Gas Act 

ORDER NO. 731 

FINAL RULE 

(Issued December 17, 2009) 

 Table of Contents

 Paragraph Numbers

I. Introduction ............................................................................................................................1.

II. Background...........................................................................................................................3.

III. Discussion............................................................................................................................7.

A. Comments.........................................................................................................................8.

B. Analysis ............................................................................................................................9.

C. Filing Date........................................................................................................................13.

IV. Information Collection Statement .......................................................................................14.

V. Environmental Analysis .......................................................................................................24.

VI. Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification .............................................................................25.

VII. Document Availability.......................................................................................................26.

I. Introduction

1. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is revising its 

regulations at 18 CFR 366.1, 366.23, 367.1 and 367.2 to require every centralized service 

company that provides non-power services to any public utility, natural gas company, or 

both, to file Form No. 60 (Annual Report of Centralized Service Companies) annually 
Docket No. RM09-21-000 - 2 - 

and abide by the Uniform System of Accounts, unless exempted or granted a waiver 

pursuant to 18 CFR 366.3 or 366.4.1

 

2. The Commission believes that these revisions promote transparency and are 

consistent with the Commission’s regulatory obligation to regulate public utilities under 

the Federal Power Act (FPA) 2 and natural gas companies under the Natural Gas Act 

(NGA)3

 to ensure that rates are just and reasonable. The revisions also better track the 

Commission’s intent in prior orders directing the filing of Form No. 60. 

II. Background

3. On September 17, 2009, the Commission issued a notice of proposed rulemaking 

proposing to revise 18 CFR 366.1 and 18 CFR 367.1 to clarify that “service companies” 

includes entities providing non-power goods or services to any public utility or any 

natural gas company, or both, in the same holding company system, and to revise 18 CFR 

366.23 and 18 CFR 367.2 to clarify that every centralized service company that provides 

non-power services to a public utility, a natural gas company, or both, in the same 

holding company system, must file FERC Form No. 60 (Annual Report of Centralized 

 1

 We are not adopting any revisions to the regulatory text of 18 CFR Part 368 or 

18 CFR 369.1, because the current text of those regulations already is consistent with this 

Final Rule. 

2

 16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.

3

 15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.
Docket No. RM09-21-000 - 3 - 

Service Companies) annually and must abide by the Uniform System of Accounts, unless 

the holding company is exempted or granted a waiver pursuant to 18 CFR 366.3 or 

366.4.4

 

4. In the Form 60 Notice, the Commission explained that the Commission intended 

in Order Nos. 667, 667-A, and 684,5

 to require every centralized service company that 

provides non-power services to a public utility, a natural gas company, or both, to file 

Form No. 60 (Annual Report of Centralized Service Companies) annually, unless the 

holding company is exempted or granted a waiver pursuant to 18 CFR 366.3 or 366.4. 

5. However, as explained in the Form 60 Notice, the codification of this requirement 

in the regulatory text did not make this requirement clear. Thus, in the Form 60 Notice, 

the Commission proposed new language that would more clearly express this 

requirement. 

6. In response to the Form 60 Notice, comments were filed by the American Public 

Gas Association (APGA). These comments, more specifically addressed below, support 

the Commission’s proposals in the Form 60 Notice. 

 4

 Revised Filing Requirements for Centralized Service Companies Under the 

Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005, the Federal Power Act, and the Natural 

Gas Act, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 74 FR 48884 (Sep. 25, 2009), FERC Stats. & 

Regs. ¶ 32,647 (2009) (Form 60 Notice). 

5

 Repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 and Enactment of the 

Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005, Order No. 667, FERC Stats. & Regs. 

¶ 31,197 (2005), order on reh’g, Order No. 667-A, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,213 (2006), 

order on reh’g, Order No. 667-B, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,224 (2006), order on reh’g, 

Order No. 667-C, 118 FERC ¶ 61,133 (2007); Financial Accounting, Reporting and 

Records Retention Requirements Under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 

2005, Order No. 684, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,229 (2006). 
Docket No. RM09-21-000 - 4 - 

III. Discussion

7. It was our intention in Order Nos. 667, 667-A and 684 that every centralized 

service company providing non-power services either to any public utility or to any 

natural gas company (or to both) in the same holding company system file Form No. 60 

and comply with the Uniform System of Accounts, unless the holding company is 

exempted or granted a waiver. However, as explained in the Form 60 Notice, it has 

recently come to our attention that, as currently written, the regulatory text of 18 CFR 

366.1, 366.23, 367.1 and 367.2 could be read to reach a different, unintended conclusion. 

Namely, that centralized service companies providing non-power services to natural gas 

companies would be excluded from the requirement to file Form No. 60 if the companies 

that were part of the holding company system did not include a public utility. The 

proposed revisions to 18 CFR 366.1, 18 CFR 366.23, 18 CFR 367.1 and 18 CFR 367.2 

described in the Form 60 Notice were all designed to close this inadvertent loophole.6

 

A. Comments

8. APGA supports the Commission’s proposals in the Form 60 Notice. APGA 

argues both that the proposed regulations are consistent with the Commission’s expressed 

intention as to the scope of the filing requirement and that “centralized service companies 

that provide services to natural gas companies or both natural gas companies and public 

 6

 See Form 60 Notice, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 32,647 at P 12-17; accord id. P 4-

11. We note, however, that, irrespective of the revisions we are adopting in this Final 

Rule, under 18 CFR 366.23(a)(2), any service company in a holding company system that 

does not file Form No. 60 is required to file a narrative description of the company’s 

functions during the prior calendar year (Form No. 61) absent an exemption or waiver. 
Docket No. RM09-21-000 - 5 - 

utilities warrant the same treatment as centralized service companies that provide services 

to just public utilities. In APGA’s view, this is because the same concerns regarding 

transparency (and effective rate regulation) persist among both natural gas companies and 

public utilities.”7

 Thus, APGA supports revisions to the Commission’s regulations to 

make the requirement to file Form No. 60 clearer and adds that the “Commission’s 

proposal is consistent with its obligation to ensure just and reasonable rates for public 

utilities under the FPA and for natural gas companies under the NGA.”8

 Finally, APGA 

states that the Commission possesses the authority to require centralized service 

companies to file FERC Form No. 60, pursuant to the FPA and NGA, respectively, in 

addition to its authority under PUHCA 2005.9

B. Analysis

9. Based on the analysis contained in the Form 60 Notice and after consideration of 

the comments filed in response to the Form 60 Notice, we are revising our regulations to 

clarify that the FERC Form No. 60 annual filing requirement, as well as the requirement 

to abide by the Uniform System of Accounts, extends to any centralized service company 

that provides non-power services to any public utility or any natural gas company, or 

both, in the same holding company system, so that the filing requirements will now 

expressly apply to all the entities that the Commission envisioned covering in its earlier 

 7

 APGA Comments at 2-3. 

8

 Id. at 3. 

9

 Id.
Docket No. RM09-21-000 - 6 - 

, the centralized service companies that serve public utilities and natural gas 

companies subject to the Commission’s jurisdiction under the FPA and NGA). 

10. Therefore, in this Final Rule, the Commission is revising 18 CFR 366.1 and 

18 CFR 367.1 to clarify that “service companies” include entities providing non-power 

goods or services to any public utility or any natural gas company, or both, in the same 

holding company system, and to revise 18 CFR 366.23 and 18 CFR 367.2 to clarify that 

every centralized service company that provides non-power services to a public utility, a 

natural gas company, or both, in the same holding company system, must file FERC 

Form No. 60 (Annual Report of Centralized Service Companies) annually and must abide 

by the Uniform System of Accounts, unless the holding company is exempted or granted 

a waiver pursuant to 18 CFR 366.3 or 366.4. 

11. The Commission finds that these revisions will promote transparency and are 

consistent with the Commission’s regulatory obligation to regulate public utilities under 

the FPA and natural gas companies under the NGA to ensure just and reasonable rates. 

The revisions also better track the Commission’s intent in prior orders directing the filing 

of FERC Form No. 60.10

12. In contrast to Order Nos. 667, 667-A and 684, in this rulemaking the Commission 

is relying explicitly on the Commission’s authority under the FPA and NGA, in addition 

to its authority under PUHCA 2005. Accordingly, in this Final Rule, we are also revising 

the name of subchapter U, and of parts 366 and 367, title 18, CFR, to better reflect the 

 10 See Form 60 Notice, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 32,647 at P 12-17. 
Docket No. RM09-21-000 - 7 - 

Commission’s reliance on its statutory authority under the FPA and NGA, in addition to 

its authority under PUHCA 2005. 

C. Filing Date

13. As this Final Rule merely clarifies existing filing obligations that are already in 

place, we will require centralized service companies that are subject to this Final Rule to 

file Form No. 60 by May 1, 2010. 

IV. Information Collection Statement

14. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations require OMB to review and 

approve certain information collection requirements imposed by agency rule.11 The 

Commission is submitting notification of the information collection requirements 

contained in this Final Rule to OMB for review and approval under section 3507(d) of 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.12 

15. The Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) regulations in 5 CFR 1320.11 

require that it approve certain reporting and recordkeeping requirements (collections of 

information) imposed by an agency. 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 this Final Rule will not be penalized for failing to respond to these 

collections of information unless the collections of information display a valid OMB 

control number. 

 11 5 CFR 1320.11. 

12 44 U.S.C. 3507(d). 
Docket No. RM09-21-000 - 8 - 

16. This Final Rule clarifies that the requirement to file FERC Form No. 60 as it 

currently exists applies to centralized service companies in holding company systems that

include a natural gas company (where there is not also a public utility); in holding 

company systems that include a public utility, these requirements already apply. 

Likewise, this Final Rule clarifies that the Uniform System of Accounts as it currently 

exists applies to centralized service companies in holding company systems that include a 

natural gas company (where there is not also a public utility); in holding company 

systems that include a public utility, these requirements already apply. Finally, this Final 

Rule revises the definitions in 18 CFR parts 366 and 367 to match the requirements we 

are implementing in this Final Rule. 

17. Since most holding companies include only public utilities or include both public 

utilities and natural gas companies and so would already be subject to these requirements, 

we expect that this clarification will have an impact on only a relatively small number of 

companies. Implementation of this Final Rule is necessary to provide greater 

transparency and will aid the Commission in fulfilling its regulatory obligation under the 

FPA and the NGA to ensure that rates are just and reasonable. 

18. In the Form 60 Notice, the Commission explained that, when the Commission 

issued Order Nos. 667, 667-A and 684, it did not intend to exclude centralized service 

companies providing non-power services to holding companies that included natural gas 

companies (but no public utilities) from the requirement to file Form No. 60 or to abide 

by the Uniform System of Accounts. Thus, the Commission continues to rely on the 
Docket No. RM09-21-000 - 9 - 

estimate made in Order No. 684 of the burden associated with the annual filing of Form 

No. 60 (2,850 hours and $342,000).13 

19. Moreover, in response to the Form 60 Notice, the sole comment filed supported 

the Form 60 Notice proposals and did not raise any concerns as to the reporting burden. 

Therefore, the Commission will use the same estimate in this Final Rule. 

Data Collection No. of 

Respondents 

No. of Responses 

Per Respondent 

Hours Per 

Response 

Total No. of 

Hours 

FERC Form 

No. 60 38 1 75 2,850 

Information Collection Costs: 2,850 hours at $120/hour = $342,000. 

Title: FERC Form No. 60, Annual Report of Centralized Service Companies. 

Action: Proposed collections. 

OMB Control No.: 1902-0215. 

Respondents: Business or other for profit, Interstate natural gas pipelines and public 

utilities (not applicable to small businesses). 

Frequency of Responses: Annually. 

20. Necessity of Information: This Final Rule explicitly requires, absent an exemption 

or waiver, any centralized service company providing non-power services to any natural 

gas company or any public utility, or both, to file FERC Form No. 60 annually and to 

comply with the Uniform System of Accounts. This information is needed to promote 

 13 See Order No. 684, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,229, at P 226; see also Form 60 

Notice, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 32,647 at P 20. 
Docket No. RM09-21-000 - 10 - 

transparency and to allow the Commission to determine whether rates of natural gas 

pipelines and public utilities are just and reasonable.

21. Implementation of these requirements will help the Commission carry out its 

responsibilities under the FPA, NGA, and PUHCA 2005 to ensure that public utilities and 

natural gas companies do not engage in improper pricing and undue discrimination. The 

information collection requirements of this Final Rule will be reported to the Commission 

and posted on the Commission’s web site. 

Internal Review: The Commission has reviewed the reporting and accounting 

requirements proposed in this Final Rule. These requirements conform to the 

Commission's plan for efficient information collection, communication, and management 

within the natural gas pipeline and electric power industries, and are necessary to meet 

the Commission’s obligations under PUHCA, the FPA, and the NGA. The Commission 

has assured itself, by means of its internal review, that there is specific, objective support 

for the burden estimates associated with the information collection requirements. 

22. Interested persons may obtain information on the reporting requirements by 

contacting the following: 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, N.E. 

Washington, DC 20426 

[Attention: Michael Miller, Office of the Chief Information Officer 

Phone: (202)502-8415, fax: (202)273-0873 

e-mail: michael.miller@ferc.gov] 

23. Comments concerning the collection of information and the associated burden 

estimate, should be sent to the contact listed above and to the Office of Management and 

Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Washington, DC 20503 
Docket No. RM09-21-000 - 11 - 

[Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, phone: 

(202)395-4638, fax: (202)395-7285]. 

V. Environmental Analysis

24. 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.14 The Commission has categorically excluded certain 

actions from these requirements as not having a significant effect on the human 

environment.15 The actions proposed here fall within categorical exclusions in the

Commission's regulations for rules that are clarifying, corrective, or procedural, fo

information gathering, analysis, and dissemination, for accounting-related matters, and 

for rate-related matters.

r 

16 Therefore, no environmental assessment is necessary. 

VI. Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

25. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA)17 generally requires a description 

and analysis of rulemakings that will have a significant economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. The regulations adopted here impose requirements only on 

holding companies of public utilities and natural gas pipelines, the majority of which are 

not small businesses, and thus the regulations proposed here will not have a significant 

 14 Regulations Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 

Order No. 486, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 30,783 (1987). 

1518 CFR 380.4. 

16 See 18 CFR 380.4(a)(2)(ii), 380.4(a)(5), 380.4(a)(15), 

380.4(a)(16), 380.4(a)(25); accord id. 380.4(a)(27). 

17 5 U.S.C. 601-12. 
Docket No. RM09-21-000 - 12 - 

VII. Document Availability

26. 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 

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

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

Washington, DC 20426. 

27. From the Commission's Home Page on the Internet, this information is available in 

eLibrary. The full text of this document is available in eLibrary both 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. 

28. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the Commission’s web site during the 

Commission’s normal business hours. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support by 

email at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, or by telephone at 202-502-6652 (toll-free at 

(866) 208-3676) or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659.

List of subjects in 18 CFR part 366

Electric power 

Natural gas 

Reporting and recordkeeping requirements 
Docket No. RM09-21-000 - 13 - 

List of subjects in 18 CFR part 367

Electric power 

Natural gas 

Uniform System of Accounts 

Reporting and recordkeeping requirements 

By the Commission. 

( S E A L ) 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary. 
Docket No. RM09-21-000 - 14 - 

In consideration of the foregoing, the Commission amends parts 366 and 367, 

subchapter U, Chapter I, Title 18, Code of Federal Regulations, as follows: 

1. The title of Subchapter U is revised to read as follows: 

SUBCHAPTER U - REGULATIONS UNDER THE PUBLIC UTILITY HOLDING 

COMPANY ACT OF 2005, FEDERAL POWER ACT AND NATURAL GAS ACT 

2. The title of part 366 is revised to read as follows: 

PART 366 -- BOOKS AND RECORDS 

3. The authority citation for part 366 is revised to read as follows: 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 717 et seq., 16 U.S.C. 791a et seq., and 42 U.S.C. 16451-

16463.

4. The title of Subpart A is revised to read as follows: 

Subpart A- Definitions and Provisions under PUHCA 2005, the Federal Power Act 

and the Natural Gas Act 

5. In § 366.1, the definition of “service company” is revised to read as follows: 

* * * * * 

Service company. The term “service company” means any associate company 

within a holding company system organized specifically for the purpose of providing 

non-power goods or services or the sale of goods or construction work to any public 

utility or any natural gas company, or both, in the same holding company system. 

* * * * * 
Docket No. RM09-21-000 - 15 - 

6. The title of Subpart B is revised to read as follows: 

Subpart B- Accounting and Recordkeeping under PUHCA 2005, the Federal Power 

Act and the Natural Gas Act 

7. In § 366.23, paragraph (a) is revised to read as follows: 

§ 366.23 FERC Form No. 60, Annual reports of centralized service companies, 

and FERC-61, Narrative description of service company functions. 

 (a) General. (1) FERC Form No. 60. Unless otherwise exempted or granted a 

waiver by Commission rule or order pursuant to §§ 366.3 and 366.4, every centralized 

service company (see § 367.2 of this chapter) in a holding company system, regardless of 

whether that service company is providing services to a public utility, a natural gas 

company, or both, must file an annual report, FERC Form No. 60, as provided in § 369.1 

of this chapter. Every report must be submitted on the FERC Form No. 60 then in effect 

and must be prepared in accordance with the instructions incorporated in that form. 

* * * * * 

8. The title of part 367 is revised to read as follows: 

PART 367 – UNIFORM SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTS FOR CENTRALIZED 

SERVICE COMPANIES SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE PUBLIC 

UTILITY HOLDING COMPANY ACT OF 2005, FEDERAL POWER ACT AND 

NATURAL GAS ACT 

9. The authority citation for part 367 is revised to read as follows: 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 717 et seq., 16 U.S.C. 791a et seq., and 42 U.S.C. 16451-

16463. 
Docket No. RM09-21-000 - 16 - 

10. In § 367.1, paragraph (a)(45) is revised to read as follows: 

§ 367.1 Definitions.

(a) * * * 

 (45) Service company means any associate company within a holding 

company system organized specifically for the purpose of providing non-power goods or 

services or the sale of goods or construction work to any public utility or any natural gas 

company, or both, in the same holding company system. 

* * * * * 

11. In § 367.2, paragraph (a) is revised to read as follows: 

§ 367.2 Companies for which this system of accounts is prescribed. 

 (a) Unless otherwise exempted or granted a waiver by Commission rule or 

order pursuant to §§ 366.3 and 366.4 of this chapter, this Uniform System of Accounts 

applies to any centralized service company operating, or organized specifically to 

operate, within a holding company system for the purpose of providing non-power 

services to any public utility or any natural gas company, or both, in the same holding 

company system. 

* * * * *