Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 131 / Monday, July 9, 2018 / Notices 31741 

1FERC–552 is prescribed in 18 CFR (Code of 

Federal Regulations) 260.401. 2Public Law 109–58. 

3 15 U.S.C. 717t–2. 

4 ‘‘Burden’’ is the total time, effort, or financial 

resources expended by persons to generate, 

maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information 

to or for a Federal agency. For further explanation 

of what is included in the information collection 

burden, refer to Title 5 CFR 1320.3. 

5Costs (for wages and benefits) are based on wage 

figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for 

May 2017 (at https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/ 

naics2_22.htm) and benefits information (for 

December 2017, issued March 20, 2018, at https:// 

www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm). The staff 

estimates that 75% of the work is done by a 

financial analyst (code 13–2051) at an hourly cost 

of $64.35 (for wages plus benefits), and 25% of the 

work is done by legal staff members (code 23–0000) 

at an hourly cost of $143.68 (for wages plus 

benefits). Therefore the average cost (for wages plus 

benefits) is rounded to $84.18/hour [or ($64.35/hour 

* 0.75) + ($143.68/hour * 0.25)]. 

6The staff thinks that the average estimated 

burden per filing should be 20 hours (rather than 

the current estimate of 10 hours). There are no 

changes to the reporting requirements. 

This filing is accessible on-line at 

http://www.ferc.gov, using the 

‘‘eLibrary’’ link and is available for 

review in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room in Washington, DC. 

There is an ‘‘eSubscription’’ link on the 

website that enables subscribers to 

receive email notification when a 

document is added to a subscribed 

docket(s). For assistance with any FERC 

Online service, please email 

FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, or call 

(866) 208–3676 (toll free). For TTY, call 

(202) 502–8659. 

Comment Date: 5:00 p.m. Eastern 

Time on July 19, 2018. 

Dated: June 29, 2018. 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–14561 Filed 7–6–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket No. IC18–14–000] 

Commission Information Collection 

Activities (FERC–552); Comment 

Request; Extension 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection 

and request for comments. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

requirements of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission 

(Commission or FERC) is soliciting 

public comment on the currently 

approved information collection, FERC552, Annual Report of Natural Gas 

Transactions. 

DATES: Comments on the collection of 

information are due September 7, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

(identified by Docket No. IC18–14–000) 

by either of the following methods: 

• eFiling at Commission’s Website: 

http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ 

efiling.asp. 

• Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 

Secretary of the Commission, 888 First 

Street NE, Washington, DC 20426. 

Instructions: All submissions must be 

formatted and filed in accordance with 

submission guidelines at: http://

www.ferc.gov/help/submissionguide.asp. For user assistance, contact 

FERC Online Support by email at 

ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or by phone 

at: (866) 208–3676 (toll-free), or (202) 

502–8659 for TTY. 

Docket: Users interested in receiving 

automatic notification of activity in this 

docket or in viewing/downloading 

comments and issuances in this docket 

may do so at http://www.ferc.gov/docsfiling/docs-filing.asp. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ellen Brown may be reached by email 

at DataClearance@FERC.gov, telephone 

at (202) 502–8663, and fax at (202) 273– 

0873. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: FERC–552, Annual Report of 

Natural Gas Transactions. 

OMB Control No.: 1902–0242. 

Type of Request: Three-year extension 

of the FERC–552 information collection 

requirements with no changes to the 

current reporting requirements. 

Abstract: The Commission uses the 

information collected in the FERC–552 1

to provide greater transparency into the 

size of the physical natural gas market 

and the types of transactions market 

participants use to make physical 

natural gas purchases and sales. The 

collection includes transactions that 

contribute to, or may contribute to 

natural gas price indices. Many market 

participants rely on indices as a way to 

reference market prices without taking 

on the risks of active trading. 

FERC–552 had its genesis in the 

Energy Policy Act of 2005,2 which 

added section 23 of the Natural Gas Act 

(NGA). Section 23 of the NGA, among 

other things, directs the Commission ‘‘to 

facilitate price transparency in markets 

for the sale or transportation of physical 

natural gas in interstate commerce, 

having due regard for the public 

interest, the integrity of those markets, 

and the protection of consumers.’’ 3

Type of Respondents: Wholesale 

natural gas market participants. 

Estimate of Annual Burden: 4 The 

Commission estimates the total annual 

burden and cost 5 for this information 

collection as follows. 

FERC–552—ANNUAL REPORT OF NATURAL GAS TRANSACTIONS

Category Number of 

respondents 

Annual 

number of 

responses per 

respondent 

Total 

number of 

responses 

Average burden 

hours and cost per 

response 

($) 

Total annual 

burden hours 

and cost 

($) 

Annual 

cost per 

respondent 

($) 

(1) (2) (1) * (2) = (3) (4) (3) * (4) = (5) (5) ÷ (1) 

Wholesale natural gas market participants.675 1 675 20 hrs.; 6 $1,683.60 ........... 13,500 hrs.; $1,136,430 ..... $1,683 

Comments: Comments are invited on: 

(1) Whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

Commission, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate 

of the burden and cost of the collection 

of information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(3) ways to enhance the quality, utility 

and clarity of the information collection; 

and (4) ways to minimize the burden of 

the collection of information on those 

who are to respond, including the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Dated: June 29, 2018. 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–14563 Filed 7–6–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 


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