82_FR_29187 82 FR 29065 - Supplemental Notice of Technical Conference

82 FR 29065 - Supplemental Notice of Technical Conference

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 122 (June 27, 2017)

Page Range29065-29068
FR Document2017-13391

Federal Register, Volume 82 Issue 122 (Tuesday, June 27, 2017)
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 122 (Tuesday, June 27, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29065-29068]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-13391]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. AD17-12-000; PL03-3-000; AD03-7-000; ER17-795-000; ER17-
795-001; RP16-1299-000; RP16-1299-001; RP16-1299-002; ER17-386-001; 
ER17-386-002]


Supplemental Notice of Technical Conference

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   Docket Nos.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Developments in Natural Gas Index        AD17-12-000
 Liquidity and Transparency.
Price Discovery in Natural Gas and       PL03-3-000
 Electric Markets.
Natural Gas Price Formation............  AD03-7-000
ISO New England Inc....................  ER17-795-000
                                         ER17-795-001

[[Page 29066]]

 
Kinetica Energy Express, LLC...........  RP16-1299-000
                                         RP16-1299-001
                                         RP16-1299-002
New York Independent System Operator,    ER17-386-001
 Inc.                                    ER17-386-002
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Supplemental Notice of Technical Conference

    As announced in the Notices issued May 10, 2017,\1\ and June 13, 
2017,\2\ Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) staff will 
hold a technical conference on Thursday, June 29, 2017 from 9:00 a.m. 
to 5:30 p.m. to discuss the state of liquidity and transparency in the 
physical natural gas markets. A revised agenda and list of panel 
participants for this conference are attached. The conference is free 
of charge and open to the public. Commission members may participate in 
the conference.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Developments in Natural Gas Index Liquidity and 
Transparency, Docket No. AD17-12-000 (May 10, 2017) (Notice of 
Technical Conference) (https://elibrary.ferc.gov/IDMWS/common/opennat.asp?fileID=14586688).
    \2\ Developments in Natural Gas Index Liquidity and 
Transparency, Docket No. AD17-12-000 (June 13, 2017) (Supplemental 
Notice of Technical Conference) (https://elibrary.ferc.gov/IDMWS/common/opennat.asp?fileID=14613488).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This Supplemental Notice contains the following changes to the 
previously-issued technical conference agenda: (1) Edward Fortunato, 
Managing Director of Analytics for Constellation Energy, Exelon 
Corporation is not participating as a panelist on Panels 1 and 2 of the 
technical conference and; (2) Gregg Bradley, Supervisor of Market 
Compliance for the Internal Market Monitor, ISO New England Inc. will 
be a panelist on Panel 2 of the technical conference. Christopher 
Hamlen, Regulatory Counsel, ISO-NE, is not participating as a panelist.
    In addition, please take note that the Commission will accept post 
technical conference comments up to 30 days after the technical 
conference. Please file any comments with the Commission by July 31, 
2017.
    If they have not already done so, those who plan to attend the 
technical conference are strongly encouraged to complete the 
registration form located at: https://www.ferc.gov/whats-new/registration/06-29-17-form.asp. The dress code for the conference will 
be business casual.
    The technical conference will be transcribed. Transcripts will be 
available from Ace Reporting Company and may be purchased online at 
www.acefederal.com, or by phone at (202) 347-3700. In addition, there 
will be a free webcast of the conference. The webcast will allow 
persons to listen, but not participate, and will be accessible at 
www.ferc.gov Calendar of Events. The Capitol Connection provides 
technical support for the webcast and offers the option of listening to 
the technical conference via phone-bridge for a fee; visit 
www.CapitolConnection.org or call (703) 993-3100 with any webcast 
questions.
    Commission conferences are accessible under section 508 of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For accessibility accommodations, please 
send an email to [email protected] or call toll free 1-866-208-
3372 (voice) or 202-208-1659 (TTY), or send a FAX to 202-208-2106 with 
the required accommodations.
    For more information about the technical conference, please 
contact:

Sarah McKinley (Logistics), Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8368, 
[email protected].
Eric Primosch (Technical), Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-6483, 
[email protected].
Omar Bustami (Legal), Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First 
Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-6214, 
[email protected].

    Dated: June 21, 2017.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN27JN17.000

Docket No. AD17-12-000
June 29, 2017
Agenda
    The purpose of the staff-led Technical Conference on Developments 
in Natural Gas Index Liquidity and Transparency is to solicit feedback 
and develop a record regarding index robustness and to discuss what, if 
anything, the industry and/or the Commission could do to increase 
transparency and support greater robustness in natural gas price 
formation. The technical conference will examine: (1) The current state 
of natural gas index liquidity and voluntary reporting to index 
developers; (2) the use of natural gas indices over time; and (3) 
possible actions that the industry and/or the Commission could take to 
increase transparency and support greater robustness in natural gas 
price formation.

9:00 a.m.-9:15 a.m. Welcome and Opening Remarks
9:15 a.m.-9:45 a.m. Natural Gas Index Presentation (Commission Staff)

    Staff will present an overview of natural gas transactions using 
FERC Form No. 552 data. The presentation will review trends in next-day 
and next-month transactions, the number of companies that report to 
index developers, and the volume of fixed-priced transactions that 
contribute to natural gas indices. Staff will also present an overview 
of natural gas indices referenced in jurisdictional tariffs.


[[Page 29067]]


9:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Panel 1: Robustness and Liquidity of Natural Gas 
Indices

    Most price indices are supplied as a commercial service by 
publishers of daily, weekly, or monthly newsletters. Price indices play 
a pivotal role in natural gas market price formation, and are commonly 
referenced in physical and financial transactions. This panel will 
examine the robustness and liquidity of natural gas indices, the degree 
of industry reliance on index-based contracts rather than fixed-price 
contracts, the decline in fixed-price reporting to index developers, 
and whether natural gas indices accurately reflect market conditions.
    Panelists are encouraged to respond to the following:
    1. Describe the current trends in natural gas fixed-price and 
physical basis trading that you believe positively or negatively impact 
price formation in the natural gas market, detailing any observable 
shifts in liquidity. Are there differences in market fundamentals, 
procedures, or policies which disproportionately impact either overall 
or regional liquidity?
    2. How have the volume and quality of next-day and next-month 
fixed-price and physical basis transaction reporting changed? In 
addition, describe any changes in other information used to form 
natural gas indices. Are there market, regulatory, or other factors 
that discourage reporting? If so, are there ways to incent reporting?
    3. For indices published by index developers and referenced in FERC 
jurisdictional tariffs, the Commission requires index developers to 
comply with five standards: (1) Code of conduct and confidentiality; 
(2) completeness; (3) data verification, error correction, and 
monitoring; (4) verifiability; and (5) availability and 
accessibility.\3\ How have index developers' methodologies and 
practices changed since these standards were developed? Are the 
standards established in 2003 still relevant and sufficient to allow 
for healthy and robust natural gas price formation in today's 
environment?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ Policy Statement on Natural Gas and Electric Price Indices, 
104 FERC ] 61,121, at P 33 (2003).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    4. Is there a need for additional transparency regarding natural 
gas index price assessments and the level of liquidity underlying each 
natural gas index published by index developers? Should common minimum 
liquidity thresholds be defined? If so, who should define them, and 
what should be the mechanism for accomplishing this? For example, 
should index developers provide information about which indices are 
illiquid? What kind of coordination would be necessary, and what kind 
of information would be shared, and with whom, when a given natural gas 
price index is deemed illiquid?
Panelists
 Mark Callahan, Editorial Director of Platts North America, S&P 
Global
 J.C. Kneale, Vice President of North American Natural Gas, 
Power & NGL Markets, InterContinental Exchange
 Euan Craik, Chief Executive Officer, Argus Media
 Tom Haywood, Editor of Natural Gas Week, Energy Intelligence
 Dexter Steis, Executive Publisher, Natural Gas Intelligence
 Vince Kaminski, Professor in Practice of Energy, Rice 
University
 Orlando Alvarez, President and CEO, BP Energy Company

12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. Break
1:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Panel 2: Role of Natural Gas Indices in Price 
Formation

    Natural gas indices are used by industry for a variety of purposes, 
such as settling bilateral contracts of varying terms, basis swap 
futures, index swap futures, swing swap futures, and calendar and basis 
spreads. Natural gas indices also are used in FERC jurisdictional 
interstate natural gas pipeline and wholesale electric transmission 
tariffs for various purposes. For example, indices are used in many 
interstate natural gas pipeline tariffs to settle imbalances or 
determine penalties. In addition, State Commissions use indices as 
benchmarks in reviewing the prudence of natural gas purchases by local 
distribution companies. Finally, some Regional Transmission 
Organizations and Independent System Operators (RTOs/ISOs) rely on 
natural gas indices to develop reference levels for market power 
mitigation. Given the prevalence of indices in the natural gas and 
electric industries, indices must be robust and have the confidence of 
market participants for such markets to function properly and 
efficiently.
    Panelists are encouraged to respond to the following:
    1. Describe current industry uses of physical natural gas price 
indices. Are natural gas price indices sufficiently reflecting the 
locational value of natural gas to permit decision-making by those with 
an interest in the value of natural gas such as: End users, producers, 
marketers, and other buyers and sellers?
    2. Are there improvements that should be made to increase the 
likelihood that natural gas indices will reflect the market value at 
particular locations? For example, could index publishers provide 
increased transparency when there are insufficient transactions to 
formulate an index price? What additional information could signal that 
market activity is sufficiently robust to create accurate prices?
    3. For RTOs/ISOs that rely on natural gas indices to develop 
reference levels for market power mitigation, do you have concerns 
about the robustness or liquidity of the natural gas indices used in 
your tariffs? If so, please explain why.
    4. Recognizing that the use of natural gas indices in FERC 
jurisdictional tariffs is different from their use in commercial 
transactions, the Commission established liquidity thresholds for 
indices referenced in jurisdictional tariffs.\4\ Do these thresholds 
accurately capture minimum liquidity thresholds over an appropriate 
time period? Should the liquidity of indices referenced in FERC 
jurisdictional tariffs be reassessed periodically, and if so, who 
should assess it, and what should be the mechanism for accomplishing 
this? What kind of coordination would be necessary, and what kind of 
information should be shared and with whom, should a given index be 
deemed illiquid?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ Price Discovery in Natural Gas and Electric Markets, 109 
FERC ] 61,184 at P60 (2004).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Panelists:
 Paul Greenwood, Vice President of the Americas, Africa, and 
Asia Pacific New Markets for ExxonMobil, Natural Gas Supply Association 
Representative
 Pallas LeeVanSchaik, External Market Monitor, Potomac 
Economics
 Guillermo Bautista Alderete, Director of Market Analysis and 
Forecasting, California ISO
 Gregg Bradley, Supervisor of Market Compliance for the 
Internal Market Monitor, ISO New England Inc.
 George Wayne, Director of Account Services for the Western 
Pipelines, Kinder Morgan
 Corey Grindal, Senior Vice President of Gas Supply, Cheniere 
Energy
 David Louw, Division Director of Risk Management and 
Compliance, Macquarie Energy
 Donnie Sharp, Senior Natural Gas Supply Coordinator for 
Huntsville Utilities, American Public Gas Association Representative
 Lee Bennett, Manager, Pricing and Business Analysis for 
Transcanada, Interstate Natural Gas Association of America 
Representative
 Susan Bergles, Assistant General Counsel, American Gas 
Association


[[Page 29068]]


3:30 p.m.-3:45 p.m. Break
3:45 p.m.-5:25 p.m. Panel 3: Options To Increase Transparency and 
Liquidity of Natural Gas Indices

    Should action be taken to foster more meaningful, reliable, and 
transparent price information in natural gas markets? What changes may 
be necessary to incent voluntary price reporting and improve the 
accuracy, reliability, and transparency of natural gas price indices? 
Discuss the degree to which the level of voluntary reporting and other 
developments within the commercial service model of natural gas index 
development impact the robustness of natural gas indices.
    Panelists are encouraged to respond to the following:
    1. Is there a need to develop industry wide liquidity thresholds? 
While the Commission maintains certain liquidity thresholds for indices 
referenced in jurisdictional tariffs, should standards be developed 
that would apply to other uses of natural gas indices? If so, how can 
such standards be developed and by whom? Can this be addressed through 
voluntary consensus or through other regulatory processes? Are there 
legal, commercial, or technical impediments to doing so?
    2. Should the Commission take steps to provide greater natural gas 
price transparency and market information, promote index developer 
competition, and enhance confidence in natural gas price formation 
through increased transparency and accessibility of natural gas index 
information? For example, should the Commission consider exercising its 
authority under section 23(a)(1) through (3) of the Natural Gas Act to 
require market participants to report price forming transactions to 
index developers?
    3. Is index data sufficiently available and transparent? Does the 
commercial service model negatively or positively impact price 
formation? What actions, policies, or trends have impacted price 
discovery? Is there additional information market participants need to 
ensure robust natural gas price formation? Who should provide that 
information? How would that information be shared?
Panelists:
 Greg Leonard, Vice President, Cornerstone Research
 Orlando Alvarez, President and CEO, BP Energy Company
 Mark Callahan, Editorial Director for Platts North America, 
S&P Global
 J.C. Kneale, Vice President of North American Natural Gas, 
Power & NGL Markets, InterContinental Exchange
 Vince Kaminski, Professor in Practice of Energy, Rice 
University
 Curtis Moffatt, Deputy General Counsel and Vice President, 
Kinder Morgan
 Joe Bowring, President, Monitoring Analytics
 Corey Grindal, Senior Vice President of Gas Supply, Cheniere 
Energy
 Tom Haywood, Editor of Natural Gas Week, Energy Intelligence
 Drew Fossum, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, 
Tenaska Inc.
 Joan Dreskin, Vice President and General Counsel, Interstate 
Natural Gas Association of America

5:25 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Closing Remarks

[FR Doc. 2017-13391 Filed 6-26-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P



                                                                                 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 122 / Tuesday, June 27, 2017 / Notices                                                       29065

                                                  blanket authorization, under 18 CFR                     DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY                                      Applicants: New York Independent
                                                  part 34, of future issuances of securities                                                                     System Operator, Inc.
                                                  and assumptions of liability.                           Federal Energy Regulatory                                 Description: § 205(d) Rate Filing: 205
                                                                                                          Commission                                             filing of Rate Schedule 1 revisions for
                                                     Any person desiring to intervene or to
                                                                                                                                                                 Ramapo PARs cost recovery to be
                                                  protest should file with the Federal                    Combined Notice of Filings #2                          effective 7/1/2017.
                                                  Energy Regulatory Commission, 888                                                                                 Filed Date: 6/21/17.
                                                  First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426,                    Take notice that the Commission
                                                                                                                                                                    Accession Number: 20170621–5124.
                                                  in accordance with Rules 211 and 214                    received the following electric corporate                 Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 7/12/17.
                                                  of the Commission’s Rules of Practice                   filings:
                                                                                                                                                                    Docket Numbers: ER17–1880–000.
                                                  and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211 and                          Docket Numbers: EC17–132–000.                          Applicants: Midcontinent
                                                  385.214). Anyone filing a motion to                        Applicants: FPL Energy Wyman IV                     Independent System Operator, Inc.
                                                  intervene or protest must serve a copy                  LLC, Public Service Company of New                        Description: § 205(d) Rate Filing:
                                                  of that document on the Applicant.                      Hampshire.                                             2017–06–21_SA 900 Termination of
                                                                                                             Description: Application for                        Entergy—Southcoast Wind LGIA to be
                                                     Notice is hereby given that the                      Authorization for Disposition of                       effective 9/4/2017.
                                                  deadline for filing protests with regard                Jurisdictional Facilities Under Section                   Filed Date: 6/21/17.
                                                  to the applicant’s request for blanket                  203 of the Federal Power Act and                          Accession Number: 20170621–5147.
                                                  authorization, under 18 CFR part 34, of                 Request for Expedited Action of FPL                       Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 7/12/17.
                                                  future issuances of securities and                      Energy Wyman IV LLC, et. al.                              The filings are accessible in the
                                                  assumptions of liability, is July 11,                      Filed Date: 6/21/17.                                Commission’s eLibrary system by
                                                  2017.                                                      Accession Number: 20170621–5146.                    clicking on the links or querying the
                                                     The Commission encourages                               Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 7/12/17.                    docket number.
                                                  electronic submission of protests and                      Take notice that the Commission                        Any person desiring to intervene or
                                                  interventions in lieu of paper, using the               received the following exempt                          protest in any of the above proceedings
                                                  FERC Online links at http://                            wholesale generator filings:                           must file in accordance with Rules 211
                                                  www.ferc.gov. To facilitate electronic                     Docket Numbers: EG17–119–000.                       and 214 of the Commission’s
                                                  service, persons with Internet access                      Applicants: Buckthorn Wind, LLC.                    Regulations (18 CFR 385.211 and
                                                                                                             Description: Notice of Self-                        385.214) on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern
                                                  who will eFile a document and/or be
                                                                                                          Certification of Exempt Wholesale                      time on the specified comment date.
                                                  listed as a contact for an intervenor
                                                                                                          Generator Status of Buckthorn Wind,                    Protests may be considered, but
                                                  must create and validate an
                                                                                                          LLC.                                                   intervention is necessary to become a
                                                  eRegistration account using the                                                                                party to the proceeding.
                                                  eRegistration link. Select the eFiling                     Filed Date: 6/21/17.
                                                                                                             Accession Number: 20170621–5118.                       eFiling is encouraged. More detailed
                                                  link to log on and submit the                                                                                  information relating to filing
                                                                                                             Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 7/12/17.
                                                  intervention or protests.                                                                                      requirements, interventions, protests,
                                                                                                             Docket Numbers: EG17–120–000.
                                                     Persons unable to file electronically                   Applicants: Bearkat Wind Energy I,                  service, and qualifying facilities filings
                                                  should submit an original and 5 copies                  LLC.                                                   can be found at: http://www.ferc.gov/
                                                  of the intervention or protest to the                      Description: Bearkat Wind Energy I,                 docs-filing/efiling/filing-req.pdf. For
                                                  Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,                   LLC’s Notice of Self-Certification of                  other information, call (866) 208–3676
                                                  888 First Street NE., Washington, DC                    Exempt Wholesale Generator Status.                     (toll free). For TTY, call (202) 502–8659.
                                                  20426.                                                     Filed Date: 6/21/17.                                  Dated: June 21, 2017.
                                                     The filings in the above-referenced                     Accession Number: 20170621–5149.                    Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
                                                  proceeding are accessible in the                           Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 7/12/17.                    Deputy Secretary.
                                                  Commission’s eLibrary system by                            Take notice that the Commission                     [FR Doc. 2017–13382 Filed 6–26–17; 8:45 am]
                                                  clicking on the appropriate link in the                 received the following electric rate                   BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
                                                  above list. They are also available for                 filings:
                                                  electronic review in the Commission’s                      Docket Numbers: ER17–1877–000.
                                                  Public Reference Room in Washington,                       Applicants: Southern California                     DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
                                                  DC. There is an eSubscription link on                   Edison Company.
                                                                                                             Description: § 205(d) Rate Filing:                  Federal Energy Regulatory
                                                  the Web site that enables subscribers to                                                                       Commission
                                                  receive email notification when a                       Letter Agreement Huntington Beach
                                                  document is added to a subscribed                       Energy Project SA No. 193 to be                        [Docket Nos. AD17–12–000; PL03–3–000;
                                                  docket(s). For assistance with any FERC                 effective 6/22/2017.                                   AD03–7–000; ER17–795–000; ER17–795–
                                                                                                             Filed Date: 6/21/17.                                001; RP16–1299–000; RP16–1299–001;
                                                  Online service, please email                                                                                   RP16–1299–002; ER17–386–001; ER17–386–
                                                                                                             Accession Number: 20170621–5087.
                                                  FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. or call                        Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 7/12/17.                    002]
                                                  (866) 208–3676 (toll free). For TTY, call
                                                                                                             Docket Numbers: ER17–1878–000.                      Supplemental Notice of Technical
                                                  (202) 502–8659.
                                                                                                             Applicants: Southern California                     Conference
                                                    Dated: June 21, 2017.                                 Edison Company.
                                                  Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,                                   Description: § 205(d) Rate Filing:                                                          Docket Nos.
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES




                                                  Deputy Secretary.                                       Letter Agreement Alamitos Energy
                                                                                                                                                                 Developments in Natural Gas           AD17–12–000
                                                  [FR Doc. 2017–13384 Filed 6–26–17; 8:45 am]             Center Project SA No. 194 to be effective                Index Liquidity and Trans-
                                                                                                          6/22/2017.                                               parency.
                                                  BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
                                                                                                             Filed Date: 6/21/17.                                Price Discovery in Natural Gas        PL03–3–000
                                                                                                             Accession Number: 20170621–5088.                      and Electric Markets.
                                                                                                                                                                 Natural Gas Price Formation ...       AD03–7–000
                                                                                                             Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 7/12/17.                    ISO New England Inc ...............   ER17–795–000
                                                                                                             Docket Numbers: ER17–1879–000.                                                            ER17–795–001



                                             VerDate Sep<11>2014   18:33 Jun 26, 2017   Jkt 241001   PO 00000   Frm 00044   Fmt 4703   Sfmt 4703   E:\FR\FM\27JNN1.SGM   27JNN1


                                                  29066                          Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 122 / Tuesday, June 27, 2017 / Notices

                                                                                        Docket Nos.       Monitor, ISO New England Inc. will be                  visit www.CapitolConnection.org or call
                                                                                                          a panelist on Panel 2 of the technical                 (703) 993–3100 with any webcast
                                                  Kinetica Energy Express, LLC     RP16–1299–000
                                                                                   RP16–1299–001
                                                                                                          conference. Christopher Hamlen,                        questions.
                                                                                   RP16–1299–002          Regulatory Counsel, ISO–NE, is not                       Commission conferences are
                                                  New York Independent System      ER17–386–001           participating as a panelist.                           accessible under section 508 of the
                                                    Operator, Inc.                 ER17–386–002              In addition, please take note that the              Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For
                                                                                                          Commission will accept post technical                  accessibility accommodations, please
                                                  Supplemental Notice of Technical                        conference comments up to 30 days                      send an email to accessibility@ferc.gov
                                                  Conference                                              after the technical conference. Please                 or call toll free 1–866–208–3372 (voice)
                                                     As announced in the Notices issued                   file any comments with the Commission                  or 202–208–1659 (TTY), or send a FAX
                                                  May 10, 2017,1 and June 13, 2017,2                      by July 31, 2017.                                      to 202–208–2106 with the required
                                                  Federal Energy Regulatory Commission                       If they have not already done so, those             accommodations.
                                                  (Commission) staff will hold a technical                who plan to attend the technical                         For more information about the
                                                  conference on Thursday, June 29, 2017                   conference are strongly encouraged to                  technical conference, please contact:
                                                  from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. to discuss                  complete the registration form located                 Sarah McKinley (Logistics), Federal
                                                  the state of liquidity and transparency                 at: https://www.ferc.gov/whats-new/                      Energy Regulatory Commission, 888
                                                  in the physical natural gas markets. A                  registration/06-29-17-form.asp. The                      First Street NE., Washington, DC
                                                  revised agenda and list of panel                        dress code for the conference will be                    20426, (202) 502–8368,
                                                  participants for this conference are                    business casual.                                         Sarah.Mckinley@ferc.gov.
                                                  attached. The conference is free of                        The technical conference will be
                                                                                                                                                                 Eric Primosch (Technical), Federal
                                                  charge and open to the public.                          transcribed. Transcripts will be
                                                                                                                                                                   Energy Regulatory Commission, 888
                                                  Commission members may participate                      available from Ace Reporting Company
                                                                                                                                                                   First Street NE., Washington, DC
                                                  in the conference.                                      and may be purchased online at
                                                                                                                                                                   20426, (202) 502–6483,
                                                     This Supplemental Notice contains                    www.acefederal.com, or by phone at
                                                                                                                                                                   Eric.Primosch@ferc.gov.
                                                  the following changes to the previously-                (202) 347–3700. In addition, there will
                                                                                                                                                                 Omar Bustami (Legal), Federal Energy
                                                  issued technical conference agenda: (1)                 be a free webcast of the conference. The
                                                                                                                                                                   Regulatory Commission, 888 First
                                                  Edward Fortunato, Managing Director of                  webcast will allow persons to listen, but
                                                                                                                                                                   Street NE., Washington, DC 20426,
                                                  Analytics for Constellation Energy,                     not participate, and will be accessible at
                                                                                                                                                                   (202) 502–6214, Omar.Bustami@
                                                  Exelon Corporation is not participating                 www.ferc.gov Calendar of Events. The
                                                                                                                                                                   ferc.gov.
                                                  as a panelist on Panels 1 and 2 of the                  Capitol Connection provides technical
                                                  technical conference and; (2) Gregg                     support for the webcast and offers the                   Dated: June 21, 2017.
                                                  Bradley, Supervisor of Market                           option of listening to the technical                   Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
                                                  Compliance for the Internal Market                      conference via phone-bridge for a fee;                 Deputy Secretary.




                                                  Docket No. AD17–12–000                                  will examine: (1) The current state of                   Staff will present an overview of
                                                  June 29, 2017                                           natural gas index liquidity and                        natural gas transactions using FERC
                                                                                                          voluntary reporting to index developers;               Form No. 552 data. The presentation
                                                  Agenda                                                  (2) the use of natural gas indices over                will review trends in next-day and next-
                                                     The purpose of the staff-led Technical               time; and (3) possible actions that the                month transactions, the number of
                                                  Conference on Developments in Natural                   industry and/or the Commission could                   companies that report to index
                                                  Gas Index Liquidity and Transparency                    take to increase transparency and                      developers, and the volume of fixed-
                                                  is to solicit feedback and develop a                    support greater robustness in natural gas              priced transactions that contribute to
                                                  record regarding index robustness and                   price formation.                                       natural gas indices. Staff will also
                                                  to discuss what, if anything, the                                                                              present an overview of natural gas
                                                  industry and/or the Commission could                    9:00 a.m.–9:15 a.m. Welcome and
                                                                                                                                                                 indices referenced in jurisdictional
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES




                                                  do to increase transparency and support                     Opening Remarks
                                                                                                                                                                 tariffs.
                                                  greater robustness in natural gas price                 9:15 a.m.–9:45 a.m. Natural Gas Index
                                                  formation. The technical conference                         Presentation (Commission Staff)
                                                    1 Developments in Natural Gas Index Liquidity         elibrary.ferc.gov/IDMWS/common/                        13, 2017) (Supplemental Notice of Technical
                                                  and Transparency, Docket No. AD17–12–000 (May           opennat.asp?fileID=14586688).                          Conference) (https://elibrary.ferc.gov/IDMWS/
                                                                                                             2 Developments in Natural Gas Index Liquidity
                                                  10, 2017) (Notice of Technical Conference) (https://                                                           common/opennat.asp?fileID=14613488).
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 EN27JN17.000</GPH>




                                                                                                          and Transparency, Docket No. AD17–12–000 (June



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                                                                                 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 122 / Tuesday, June 27, 2017 / Notices                                                    29067

                                                  9:45 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Panel 1:                           indices are illiquid? What kind of                     reflect the market value at particular
                                                        Robustness and Liquidity of Natural               coordination would be necessary, and                   locations? For example, could index
                                                        Gas Indices                                       what kind of information would be                      publishers provide increased
                                                     Most price indices are supplied as a                 shared, and with whom, when a given                    transparency when there are insufficient
                                                  commercial service by publishers of                     natural gas price index is deemed                      transactions to formulate an index
                                                  daily, weekly, or monthly newsletters.                  illiquid?                                              price? What additional information
                                                  Price indices play a pivotal role in                                                                           could signal that market activity is
                                                                                                          Panelists                                              sufficiently robust to create accurate
                                                  natural gas market price formation, and
                                                  are commonly referenced in physical                     • Mark Callahan, Editorial Director of                 prices?
                                                  and financial transactions. This panel                     Platts North America, S&P Global                       3. For RTOs/ISOs that rely on natural
                                                  will examine the robustness and                         • J.C. Kneale, Vice President of North                 gas indices to develop reference levels
                                                  liquidity of natural gas indices, the                      American Natural Gas, Power & NGL                   for market power mitigation, do you
                                                  degree of industry reliance on index-                      Markets, InterContinental Exchange                  have concerns about the robustness or
                                                  based contracts rather than fixed-price                 • Euan Craik, Chief Executive Officer,                 liquidity of the natural gas indices used
                                                  contracts, the decline in fixed-price                      Argus Media                                         in your tariffs? If so, please explain why.
                                                  reporting to index developers, and                      • Tom Haywood, Editor of Natural Gas                      4. Recognizing that the use of natural
                                                  whether natural gas indices accurately                     Week, Energy Intelligence                           gas indices in FERC jurisdictional tariffs
                                                  reflect market conditions.                              • Dexter Steis, Executive Publisher,                   is different from their use in commercial
                                                     Panelists are encouraged to respond to                  Natural Gas Intelligence                            transactions, the Commission
                                                  the following:                                          • Vince Kaminski, Professor in Practice                established liquidity thresholds for
                                                     1. Describe the current trends in                       of Energy, Rice University                          indices referenced in jurisdictional
                                                  natural gas fixed-price and physical                    • Orlando Alvarez, President and CEO,                  tariffs.4 Do these thresholds accurately
                                                  basis trading that you believe positively                  BP Energy Company                                   capture minimum liquidity thresholds
                                                  or negatively impact price formation in                 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. Break                             over an appropriate time period? Should
                                                  the natural gas market, detailing any                   1:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Panel 2: Role of                   the liquidity of indices referenced in
                                                  observable shifts in liquidity. Are there                     Natural Gas Indices in Price                     FERC jurisdictional tariffs be reassessed
                                                  differences in market fundamentals,                           Formation                                        periodically, and if so, who should
                                                  procedures, or policies which                                                                                  assess it, and what should be the
                                                                                                             Natural gas indices are used by                     mechanism for accomplishing this?
                                                  disproportionately impact either overall
                                                                                                          industry for a variety of purposes, such               What kind of coordination would be
                                                  or regional liquidity?
                                                     2. How have the volume and quality                   as settling bilateral contracts of varying             necessary, and what kind of information
                                                  of next-day and next-month fixed-price                  terms, basis swap futures, index swap                  should be shared and with whom,
                                                  and physical basis transaction reporting                futures, swing swap futures, and                       should a given index be deemed
                                                  changed? In addition, describe any                      calendar and basis spreads. Natural gas                illiquid?
                                                  changes in other information used to                    indices also are used in FERC
                                                                                                          jurisdictional interstate natural gas                  Panelists:
                                                  form natural gas indices. Are there
                                                  market, regulatory, or other factors that               pipeline and wholesale electric                        • Paul Greenwood, Vice President of
                                                  discourage reporting? If so, are there                  transmission tariffs for various                         the Americas, Africa, and Asia Pacific
                                                  ways to incent reporting?                               purposes. For example, indices are used                  New Markets for ExxonMobil, Natural
                                                     3. For indices published by index                    in many interstate natural gas pipeline                  Gas Supply Association
                                                  developers and referenced in FERC                       tariffs to settle imbalances or determine                Representative
                                                  jurisdictional tariffs, the Commission                  penalties. In addition, State                          • Pallas LeeVanSchaik, External Market
                                                  requires index developers to comply                     Commissions use indices as benchmarks                    Monitor, Potomac Economics
                                                  with five standards: (1) Code of conduct                in reviewing the prudence of natural gas               • Guillermo Bautista Alderete, Director
                                                  and confidentiality; (2) completeness;                  purchases by local distribution                          of Market Analysis and Forecasting,
                                                  (3) data verification, error correction,                companies. Finally, some Regional                        California ISO
                                                                                                          Transmission Organizations and                         • Gregg Bradley, Supervisor of Market
                                                  and monitoring; (4) verifiability; and (5)
                                                                                                          Independent System Operators (RTOs/                      Compliance for the Internal Market
                                                  availability and accessibility.3 How
                                                                                                          ISOs) rely on natural gas indices to                     Monitor, ISO New England Inc.
                                                  have index developers’ methodologies                                                                           • George Wayne, Director of Account
                                                  and practices changed since these                       develop reference levels for market
                                                                                                          power mitigation. Given the prevalence                   Services for the Western Pipelines,
                                                  standards were developed? Are the                                                                                Kinder Morgan
                                                  standards established in 2003 still                     of indices in the natural gas and electric
                                                                                                          industries, indices must be robust and                 • Corey Grindal, Senior Vice President
                                                  relevant and sufficient to allow for                                                                             of Gas Supply, Cheniere Energy
                                                                                                          have the confidence of market
                                                  healthy and robust natural gas price                                                                           • David Louw, Division Director of Risk
                                                  formation in today’s environment?                       participants for such markets to
                                                                                                                                                                   Management and Compliance,
                                                     4. Is there a need for additional                    function properly and efficiently.
                                                                                                                                                                   Macquarie Energy
                                                  transparency regarding natural gas                         Panelists are encouraged to respond to              • Donnie Sharp, Senior Natural Gas
                                                  index price assessments and the level of                the following:                                           Supply Coordinator for Huntsville
                                                  liquidity underlying each natural gas                      1. Describe current industry uses of                  Utilities, American Public Gas
                                                  index published by index developers?                    physical natural gas price indices. Are                  Association Representative
                                                  Should common minimum liquidity                         natural gas price indices sufficiently                 • Lee Bennett, Manager, Pricing and
                                                                                                          reflecting the locational value of natural
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                                                  thresholds be defined? If so, who should                                                                         Business Analysis for Transcanada,
                                                  define them, and what should be the                     gas to permit decision-making by those                   Interstate Natural Gas Association of
                                                  mechanism for accomplishing this? For                   with an interest in the value of natural                 America Representative
                                                  example, should index developers                        gas such as: End users, producers,                     • Susan Bergles, Assistant General
                                                  provide information about which                         marketers, and other buyers and sellers?                 Counsel, American Gas Association
                                                                                                             2. Are there improvements that
                                                    3 Policy Statement on Natural Gas and Electric        should be made to increase the                          4 Price Discovery in Natural Gas and Electric

                                                  Price Indices, 104 FERC ¶ 61,121, at P 33 (2003).       likelihood that natural gas indices will               Markets, 109 FERC ¶ 61,184 at P60 (2004).



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                                                  29068                          Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 122 / Tuesday, June 27, 2017 / Notices

                                                  3:30 p.m.–3:45 p.m. Break                               • Vince Kaminski, Professor in Practice                   This notice is being sent to the
                                                  3:45 p.m.–5:25 p.m. Panel 3: Options                      of Energy, Rice University                           Commission’s current environmental
                                                        To Increase Transparency and                      • Curtis Moffatt, Deputy General                       mailing list for this project. State and
                                                        Liquidity of Natural Gas Indices                    Counsel and Vice President, Kinder                   local government representatives should
                                                     Should action be taken to foster more                  Morgan                                               notify their constituents of this
                                                  meaningful, reliable, and transparent                   • Joe Bowring, President, Monitoring                   proposed project and encourage them to
                                                  price information in natural gas                          Analytics                                            comment on their areas of concern.
                                                  markets? What changes may be                            • Corey Grindal, Senior Vice President                    If you are a landowner receiving this
                                                  necessary to incent voluntary price                       of Gas Supply, Cheniere Energy                       notice, a pipeline company
                                                  reporting and improve the accuracy,                     • Tom Haywood, Editor of Natural Gas                   representative may contact you about
                                                  reliability, and transparency of natural                  Week, Energy Intelligence                            the acquisition of an easement to
                                                  gas price indices? Discuss the degree to                • Drew Fossum, Senior Vice President                   construct, operate, and maintain the
                                                  which the level of voluntary reporting                    and General Counsel, Tenaska Inc.                    proposed facilities. The company would
                                                  and other developments within the                       • Joan Dreskin, Vice President and                     seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable
                                                  commercial service model of natural gas                   General Counsel, Interstate Natural                  agreement. However, if the Commission
                                                  index development impact the                              Gas Association of America                           approves the project, that approval
                                                                                                          5:25 p.m.–5:30 p.m. Closing Remarks                    conveys with it the right of eminent
                                                  robustness of natural gas indices.
                                                                                                                                                                 domain. Therefore, if easement
                                                     Panelists are encouraged to respond to               [FR Doc. 2017–13391 Filed 6–26–17; 8:45 am]            negotiations fail to produce an
                                                  the following:                                          BILLING CODE 6717–01–P                                 agreement, the pipeline company could
                                                     1. Is there a need to develop industry
                                                                                                                                                                 initiate condemnation proceedings
                                                  wide liquidity thresholds? While the
                                                                                                                                                                 where compensation would be
                                                  Commission maintains certain liquidity                  DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY                                   determined in accordance with state
                                                  thresholds for indices referenced in
                                                                                                          Federal Energy Regulatory                              law.
                                                  jurisdictional tariffs, should standards                                                                          Northwest provided landowners with
                                                  be developed that would apply to other                  Commission
                                                                                                                                                                 a fact sheet prepared by the FERC
                                                  uses of natural gas indices? If so, how                                                                        entitled ‘‘An Interstate Natural Gas
                                                                                                          [Docket No. CP17–441–000]
                                                  can such standards be developed and by                                                                         Facility On My Land? What Do I Need
                                                  whom? Can this be addressed through                     Northwest Pipeline, LLC; Notice of                     To Know?’’ This fact sheet addresses a
                                                  voluntary consensus or through other                    Intent To Prepare an Environmental                     number of typically asked questions,
                                                  regulatory processes? Are there legal,                  Assessment for the Proposed North                      including the use of eminent domain
                                                  commercial, or technical impediments                    Seattle Lateral Upgrade Project,                       and how to participate in the
                                                  to doing so?                                            Request for Comments on                                Commission’s proceedings. It is also
                                                     2. Should the Commission take steps                  Environmental Issues, and Notice of                    available for viewing on the FERC Web
                                                  to provide greater natural gas price                    Public Scoping Session                                 site (www.ferc.gov).
                                                  transparency and market information,
                                                  promote index developer competition,                       The staff of the Federal Energy                     Public Participation
                                                  and enhance confidence in natural gas                   Regulatory Commission (FERC or                            For your convenience, there are four
                                                  price formation through increased                       Commission) will prepare an                            methods you can use to submit your
                                                  transparency and accessibility of natural               environmental assessment (EA) that will                comments to the Commission. The
                                                  gas index information? For example,                     discuss the environmental impacts of                   Commission will provide equal
                                                  should the Commission consider                          the North Seattle Lateral Upgrade                      consideration to all comments received,
                                                  exercising its authority under section                  Project involving construction and                     whether filed in written form or
                                                  23(a)(1) through (3) of the Natural Gas                 operation of facilities by Northwest                   provided verbally. The Commission
                                                  Act to require market participants to                   Pipeline, LLC (Northwest) in                           encourages electronic filing of
                                                  report price forming transactions to                    Snohomish County, Washington. The                      comments and has expert staff available
                                                  index developers?                                       Commission will use this EA in its                     to assist you at (202) 502–8258 or
                                                     3. Is index data sufficiently available              decision-making process to determine                   FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. Please
                                                  and transparent? Does the commercial                    whether the project is in the public                   carefully follow these instructions so
                                                  service model negatively or positively                  convenience and necessity.                             that your comments are properly
                                                  impact price formation? What actions,                      This notice announces the opening of                recorded.
                                                  policies, or trends have impacted price                 the scoping process the Commission                        (1) You can file your comments
                                                  discovery? Is there additional                          will use to gather input from the public               electronically using the eComment
                                                  information market participants need to                 and interested agencies on the project.                feature on the Commission’s Web site
                                                  ensure robust natural gas price                         You can make a difference by providing                 (www.ferc.gov) under the link to
                                                  formation? Who should provide that                      us with your specific comments or                      Documents and Filings. This is an easy
                                                  information? How would that                             concerns about the project. Your                       method for submitting brief, text-only
                                                  information be shared?                                  comments should focus on the potential                 comments on a project; or
                                                                                                          environmental effects, reasonable                         (2) You can file your comments
                                                  Panelists:                                              alternatives, and measures to avoid or                 electronically by using the eFiling
                                                  • Greg Leonard, Vice President,                         lessen environmental impacts. Your                     feature on the Commission’s Web site
                                                    Cornerstone Research                                  input will help the Commission staff                   (www.ferc.gov) under the link to
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                                                  • Orlando Alvarez, President and CEO,                   determine what issues they need to                     Documents and Filings. With eFiling,
                                                    BP Energy Company                                     evaluate in the EA. To ensure that your                you can provide comments in a variety
                                                  • Mark Callahan, Editorial Director for                 comments are timely and properly                       of formats by attaching them as a file
                                                    Platts North America, S&P Global                      recorded, please send your comments so                 with your submission. New eFiling
                                                  • J.C. Kneale, Vice President of North                  that the Commission receives them in                   users must first create an account by
                                                    American Natural Gas, Power & NGL                     Washington, DC on or before July 21,                   clicking on ‘‘eRegister.’’ If you are filing
                                                    Markets, InterContinental Exchange                    2017.                                                  a comment on a particular project,


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Document Created: 2018-11-14 10:14:30
Document Modified: 2018-11-14 10:14:30
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionNotices
FR Citation82 FR 29065 

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