FERC Requires Pipeline Companies to Report Infrastructure Damage
September 19, 2006 // Published as a news service by IHS
The final rule will require jurisdictional natural gas companies to report damage to their facilities and report service disruptions that occur when a natural disaster or other cause results in a reduction in pipeline throughput or storage deliverability.
Chairman Joseph T. Kelliher said, "The rule fills a regulatory gap identified by the commission last year after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
"The commission lacked vital information on the physical condition of facilities that affected the operation of the pipeline grid. This rule will enhance our ability to mitigate critical gas service issues more quickly."
Current FERC regulations only require regulated entities to report serious service disruptions, but not damage to the affected gas infrastructure.
According to FERC, during last year's hurricane disasters, companies kept the FERC informed about service disruptions, but FERC staff had to scramble to gather information through phone calls and other means to assess the damage.
"While we took steps based on available information to encourage rapid repair of facilities and restoration of service, including granting of waivers of various regulations where necessary, the information gathering process was not adequate to ensure timely and accurate monitoring of gas infrastructure," the FERC order said.
The FERC will now require companies to file electronically more specific information on the cause and the extent of damage done to gas infrastructure, even if there is no service interruption. In addition, the FERC will require reporting of:
- The time of damage occurrence.
- Emergency actions taken by the company to maintain gas service.
- Time when damaged facilities are fully restored to service.
- Other service information.
In addition to these damage reports, companies must continue to report serious service interruptions and restoration of service.
Companies may file the information to FERC by e-mail or facsimile. The FERC said it is consulting with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) to develop a unified reporting system that would minimize duplicative reporting.
The final rule is effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register.