18 C.F.R. Subpart J—Blanket Certificates Authorizing Certain Natural Gas Sales by Interstate Pipelines
Title 18 - Conservation of Power and Water Resources
Source: Order 636, 57 FR 13318, Apr. 16, 1992, unless otherwise noted.
This subpart applies to any interstate pipeline that offers transportation service under subpart B or G of this part. (a) Bundled sales service is gas sales service that is not sold separately from transportation service. (b) Sales service includes firm or interruptible gas sales. (c) Unbundled sales service is gas sales service that is sold separately from transportation service. (d) Small customer is a customer that purchases gas from a pipeline under the pipeline's one-part imputed load factor rate schedule on the effective date of the blanket certificate. [Order 636, 57 FR 13318, Apr. 16, 1992, as amended by Order 636–A, 57 FR 36218, Aug. 12, 1992] A sales service is unbundled when gas is sold at a point before it enters a mainline system, at an entry point to a mainline system from a production area, or at an intersection with another pipeline system. (a) Authorization. An interstate pipeline that offers transportation service under subpart B or G of this part is granted a blanket certificate of public convenience and necessity pursuant to section 7 of the Natural Gas Act authorizing it to provide unbundled firm or interruptible sales in accordance with the provisions of this section. (b) Conversion to unbundled firm sales service and firm transportation service. On the effective date of the pipeline's blanket certificate for unbundled sales services under paragraph (a) of this section, firm sales entitlements under any firm sales service agreement for a bundled sales service are converted to an equivalent amount of unbundled firm sales service and an equivalent amount of unbundled firm transportation service. (c) Conversion to unbundled interruptible sales service and interruptible transportation service. On the effective date of the pipeline's blanket certificate for unbundled sales services under paragraph (a) of this section, interruptible sales volumes under any interruptible sales service agreement for a bundled sales service are converted to an equivalent amount of unbundled sales service and an equivalent amount of unbundled interruptible transportation service. (d) A pipeline that provides unbundled sales service under this section may serve as an agent of the sales customer to arrange for any pipeline-provided service necessary to deliver gas to the customer. (e) Small customer cost-based rate. A pipeline that provided bundled sales service to a small customer before the effective date of the blanket certificate granted in paragraph (a) of this section is required to offer a sales service to that customer at a cost-based rate for one year from the effective date of the certificate. The obligation to sell at the cost-based rate expires one year after the effective date of the certificate. [Order 636, 57 FR 13318, Apr. 16, 1992, as amended by Order 636–A, 57 FR 36218, Aug. 12, 1992; Order 581, 60 FR 53074, Oct. 11, 1995] Abandonment of unbundled sales services is authorized pursuant to section 7(b) of the Natural Gas Act upon the expiration of the contractual term or upon termination of each individual sales arrangement authorized under §284.284. (a) To the maximum extent practicable, the pipeline must organize its unbundled sales and transportation operating employees so that they function independently of each other. (b) The pipeline must conduct its business to conform to the requirements set forth in §284.7(b)(2) and §284.9(b)(2) with respect to the equality of service by not giving shippers of gas sold by the pipeline any preference over shippers of gas sold by any other merchant in matters relating to part 284 transportation. (c) The pipeline must comply with part 358 by considering its unbundled sales operating employees as an operational unit which is the functional equivalent of a marketing affiliate. (d) The pipeline must comply with §250.16 of this chapter by considering its unbundled sales operating employees as an operational unit which is the functional equivalent of a marketing affiliate. (e) A pipeline that provides unbundled sales service under §284.284 must have tariff provisions on file with the Commission indicating how the pipeline is complying with the standards of this section. [Order 636, 57 FR 13318, Apr. 16, 1992, as amended by Order 566, 59 FR 32899, June 27, 1994; Order 581, 60 FR 53074, Oct. 11, 1995; Order 2004, 68 FR 69157, Dec. 11, 2003] (a) Prior to offering any sales service under this subpart J, a pipeline must file revised tariff sheets incorporating the provisions of this subpart J. (b) A blanket certificate issued under §284.284 will be effective on the effective date (as approved by the Commission) of the tariff sheets implementing service under that certificate. [Order 581, 60 FR 53074, Oct. 11, 1995] (a) To the extent Seller engages in reporting of transactions to publishers of electricity or natural gas indices, Seller shall provide accurate and factual information, and not knowingly submit false or misleading information or omit material information to any such publisher, by reporting its transactions in a manner consistent with the procedures set forth in the Policy Statement on Natural Gas and Electric Price Indices, issued by the Commission in Docket No. PL03–3–000 and any clarifications thereto. Seller shall notify the Commission within 15 days of the effective date of this regulation of whether it engages in such reporting of its transactions and update the Commission within 15 days of any subsequent change to its transaction reporting status. In addition, Seller shall adhere to such other standards and requirements for price reporting as the Commission may order. (b) A pipeline that provides unbundled natural gas sales service under §284.284 shall retain, for a period of five years, all data and information upon which it billed the prices it charged for natural gas it sold pursuant to its market based sales certificate or the prices it reported for use in price indices. [Order 644, 68 FR 66336, Nov. 26, 2003, as amended by Order 673, 71 FR 9716, Feb. 27, 2006; Order 677, 71 FR 30287, May 26, 2006]
Title 18: Conservation of Power and Water Resources
PART 284—CERTAIN SALES AND TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978 AND RELATED AUTHORITIES
Subpart J—Blanket Certificates Authorizing Certain Natural Gas Sales by Interstate Pipelines
§ 284.281 Applicability.
§ 284.282 Definitions.
§ 284.283 Point of unbundling.
§ 284.284 Blanket certificates for unbundled sales services.
§ 284.285 Pregrant of abandonment of unbundled sales services.
§ 284.286 Standards of conduct for unbundled sales service.
§ 284.287 Implementation and effective date.
§ 284.288 Code of conduct for unbundled sales service.
