Natural Gas Pipeline Disclosure of Shippers In Need of Reform

By Tyson Slocum

On June 24, 2022 Public Citizen submitted comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in docket RM21-18, requesting disclosure improvements to ensure the public has access to accurate information about the companies that secure shipping capacity on these pipelines. Currently, the Commission’s regulations at 18 CFR § 284.13(b) delegates such reporting to the pipelines, allowing pipeline companies to post shipper’s information on their “Internet web site”, rather than having the Commission publish such information in a centralized format on FERC’s web site. Pipeline compliance with this rule appears to be haphazard, with pipeline companies prioritizing their own web site content and making it difficult, and sometimes impossible, to find the FERC-required disclosures. In addition, the Commission’s rules only require limited archived information of up to 90 days, and most pipeline companies charge the public money to access material older than 90 days, which impedes the public interest―for example, if journalists or the public seek information on shippers that had pipeline capacity during a significant pricing emergency (such as with last year’s winter storm Uri), access to basic data may be subject to onerous fees charged and payable to pipeline companies. This is an unreasonable barrier that is inconsistent with the public interest.

Read the full four page filing here: PipelineDisclose1