Interstate pipelines said they support FERC’s proposedrulemaking calling for them to post the identities of theirmarketing affiliates and any name change information on theInternet as part of the Commission’s effort to better monitortransactions between the parties. But they took issue with theproposed requirement that they update the information within threebusiness days of any change.

“This short time frame will add a burden on pipeline staff andresources without providing any additional protection againstdiscrimination,” Enron’s interstate pipelines said in commentsfiled at FERC last week [RM98-7]. They believe the InterstateNatural Gas Supply Association of America (INGAA) offers a bettermousetrap on the timing issue – one that requires the name changesof marketing affiliates to be posted by pipelines concurrently withreportable affiliate transactions, such as rate discounts. In thealternative, the Enron pipelines proposed that the Commission adopta 30-day deadline for pipelines to update marketing-affiliatenames.

The Enron pipelines said they don’t believe FERC “fullyappreciate[s]” the resources and effort it would take forpipelines, many of which are part of “diverse” energy groups, toidentify and keep track of their affiliates. “It is only byreviewing a comprehensive affiliates list, together withinformation on whether the affiliate buys or sells gas andtransports gas on the subject pipeline, that a pipeline is able todetermine whether an affiliate is a marketing affiliate, andtherefore whether the change is reportable” to FERC,” they noted.”Enron does not dispute the need to conduct this review. However,the three-day deadline places pipeline staff in the position ofreviewing corporate records on a daily basis.”

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