The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is seeking public comment on a proposed policy for making future corrections to its weekly natural gas storage report.

“This [weekly gas] survey is unlike anything the EIA has ever done before,” said EIA statistician Roy Kass, and the agency is looking to the public for help in drafting guidelines on storage revisions. “What we don’t want is a situation something like what happened to AGA,” which got “boxed upside the head” when it had to make sizable revisions to storage injection figures last August, he noted (see NGI, Aug. 27, 2001). The EIA inherited the weekly gas survey in May from the American Gas Association, which had conducted it for more than eight years (NGI, May 13).

The EIA’s proposed policy targets two types of revisions — scheduled and unscheduled corrections. With respect to scheduled revisions, the EIA would continue its current practice of making changes in the next scheduled weekly gas survey when the “cumulative effect” of the reported change is at least 7 Bcf on either a regional or national level, but less than 35 Bcf.

In a new twist, the agency would also make unscheduled corrections to storage data when a more “significant magnitude” is involved, at least 35 Bcf. These corections would be available at least 24 hours prior to the next weekly gas survey. Under its proposal, the EIA said it would announce its intention to make an unscheduled revision on its web site at https://www.eia.doe.gov, and the actual revision would be released at 10:30 a.m. EST on the following business day.

Kass said the EIA wants to hear public comments on the 7 Bcf and 35 Bcf thresholds. Are they too low, too high? “If we have some catastrophic reporting error and if it’s found out shortly after we publish, what should we do?” he asked. “What is the fair and equitable and timely way of getting that [corrected information] out?”

He dismissed the suggestion that the agency’s proposed policy was prompted by complaints about the EIA’s storage accuracy. “There are always complaints,” Kass told NGI.

The deadline for comments is Aug. 12, but Kass was unable to say when the new policy would be issued. Comments can be sent to William Trapmann by fax (202-586-4420), e-mail (William.Trapmann@eia.doe.gov) or mailed to the Energy Information Administration, EI-44, Forrestal Building, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington DC 20585. Trapmann also can be contacted at (202) 586-6408.

©Copyright 2002 Intelligence Press Inc. Allrights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republishedor redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without priorwritten consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.