FERC has granted a deadline extension for natural gas and electric companies, and oil pipelines to file their first two quarterly financial reports in compliance with a new final rule (Order 646), which was issued earlier this year.

In jointly calling for the extension, the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America and the Edison Electric Institute said the software needed to file the new quarterly financial reports was not expected to be available for general use until June 30, which they noted would leave filers only nine days before they had to file their first report on July 9.

The groups said the additional time was needed for regulated companies to familiarize themselves with the software, prepare electronic copies of the quarterly reports, and have the reports internally reviewed, approved and filed.

The quarterly reporting requirement, which FERC approved in February, is in addition to the annual reports that jurisdictional companies currently submit to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Regulated companies are required to provide a basic set of financial statements and other data in their quarterly reports. The additional reporting burden was the result of the “dramatic lesson” learned in the wake of the collapse of Enron Corp., FERC Chairman Pat Wood said at the time (see NGI, Feb. 16).

The rule added two new forms — one for electric and natural gas companies (Form No. 3-Q), and another for oil pipelines (Form No. 6-Q). It called for major utilities and licensees, and major natural gas companies to submit their first quarterly report by July 9 of this year. FERC has now extended the deadline to Aug. 23.

Smaller (non-major) public utilities and licensees, and gas companies and all oil pipelines were given until July 23 to file their first quarterly report. This now has been extended to Sept. 3.

As for their second quarterly reports, major public utilities and licensees, and major gas companies initially were given until Sept. 8 to file their reports, but this has been pushed back to Sept. 23. The smaller (non-major) public utilities and licensees, and gas companies and oil pipelines have had their deadline for the second quarter report filing extended to Oct. 7. They initially were scheduled to file by Sept. 22.

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