FERC-538, Gas Pipeline Certificates: Section 7(a) Mandatory Initial Service

The purpose of FERC-538 is to implement the information collections pursuant to Sections 7(a), 10(a) and 16 of Natural Gas Act (NGA) , and part 156 of the Commission Regulations. These statutes and regulations upon application by a person or municipality authorized to engage in the local distribution of natural gas, allow for the Commission to order a natural gas company to extend or improve its transportation facilities and sell natural gas to the municipality or person and, for such purpose, to extend its transportation facilities to communities immediately adjacent to such facilities or to territories served by the natural gas pipeline company. The Commission uses the application data in order to be fully informed concerning the applicant, and the service the applicant is requesting. In the final policy statement, PL24-1-000, the Commission is clarifying that the cost data (submitted via the FERC-538) should include project-wide labor wages and include union and non-union wages. The Commission clarified it will look to applicable collective-bargaining agreements or Project Labor Agreements as an appropriate default source of project-area wage standards because collectively bargained wages reflect actual wage and fringe benefit rates paid to the project workforce. Collective-bargaining agreements reflect the actual labor cost that should be included in cost estimate submitted in conjunction with request for a municipality or to person extend its transportation facilities to communities immediately adjacent to such facilities or to territories served a natural gas pipeline company.

The latest form for FERC-538, Gas Pipeline Certificates: Section 7(a) Mandatory Initial Service expires 2026-08-31 and can be found here.