[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 7, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36681-36682]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-17112]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. PL98-1-001]


Public Access to Information and Electronic Filing; Comment 
Period on Staff Issue Paper on Electronic Filing

June 30, 1999.
agency: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

action: Notice of comment period on staff issue paper on electronic 
filing.

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summary: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Staff (Staff) held a 
technical conference on electronic filings on June 24, 1999. Prior to 
the conference, Staff posted on its web site an issue paper containing 
Staff's analysis and preliminary recommendation on various electronic 
filing issues. At the conference, Staff stated that additional comments 
on the issue paper may be filed on or before July 15, 1999. This notice 
provides interested persons with an opportunity to file these comments.

dates: Comments must be filed by close of business on July 15, 1999.

addresses: Send comments to: Office of the Secretary, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426.

for further information contact:

Brooks Carter, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., Room 42-29, Washington, 
D.C. 20426, (202) 501-8145, FAX: (202) 208-2425, E-Mail: 
brooks,[email protected].
Wilbur Miller, Office of the General Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., Room 91-17, Washington, D.C. 20426, 
(202) 208-0953.

supplementary information: In addition to publishing the full text of 
this document in the Federal Register, the Commission also provides all 
interested persons an opportunity to inspect or copy the contents of 
this document during normal business hours in the Public Reference Room 
at 888 First Street, N.E., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426.
    The Commission Issuance Posting System (CIPS) provides access to 
the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission. CIPS can be 
assessed via Internet through FERC's Home Page (http://www.ferc.fed.us) 
using the CIPS link or the Energy Information Online icon. The full 
text of this document will be available on CIPS in ASCII and 
WordPerfect 6.1 format. User assistance is available at 202-208-2474 or 
by E-mail to CipsM[email protected].
    This document is also available through the Commission's Records 
and Information Management Systems (RIMS), an electronic storage and 
retrieval system of documents submitted to and issued by the Commission 
after November 16, 1981, Documents from November 1995 to the present 
can be viewed and printed. RIMS is available in the Public Reference 
Room or remotely via Internet through FERC's. Homepage using the RIMS 
link or the Energy Information Online icon. User assistance is 
available at 202-208-2222, or E-mail to RimsM[email protected].
    Finally, the complete text on diskette in WordPerfect may be 
purchased from the Commission's copy contractor, RVJ International, RVJ 
International, Inc., is located in the Public Reference Room 888 First 
Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20426.

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Notice of Comment Period on Staff Issue Paper on Electronic Filing

    Take notice that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(Commission) will allow comments to be filed on a staff issue paper 
on electronic filing issues on or before July 15, 1999. Staff posted 
the issue paper on the Commission's web site 10 days in advance of 
the Commission's June 24, 1999, Technical Conference on electronic 
filing. Staff announced at the conference that it would allow 
comments to be filed on the issue paper and is herein providing 
formal notice that any person interested in this docket may file 
comments, regardless of whether they participated in the technical 
conference.
    The issue paper contains Staff's analyses and preliminary 
recommendations for major electronic filing issues, including:

(1) Filing Formats
(2) Citation
(3) Record Retention
(4) Official Filing Date
(5) Electronic Filing Authentication and Verification (Signatures)
(6) Document Content Standards (for Electronic Submissions)
(7) Electronic Filing Phase 1 Profile

    The recommendations are Staff's preliminary recommendations and 
do not constitute a proposal by the Commission. These preliminary 
recommendations are based in part on an analysis of comments 
received in response to a request for comments issued in Docket No. 
PL98-1-000 on May 13, 1998. They are available on the Commission's 
web site (http://www.ferc.fed.us/efi/efi.htm). Through this link, 
interested persons can access all information pertinent to Docket 
No. PL98-1, including comments and materials from all previous 
technical conferences.
    At the conference, Staff also demonstrated prototype screens for 
electronic filing. Interested persons may access the prototype at 
http://itdevl.ferc.fed.us/. There is a message board where 
interested persons can post comments on the prototype, including any 
suggested changes. Comments posted on the message board are viewable 
by anyone accessing the system. It is not necessary to formally 
submit message board comments to the Commission unless you want your 
comments included in the formal record of this proceeding.

Comment Procedures

    The Commission invites interested persons to submit written 
comments on the matters and issues referenced in this notice, 
including any related matters or alternative proposals that 
commenters may wish to discuss.
    The original and 14 copies of such comments must be received by 
the Commission before 5:00 p.m. on July 15, 1999. Comments should be 
submitted to the Office of the Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426 and 
should refer to Docket No. PL98-1-001.
    In addition to filing paper copies, the Commission encourages 
the filing of comments either on computer diskette or via Internet 
E-Mail. Comments may be filed in the following formats: WordPerfect 
8.0 or below, MS Word Office 97 or lower version, or ASCII format.
    For diskette filing, include the following information on the 
diskette label: Docket No. PL98-1-001; the name of the filing entry; 
the software and version used to create the file; and the name and 
telephone number of a contact person.
    For Internet E-Mail submission, comments should be submitted to 
``[email protected]'' in the following format. On the subject 
line, specify Docket No. PL98-1-001. In the body of the E-Mail 
message, include the name of the filing entity; the software and 
version used to create the file, and the name and telephone number 
of the contact person. Attach the comment to the E-Mail in one of 
the formats specified above. The Commission will send an automatic 
acknowledgement to the sender's E-Mail address upon

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receipt. Questions on electronic filing should be directed to Brooks 
Carter at 202-501-8145, E-Mail address [email protected].
    Commenters should take note that, until the Commission amends 
its rules and regulations, the paper copy of the filing remains the 
official copy of the document submitted. Therefore, any 
discrepancies between the paper filing and the electronic filing or 
the diskette will be resolved by reference to the paper filing.
    All written comments will be placed in the Commission's public 
files and will be available for inspection in the Commission's 
Public Reference room at 888 First Street, NE., Washington, D.C. 
20426, during regular business hours. Additionally, comments may be 
viewed, printed, or downloaded remotely via the Internet through 
FERC's Home Page using the RIMS or CIPS links. RIMS contains all 
comments but only those comments submitted in electronic format are 
available on CIPS. User assistance is available at 202-208-2222, or 
by E-Mail to [email protected].
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-17112 Filed 7-6-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M