Practice and procedure: Electronic filing issues; staff papers availability and technical conference,

[Federal Register: June 21, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 118)]

[Proposed Rules]

[Page 33034-33035]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr21jn99-16]

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

18 CFR Part 385

[Docket No. PL98-1-001]

Public Access to Information and Electronic Filing; Notice of Availability of Staff Issue Papers for Technical Conference

June 15, 1999. AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability of staff issue papers for technical conference on electronic filing.

SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) notifies interested persons that the Commission Staff is making staff issue papers on major electronic filing issues available for the purpose of facilitating discussion of these issues at the technical conference. The recommendations in the issue papers are preliminary and are subject to revision based on input from the conference and further analysis by staff.

DATES: The conference will be held on Thursday, June 24, 1999, beginning at 9:30 a.m. The Commission published notice of the conference on May 26, 1999.

ADDRESSES: The technical conference will be held in the Commission Meeting Room at the 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, DC 20426, (202) 501-8145, FAX: (202) 208-2425, E-Mail: brooks.carter@ferc.fed.us. Wilbur Miller, Office of the General Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Room 91-17, Washington, DC 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, NE., 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 accessed 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 CipsMaster@ferc.fed.us.

This document is also available through the Commission's Records and Information Management System (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 by E-mail to RimsMaster@ferc.fed.us.

Finally, the complete text on diskette in WordPerfect format may be purchased from the Commission's copy contractor, RVJ International, Inc. RVJ International, Inc., is located in the Public Reference Room at 888 First Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20426.

Take notice that the Commission Staff (Staff) is making available staff issue papers for review in advance of the technical conference on electronic filing. The issue papers are intended to facilitate discussion at the conference of major issues pertaining to the Commission's Electronic Filing Initiative (EFI). The conference will be held on Thursday, June 24, 1999, and will commence at 9:30 a.m. in the Commission Meeting Room of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426. The conference is open to all interested persons.

Staff is convening the conference to: discuss and resolve the issues addressed in the issue papers; review and discuss a prototype for electronic filing, including any desired features or enhancements; discuss prototype testing; and address other electronic filing issues of interest to those in attendance.

The issue papers included with this notice contain 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)

[[Page 33035]]

(7) Electronic Filing Phase 1 Profile

The recommendations are Staff recommendations and do not constitute a proposal by the Commission. The 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. Staff has created a new link on the Commission's web site (www.ferc.fed.us) called ``Electronic Filing Initiative.'' Through this link, interested persons can access all information pertinent to Docket No. PL98-1, including comments and materials from a previous technical conference.

We urge persons planning to attend the conference to review the materials in advance and be prepared to discuss them at the conference. Staff will entertain requests to establish panels to facilitate discussion of the issues, if attendees believe this will lead to a more orderly discussion. If after reviewing the issues, you would like to participate in a discussion, please contact, Brooks Carter via e-mail (brooks.carter@ferc.fed.us), FAX (202-208-2425) or telephone (202-501- 8145).

Although this is an informal technical conference, a court reporter will transcribe the proceedings and make a transcript available for interested parties.

The Capital Connection offers all Open and special FERC meetings live on the Internet as well as via telephone and satellite. For a reasonable fee, you can receive these meetings in your office, at home or anywhere in the world. To find out more about The Capitol Connection's live Internet, phone bridge or satellite coverage, contact David Reininger or Julia Morelli at (703) 933-3100 or visit Capitol Connection's website at www.capitolconnection.gmu.edu). The Capitol Connection also offers FERC Open Meetings through its Washington, D.C. area television service.

In addition, National Narrowcast Network's Hearing-On-The-Line service covers all FERC meetings live by telephone so that interested persons can listen at their desks, from their homes, or from any phone, without special equipment. Billing is based on time on-line. Call 202- 966-2211.

Anyone interested in purchasing videotapes of the meeting should call VISCOM at (703) 715-7999). David P. Boergers, Secretary.

[FR Doc. 99-15620Filed6-18-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M