[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 14, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13651-13652]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-6168]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
18 CFR Part 154, 158, 201, 250, and 284
[Docket No. RM95-3-000; Rm95-4-000]
Filing and Reporting Requirements for Interstate Natural Gas
Company Rate Schedules and Tariffs; Revisions to Uniform System of
Accounts Forms, Statements, and Reporting Requirements for Natural Gas
Companies; Notice of Informal Technical Conference
March 8, 1995.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of informal technical conference.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will hold an informal
technical conference pursuant to the Notices of Proposed Rulemaking
issued on December 16, 1994, in Docket Nos. RM95-3-000 and RM95-4-000.
The conference is a preliminary step in the process of modifying the
electronic filing requirements to complement the proposed revisions to
the regulations set forth in the December 16, 1994 notices.
DATES: Tuesday and Wednesday, April 4 and 5, 1995: 9:00 a.m.
ADDRESSES: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 810 First Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20426. [[Page 13652]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Richard A. White, Office of the General Counsel, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 825 North Capitol Street, NE., Washington, DC
20426, (202) 208-0491.
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 Room 3104, 941 North
Capitol Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
The Commission Issuance Posting System (CIPS), an electronic
bulletin board service, provides access to the texts of formal
documents issued by the Commission. CIPS is available at no charge to
the user and may be accessed using a personal computer with a modem by
dialing (202) 208-1397. To access CIPS, set your communications
software to 19200, 14400, 12000, 9600, 7200, 4800, 2400, 1200, or 300
bps, full duplex, no parity, 8 data bits, and 1 stop bit. The full text
of this rule will be available on CIPS for 60 days from the date of
issuance in ASCII and WordPerfect 5.1 formats. After 60 days, the rule
will be archived, but still accessible. The complete text on diskette
in Wordperfect format may also be purchased from the Commission's copy
contractor, La Dorn Systems Corporation, also located in Room 3104, 941
North Capitol Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
Take notice that on Tuesday, April 4, 1995 and, if necessary,
Wednesday, April 5, 1995, an informal technical conference will be
convened to begin designing modifications to the electronic filing
requirements necessitated by proposed Rulemaking issued on December 16,
1994, in Docket Nos. RM95-3-000 and RM95-4-000,\1\ the Commission
directed its Staff to convene a technical conference to obtain the
participation of the industry and others for this purpose.
\1\Published in the Federal Register on January 13, 1995 at 60
FR 3111 and 3141, respectively.
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The conference is a preliminary step in the process of modifying
the Commission's electronic filing requirements to complement the
proposed revisions to the regulations set forth in the December 16,
1994 notices.
Objectives to be achieved by modifying the electronic filing
requirements include:
To employ user-friendly form fill, word processing, or
spreadsheet applications as much as possible.
To minimize the burden of the reporting requirements
for regulated entites.
To eliminate unnecessary processing steps by the
Commission and the companies.
To facilitate access to the information by the public.
To the greatest extent possible, electronic data should
be capable of being linked to related data in other filings.
To ensure that electronically submitted data contains
the same information as the paper copy of the filing.
To ensure that electronic data can be easily correlated
with the data in the paper filing.
To ensure that all spreadsheets contain the underlying
formulae and links.
The specific objectives of this conference are:
To provide a form within which Staff can gain a better
understanding of how the industry stores and processes the data
required in the Commission's forms and filings.
To determine the most efficient electronic means for
the preparation and submittal of data.
To determine the most efficient electronic means for
the dissemination of data to the public.
To determine whether additional conferences are
desirable; and, if so, the format, agenda, and dates.
In light of these objectives, Commission Staff anticipates
considering the following topics at the conference:
An appropriate filing format for each type of
submittal.
How companies store data (mainframe, PCs, paper only)
that the Commission proposes to be filed electronically.
How companies prepare Form 2, Form 11, discount rate
reports, index of customers, and section 4 rate cases (using
commercial software, proprietary software, spreadsheets, databases,
wordprocessing software). Whether companies use different hardware
and software for different parts of the submittal. What spreadsheet,
database, and wordprocessing software is used predominantly.
Those aspects of the Commission's current electronic
filing requirements that should not be changed.
The use of form fill software for submitting each
filing.
Whether the Commission's form fill software for
submitting FERC Form No. 1 would be useful for submitting other
filings. (The Commission's form fill software for submitting FERC
Form No. 1 is available on the Commission Issuance Posting System
(CIPS) under option ``FERC Form No. 1 Forum.'' The bulletin board
number is (202) 208-1397.)
What information from electronic filings should be
accessible to the public. In what form would such data be most
useful (spreadsheet, database, wordprocessing, ASCII).
Transmission of electronic data to the Commission
through telecommunication.
Any special concerns of state commissions, small
businesses, customers, consumer groups, and nonindustry users of
electronically filed data.
Participants should also be prepared to discuss any
other relevant matter.
Commission Staff is currently preparing an agenda for the
conference. In order that the conference be as productive as possible,
Staff invites comments on the goals, issues, and topics of discussion.
Such comments should be addressed to Richard A. White, Office of the
General Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North
Capitol Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 208-0491. Comments
should be received by March 28, 1995. Commenters are encouraged to
submit comments on a 3\1/2\ inch diskette in ASCII format.
The conference will begin at 9:00 a.m. on April 4, 1995, in a
hearing or conference room of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
810 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. The conference room will
be designated in a subsequent notice. All interested persons are
invited to attend.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-6168 Filed 3-13-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M
