99-24488. Public Access to Information and Electronic Filing; Staff Notice of Pilot Project for Electronic Filing

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 182 (Tuesday, September 21, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51116-51118]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-24488]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

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


Public Access to Information and Electronic Filing; Staff Notice 
of Pilot Project for Electronic Filing

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

ACTION: Notice of pilot project for electronic filing of documents.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) notifies 
interested persons that, beginning on October 1, 1999, the Commission 
will conduct a Pilot Project that will allow selected participants in 
Commission proceedings to submit to the pilot specified categories of 
documents electronically. This pilot is intended to test the 
Commission's systems for receiving electronic filings in preparation 
for implementing electronic filing as the principal means of filing 
documents in its proceedings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Brooks Carter, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Room 42-29, Washington, 
DC 20426, [phone], FAX: [phone], E-Mail: 
[e-mail]
Wilbur Miller, Office of the General Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Room 91-17, Washington, DC 20426, 
[phone], FAX: [phone], E-Mail: [e-mail]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In addition to publishing the full text of 
this document in the Federal Register, the Commission provides all 
interested persons an opportunity to view and/or print the contents of 
this document via the Internet through FERC's Home Page (http://
www.ferc.fed.us) and in FERC's Public Reference Room during normal 
business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First 
Street, NE, Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426.
    From FERC's Home Page on the Internet, this information is 
available in both the Commission Issuance Posting System (CIPS) and the 
Records and Information Management System (RIMS).
    --CIPS provides access to the texts of formal documents issued by 
the Commission since November 14, 1994. CIPS can be accessed 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 8.0 format 
for viewing, printing, and/or downloading.
    --RIMS contains images 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 from FERC's Home Page using the RIMS 
link or the Energy Information Online icon. Descriptions of documents 
back to November 16, 1981, are also available from RIMS-on-the-Web; 
requests for copies of these and other older documents should be 
submitted to the Public Reference Room.
    User assistance is available for RIMS, CIPS, and the Website during 
normal business hours from our Help line at [phone] (E-Mail to 
[e-mail]) or the Public Reference Room at [phone] 
(E-Mail to [e-mail]).
    During normal business hours, documents can also be viewed and/or 
printed in FERC's Public Reference Room, where RIMS, CIPS, and the FERC 
Website are available. User assistance is also available.
    Take notice that Commission Staff is seeking volunteers to 
participate in a Pilot Project for electronic filing of documents in 
Commission proceedings over the Internet. This Pilot Project will 
commence on October 1, 1999, and will continue until further notice by 
the Commission. Because this is a test of the electronic system, 
participants in the pilot will still be required to comply with 
existing filing requirements, by filing paper copies of documents in 
accordance with the Commission's existing regulations.
    This pilot is part of the Commission Staff's effort to implement 
electronic filing. Eventually, Staff expects to recommend that the 
Commission require that all filings by regulated entities be made in 
electronic form, with limited exceptions. Participants in this pilot 
will have the opportunity not only to assist the Commission in making 
its determination on electronic filing, but to familiarize themselves 
with the process at an early stage of development. At the outset of the 
pilot only a few participants may be selected, but Commission Staff 
anticipates that the number of testers will be increased incrementally 
as more experience is gained with electronic filing. Staff will be 
particularly interested in working

[[Page 51117]]

with participants that anticipate filing, during the course of the 
pilot, documents of the types that will be accepted for the pilot.
    The pilot will test a prototype for electronic filing over the 
Internet limited to motions and notices to intervene, protests, 
comments and related filings. The attachment describes the pilot and 
contains a general description of the requirements and specifications 
for electronic submissions during the pilot. The Commission Staff is 
not testing electronic filings made on diskette, CD-ROM, or other media 
as part of this pilot, although ultimately some filings may be made 
using these media.
    The Commission Staff encourages those interested in participating 
in the pilot to contact: Brooks Carter, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE, 
Room 42-29, Washington, DC 20426, [phone], FAX: [phone], 
E-Mail: [e-mail].
    Please include the name, mailing address, telephone number, and E-
Mail address of the company contact. It would also be helpful if 
interested parties would be prepared to give Staff some indication of 
whether they anticipate filing documents of the types that will be 
accepted for the pilot. A link on the Commission's Website for the 
Electronic Filing Initiative provides information about the pilot 
(http://www.ferc.fed.us/efi/efi.htm). Questions may also be addressed 
to Brooks Carter.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.

Attachment--Summary of Staff Pilot Project for Electronic Filing

I. Initial Approach

    Initially, a limited group of voluntary participants will take 
part in testing the electronic filing prototype. This group will be 
incrementally enlarged during the pilot to ensure that as many 
volunteers as possible get the opportunity to participate and that 
all functional components of the system are adequately tested. The 
initial group of participants will include those that anticipate 
making several filings of the types being accepted for purposes of 
the pilot during the early stages of the pilot.
    Coordination with Commission Staff will be essential. During the 
pilot, participants will work closely with Staff in testing specific 
aspects of the prototype and the initial filing profile, and will 
provide technical feedback.

II. Scope

    The following categories of documents, and no others, may be 
submitted in connection with the Pilot Project (all citations are to 
18 CFR):
    1. Motions to Intervene and Notices to Intervene pursuant to 
Sec. 385.214.
    2. Protests pursuant to Sec. 385.211, and protests and responses 
pursuant to Sec. 343.3.
    3. Comments on any pleading listed in 1. or 2. other than (a) 
those in proceedings set for hearing under Subpart E of the 
regulations and (b) settlement comments.
    4. Comments filed in rulemaking proceedings and in connection 
with Environmental Impact Statements on Environmental Assessments.
    5. Answers to, withdrawals of, and amendments to pleadings and 
rulemaking comments listed in 1., 2., or 4., filed pursuant to 
Sec. 385.213, 385.215 and 385.216, other than those in proceedings 
set for hearing under Subpart E of the regulations.

III. Existing Filing Requirements

    Existing filing requirements will not be waived, suspended or 
modified for purposes of this Pilot Project. Thus, participants, 
filing electronic copies of documents must also file paper copies in 
accordance with the Commission's existing filing requirements. The 
paper copy will serve as the official copy in accordance with 
existing regulations during the pilot. Questions of timeliness will 
be determined according to the paper submission.

IV. Technical Requirements

    The following sections describe in general terms the technical 
requirements and operations of the pilot. Commission Staff will 
provide detailed instructions to participants.

A. Filing Format

    During the pilot, the participants may submit electronic 
documents in the following formats:
    1. Microsoft Word: Versions from 2.x for Windows to MS Office 
97. The file name extension must be ``.doc.''
    2. Corel WordPerfect: Versions 4.2 through 8.0. The file name 
extension must be ``.wpd.''
    3. Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF): All versions. 
The file name extension must be ``.pdf.''
    4. Rich Text Format. The file name extension must be ``.rtf.''
    5. ASCII. The file name extension must be ``.txt.''
    Participants may submit files with long file names.
    As the Commission Staff expands its electronic filing 
initiative, it will add other formats (e.g., spreadsheets, graphics) 
to accommodate specific requirements.

B. Method of Submission

    The following steps generally outline the method of submission 
that participants will be required to follow during the pilot:
    1. The participant will access the Commission's web site and 
follow the instructions for submitting an electronic document.
    2. Upon submission of the document, the Commission's computer 
system will immediately generate a web-based response confirming 
successful transmission. The Commission's computer system will 
shortly thereafter send an E-Mail message confirming receipt and 
containing an accession number for the document's image.
    3. The E-Mail that the Commission's computer system sends will 
also contain an Internet link, so the participant can view the 
document's electronic image, which the Commission's system will have 
generated. The participant will be able to view the Commission-
generated electronic image of the submitted document, thus allowing 
the participant to compare the image's content and appearance with 
the original document sent.
    4. The participant will make a paper copy of the document 
(either from the participant's electronic version or from the 
document's Commission-generated electronic image). The participant 
will also print out a copy of the confirmation received from the 
Commission's computer system (which will include the accession 
number), and place the confirmation on top of the original paper 
version of the document. The participant will then submit the 
original with the confirmation and the prescribed number of paper 
copies of the document in accordance with the Commission's existing 
regulations. The paper copy and not the electronic version governs 
issues of timeliness.
    5. The Commission will make available on its web site, through 
RIMS, both the electronic version of the document in its native 
format and the Commission's electronic image of the paper copy. 
Users of the Commission's web site will be able to download the 
native format version or, if they have the appropriate viewer, to 
view it on screen.

C. Formatting of Documents To Permit Accurate Citation

    Paragraph numbering is not necessary for documents filed in PDF 
format. For documents filed in other formats (WordPerfect, MS Word, 
RTF and ASCII), accurate citation may be difficult unless documents 
contain paragraph numbers. The Commission Staff thus encourages 
participants filing documents in those formats to include paragraph 
numbers. During the pilot, paragraph numbering will not be required 
and documents that do not contain it will not be rejected solely for 
that reason.
    For purposes of this pilot, participants choosing to include 
paragraph numbering should number every paragraph of the document 
consecutively. Participants can use any format for paragraph 
numbering, but they are encouraged to use the format [para.number] 
and place the number at the left margin to each paragraph, as 
follows: [para.1] [Paragraph text beginning here.].
    Participants can use either the automatic paragraph numbering 
features of the application (such as Word TM or 
WordPerfect TM) or can use ASCII characters for 
numbering.
    Commission Staff will create an electronic image of the 
submitted electronic file, as long as the file format used is one of 
those stated above as acceptable. At this time, RIMS is not able to 
convert non-PDF file formats to PDF.

D. Authentication and Verification

    Participants in the Pilot Project will establish a User ID and 
Password to authenticate an electronic submission. Each

[[Page 51118]]

person submitting an electronic filing must establish his/her own ID 
and Password.

E. Document Content Standards

    The Commission Staff will place some limitations on the content 
of electronic documents submitted as part of the pilot. Such 
documents will have to meet at least the following criteria:
    1. Documents must be submitted as a single file, which is 
neither zipped nor compressed.
    2. Documents must be submitted in connection with a proceeding 
that has a single Docket Number, or is the lead docket in a 
consolidated case.
    3. The file size must be less than five megabytes.
    4. Documents must not contain auto-text (such as ``date'') or 
macros that may change the document in any way after submission.
    5. Documents must not contain hyperlinks to external documents, 
except to the Commission's CIPS and RIMS systems as long as the text 
also contains a regular, full citation to the referenced document.
    6. All documents submitted electronically in connection with the 
pilot will be public. Non-public or proprietary documents and data 
may not be submitted electronically as part of the pilot.
    All participants should note that the above technical 
requirements are subject to change. The Commission Staff will post 
any updates to the requirements for the pilot on the Website and 
encourages participants to check regularly for possible changes.

F. Additional Contacts

    Help lines (202-208-0258, 202-208-2222 and 202-208-1371) for 
technical assistance or questions about the pilot program are 
staffed during the Commission's official business hours (8:30 a.m. 
to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time). Users needing help or information also 
are encouraged to send an E-Mail to [e-mail].

V. Paperwork Reduction Act

    No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply 
with this collection of information if the collection of information 
does not display a valid control number. 44 U.S.C. 3512.

[FR Doc. 99-24488 Filed 9-20-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M