The anthrax-laced mail scare in Washington, DC has hastened the progress being made at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on electronic filing of documents.

Currently, only about 37% of the documents submitted by regulated energy companies at the Commission can be done so electronically, but this is expected to increase to about 85% this week as FERC expands the arena of documents that can be filed in this manner.

FERC staff on Friday issued a notice identifying the types of additional “qualified documents” that it will accept through electronic means (without also filing paper copies), beginning Nov. 13. These will include settlement comments, requests for rehearing or appeal, motions, answers/responses to a pleading or motion, motions to compel production, and objections to motion to compel production (RM00-12).

Currently, the “qualified documents” that can be sent through the Internet are limited to comments on applications and other filings, comments on technical conferences, comments filed in connection with environmental documents, protests and responses to certain protests, reply comments, comments in response to notices of proposed rulemakings, motions/notices of intervention, motions/notices of intervention out-of-time, withdrawals of intervention, and reply comments and responses to motions to intervene.

The volume of documents that are being filed electronically at FERC has grown significantly during the past year, according to staff. It estimated that more than 2,000 electronic filings were made at the Commission during October, compared to about 1,000 last June.

Mail delivery to FERC, which was halted on Oct. 17, has been resumed, but at a much lower volume, staff reported to the Commission during its regular meeting last Wednesday. The U.S. Postal Service continues to retain some of the mail that was processed through the Brentwood mail facility in the District for cleansing, noted staff, but it did not know what portion of that mail was addressed to the Commission.

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