The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission yesterday issued anotice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) in which it seeks industrycomments on how to create an efficient electronic informationsystem for processing and distributing filings.

The aim is to end the “paper chase” that the Commission hasengaged in for years, and switch to a more high-tech environment,said Chairman James Hoecker, who added he has appointed a chiefinformation officer to oversee the task.

In the NOPR, FERC said its “ultimate goal is to improve the useof [information technology] to reduce regulatory burdens, cutprocessing times, simplify filing process and generate betterinformation for use by its staff, regulated industries and thepublic.”

Upon reviewing industry comments, which are due June 30, theCommission will schedule a technical conference on the issue andwill establish working groups to study its goal of a “paperlessenvironment.” A notice with details will be issued at a later time.

©Copyright 1998 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. Thepreceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, inwhole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent ofIntelligence Press,Inc.