FERC: Statements, Speeches & Interviews Archives – Kelly

Statement: November 15, 2007 View Printable PDF Version

Docket No: RM07-16-000

Commissioner Kelly's statement on Filing Via the Internet

Today's final rule, known as e-filing 7.0, benefits everyone. It further simplifies for participants in Commission proceedings the ability to file and retrieve documents electronically, and provides easier access to Commission proceedings to people, such as landowners, who are not as familiar with our document processes and procedures.

In short, e-filing 7.0 will reduce the burden on regulated entities, not to mention Commission staff, make it easier for certain entities to get involved in Commission proceedings, and save a considerable number of trees by greatly expanding the kinds of documents that may now be filed electronically. In fact, according to staff, e-filing 7.0 will now make eligible for e-filing approximately 90% of the total documents the Commission receives annually. Of course, while e-filing will still be voluntary, staff tells us that, based on positive comments, it is reasonable to expect that e-Filing 7.0 will, at a minimum, double the number of electronic filings received in FY 2007.

I must admit that, until we decided to issue the NOPR in this proceeding, I had not thought much about the process for filing or accessing documents. It has always seemed like magic to me to simply hit a few keys on my computer keyboard, and retrieve any document filed with the Commission.

It's not magic. The ability to file or retrieve documents so effortlessly is a testament to staff's extraordinary dedication and hard work. While many of us take for granted the ability to electronically file or access documents, staff is quietly and efficiently working behind the scenes to enable us to do so.

This is no small feat. In FY 2007, staff estimates that 60,000 documents were filed in eLibrary-21,700 of those documents were received via the e-filing system. By the way, these numbers do not include the approximately 7,000 Electric Quarterly Reports that are filed annually via the EQR system.

There are so many dedicated staff members who work on a daily basis to make this possible. I would like to single out one in particular. Brooks Carter coordinates all of the documents received at the Commission, both paper and electronic, and handles all of the issues associated with these tens of thousands of filings. Needless to say, this is an extraordinary portfolio, yet Brooks always performs at the highest level.

Brooks has been at the Commission for nearly 32 years, and has been instrumental in e-filing's 2000 inception, and subsequent evolution. I have heard from sources that Dockets in general, and e-filing in particular, would not be what it is today without Brooks. So thank you, Brooks, and thank you to the team that worked on today's rule, which I am confident will serve as a model for the federal government.