The Commission authorizes the Director or the Director's designee to:

(a) Request information for purposes of a preliminary investigation under Part 1b of this chapter, or for purposes of conducting market surveillance from an entity whose activities may affect energy markets, and from state or federal agencies that monitor or regulate such entities, whether or not subject to the Commission's jurisdiction.

(b) Designate, and terminate the authority of, officers empowered to administer oaths and affirmations, subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance and testimony, take evidence, compel the filing of special reports and responses to interrogatories, gather information, and require the production of any books, papers, correspondence, memoranda, contracts, agreements, or other records, in the course of formal investigations conducted by the Office of Enforcement, to the extent the Commission's order of investigation expressly provides for the exercise of such investigative powers.

(c) Grant or deny requests of persons pursuant to §1b.12 of this chapter to procure copies of the transcripts of their testimony taken during non-public investigations conducted by the Office of Enforcement.

(d) Terminate any informal non-public investigation conducted by the Office of Enforcement.

(e) Issue reports for public information purposes. Any report issued without Commission approval must

(1) Be of a non-controversial nature, and

(2) Contain the statement, “This report does not necessarily reflect the view of the Commission,” in bold-face type on the cover.

(f) Deny or grant, in whole or in part, requests for waiver of the requirements for particular forms, including Electric Quarterly Reports required under §35.10b of this chapter.

(g) Take appropriate action on applications for extensions of time to file required reports, data and information, and to perform other acts required at or within a specific time by any rule, regulation, license, permit, certificate, or by order of the Commission.

(h) Undertake the following action with respect to data and reports submitted pursuant to Commission opinions or orders:

(1) Accept for filing data and reports that are in compliance and, when appropriate, notify the filing party of such acceptance;

(2) Reject for filing any data and reports which are not in compliance or not required and, when appropriate, notify the filing party of such rejection, or

(3) Issue deficiency letters regarding such data or reports.

(i) Sign all correspondence on behalf of the Commission with state regulatory commissions and agencies in connection with auditing matters.

(j) Pass upon actual legitimate original cost and depreciation thereon and the net investment in jurisdictional companies and revisions thereof, and sign audit reports involving jurisdictional companies,

(1) If the company agrees with the audit report, or

(2) If the company does not agree with the audit report, provided that any notification of the opportunity for a hearing required under Section 301(a) of the Federal Power Act or Section 8(a) of the Natural Gas Act accompanies the audit report.

(k) Act upon requests by state and federal agencies to review staff audit working papers in connection with audits if the company agrees to the release of the audit working papers, and provided that:

(1) The papers are examined at the Commission; and

(2) The requester

(i) Only makes general notes concerning the contents of the audit working papers,

(ii) Does not make copies of the audit working papers, and

(iii) Does not remove the audit working papers from the area designated by the Director.

(l) With regard to billing errors noted as a result of the Commission staff's examination of automatic adjustment tariffs approved by the Commission, approve corrective measures, including recomputation of billings and refunds, to the extent the company agrees.

(m) Sign all correspondence with respect to financial accounting and reporting matters on behalf of the Commission.

(n) Pass upon actual legitimate original cost and depreciation thereon and the net investment in jurisdictional companies and revisions thereof.

(o) Issue interpretations of the Uniform Systems of Accounts for public utilities and licensees, centralized service companies, natural gas companies and oil pipeline companies.

(p) Pass upon any proposed accounting matters submitted by or on behalf of jurisdictional companies that require Commission approval under the Uniform Systems of Accounts, except that if the proposed accounting matters involve unusually large transactions or unique or controversial features, the Director of the Office of Enforcement must present the matters to the Commission for consideration.

(q) Pass upon applications to increase the size or combine property units of jurisdictional companies.

(r) Deny or grant, in whole or in part, motions for extension of time to file, or requests for waiver of the requirements of the following forms, data collections, and reports: Annual Reports (Form Nos. 1, 1-F, 2, 2-A, and 6); Quarterly Reports (Form Nos. 3-Q and 6-Q); Annual Report of Centralized Service Companies (Form No. 60); Narrative Description of Service Company Functions (FERC-61); and Electric Quarterly Reports, as well as, where required, the electronic filing of such information (§385.2011 of this chapter, Procedures for filing on electronic media, paragraphs (a)(6), (c), and (e)).

(s) Provide notification if a submitted Annual Report (Form Nos. 1, 1-F, 2, 2-A, and 6), Quarterly Report (Form Nos. 3-Q and 6-Q), Annual Report of Centralized Service Companies (Form No. 60), Narrative Description of Service Company Functions (FERC-61), or Electric Quarterly Report fails to comply with applicable statutory requirements, and with all applicable Commission rules, regulations, and orders for which a waiver has not been granted, or, when appropriate, notify a party that a submission is acceptable.

(t) Deny or grant, in whole or in part, requests for waiver of the requirements of parts 352, 356, 367 and 368 of this chapter, except that, if the matters involve unusually large transactions or unique or controversial features, the Director of the Office of Enforcement must present the matters to the Commission for consideration.

[Order 632, 68 FR 25816, May 14, 2003, as amended at 69 FR 64661, Nov. 8, 2004; Order 691, 72 FR 5174, Feb. 5, 2007. Redesignated at Order 699, 72 FR 45326, Aug. 14, 2007; Order 721, 74 FR 6541, Feb. 10, 2009; Order 728, 74 FR 57248, Nov. 5, 2009; Order 795, 79 FR 9404, Feb. 19, 2014; Order 820, 80 FR 81179, Dec. 29, 2015; Order 870, 85 FR 19386, Apr. 7, 2020]