The Commission authorizes the Secretary, or the Secretary's designee to:

(a) Sign official general correspondence on behalf of the Commission, except as otherwise provided in this section.

(b) Prescribe, for good cause, a different time than that required by the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure or Commission order for filing by public utilities, licensees, natural gas companies, and other persons of answers to complaints, petitions, motions, and other documents.

(c) Schedule hearings and issue notices thereof.

(d) Accept for filing notices of intervention and petitions to intervene by commissions and agencies of the States and the Federal government.

(e) Pass upon motions to intervene before a presiding administrative law judge is designated. If a presiding administrative law judge has been designated, the provisions of §385.504(b)(12) of this chapter are controlling.

(f) Deny motions for extensions of time (other than motions made while a proceeding is pending before a presiding officer as defined in §385.102(e)), except that such motions may be granted in accordance with §385.2008 of this chapter.

(g) Reject any documents filed later than the time prescribed by an order or rule of the Commission, except that such documents may be accepted in accordance with §385.2008 of this chapter.

(h) Reject any documents filed that do not meet the requirements of the Commission's rules which govern matters of form, except that such documents may be accepted in accordance with §385.2001 of this chapter for good cause shown.

(i) Waive requirements of the Commission's rules which govern matters of form, when consistent with the public interest in a particular case.

(j) Pass upon, in contested proceedings, questions of extending time for electric public utilities, licensees, natural gas companies, and other persons to file required reports, data, and information and to do other acts required to be done at or within a specific time by any rule, regulation, license, permit, certificate, or order of the Commission.

(k) Accept service of process on behalf of the Commission.

(l) Accept for filing bonds or agreements and undertakings submitted in rate suspension proceedings.

(m) Issue notices or orders instituting procedures to be followed concerning contested audit issues under part 41 or 158 of this chapter either when the utility:

(1) Initially notifies the Commission that it requests disposition of a contested issue pursuant to §41.7 or 158.7 of this chapter; or

(2) Requests disposition of a contested issue pursuant to the shortened procedures provided in §41.3 or 158.3 of this chapter.

(n) Publish notice of land withdrawals under section 24 of the Federal Power Act.

(o) Issue notices of applications filed under the Federal Power Act and the Natural Gas Act, fixing the time for filing comments, protests or petitions to intervene and schedule hearings on such applications when appropriate or required by law.

(p) Accept for filing amendments to agreements and contracts or rate schedules submitted in compliance with Commission orders accepting offers of rate settlements if such filings are in satisfactory compliance with such orders.

(q) Grant authorizations, pursuant to the provisions of §35.1(a) of this chapter for a designated representative to post and file rate schedules of public utilities which are parties to the same rate schedule.

(r) Redesignate proceedings, licenses, certificates, rate schedules, and other authorizations and filing to reflect changes in the names of persons and municipalities subject to or invoking Commission jurisdiction under the Federal Power Act or the Natural Gas Act, where no substantive changes in ownership, corporate structure or domicile, or jurisdictional operation are involved.

(s) Change the appropriate hydroelectric project license article upon application by the licensee to reflect the specified reasonable rate of return as provided in §2.15 of this chapter.

(t) Reject without prejudice all requests for rehearing and requests for modification of a proposed order issued in a proceeding under section 210 or section 211 of the Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 824i, 824j.

(u) Reject without prejudice all motions for clarification that are combined with requests for rehearing and/or requests for modification of a proposed order issued in a proceeding under section 210 or section 211 of the Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 824i, 824j.

(v) Toll the time for action on requests for rehearing, and toll the time for action on protested self-certifications and self-recertifications of qualifying facilities.

(w) Issue notices in compliance with section 206(b) of the Federal Power Act.

(x) Issue instructions for electronic registration pursuant to, grant applications for waivers of the requirements of, and make determinations regarding exemptions from 18 CFR part 390.

(y) Direct the staff of the Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) to contact the parties in a complaint proceeding and establish a date by which DRS must report to the Commission whether a dispute resolution process to address the complaint will be pursued by the parties.

(z) Issue instructions pertaining to allowable electronic file and document formats, the filing of complex documents, whether paper copies are required, and procedural guidelines for submissions via the Internet, on electronic media or via other electronic means.

(aa) Issue a notice that the Commission will not further review on its own motion a Notice of Penalty filed under Section 215(e) of the Federal Power Act.

[43 FR 36435, Aug. 17, 1978]