Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Has Expedited Case Processing; Additional Improvements Needed

In response to a congressional request, GAO reported on the status of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) current caseload and the improvements it has made in its caseload management in response to a prior GAO report.

GAO found that FERC has implemented most of the recommendations which GAO made in regard to problems in FERC technical and environmental reviews, hearings procedures, post-hearing legal reviews, and managerial problems. A major time-consuming factor was found to be the large number of incomplete applications received, which necessitated an inordinate amount of staff follow-up time. The report also noted that many of the lengthiest cases could be expedited if FERC administrative law judges (ALJ) were stricter about granting extensions. The prior report also concluded that FERC could expedite case processing by: (1) delegating the more routine cases to staff for decision; (2) ensuring that its management information system contains sufficient data; and (3) establishing rules on issues common to many cases. The improvements already made by FERC have resulted in faster processing of several major types of cases, which has helped reduce the backlog from about 3,600 cases in fiscal year (FY) 1978 to about 2,000 cases in FY 1982 despite an increase in FERC responsibilities and caseload under the National Energy Act. However, GAO noted that further FERC actions are possible and would yield benefits.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: John W. Sprague Team: General Accounting Office: Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division Phone: (202) 512-7783