Additional management improvements are needed to speed case processing at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Technical Report · Tue Jul 15 04:00:00 EDT 1980

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6405307· OSTI ID:6405307

Staats, E. B.

Despite notable progress resulting from actions the Commission has taken and continues to take toward improving case management, the agency still faces a large volume of backlogged cases and lengthy processing delays. At the end of fiscal year 1979, over 15,000 cases were pending, many of which were backlogged - i.e., beyond what the Commission considers a reasonable processing time - including some that had been pending for over 17 years. The Commission also recently projected that close to 13,000 cases may be pending at the end of fiscal year 1980. Each day these problems remain uncorrected, they continue to add significantly to the costs of both regulated companies and consumers. Clearly, the Commission needs to be even more aggressive toward improving its current case processing procedures. GAO recommendations in this report will help effect most of these improvements under existing legislation, staffing, and funding levels. However, certain legislative recommendations are also included to increase incentives for administrative law judges to expedite the hearings process.

• Research Organization: General Accounting Office, Washington, DC (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6405307
• Report Number(s): EMD-80-54
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
293000* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Policy
Legislation
& Regulation
LICENSING
MANAGEMENT
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
OPERATION
RECOMMENDATIONS
REGULATIONS
US DOE
US FERC
US ORGANIZATIONS