69640 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 229 / Tuesday, November 30, 2004 / Notices 

1Request of the United States Postal Service for 

a Recommended Decision on Experimental 

Premium Forwarding Service, November 19, 2004 

(Request).

2Statement of the United States Postal Service 

Concerning Compliance with Filing Requirements 

and Conditional Motion for Waiver, November 19, 

2004. 3United States Postal Request for Establishment 

of Settlement Procedures, November 19, 2004.

Contact person for more information: 

Dave Gamberoni, 301–415–1651.

* * * * *

The NRC Commission Meeting 

Schedule can be found on the Internet 

at: http://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/

policy-making/schedule.html.

* * * * *

The NRC provides reasonable 

accommodation to individuals with 

disabilities where appropriate. If you 

need a reasonable accommodation to 

participate in these public meetings, or 

need this meeting notice or the 

transcript or other information from the 

public meetings in another format (e.g., 

braille, large print), please notify the 

NRC’s Disability Program Coordinator, 

August Spector, at 301–415–7080, TDD: 

301–415–2100, or by e-mail at 

aks@nrc.gov. Determinations on 

requests for reasonable accommodation 

will be made on a case-by-case basis.

* * * * *

This notice is distributed by mail to 

several hundred subscribers; if you no 

longer wish to receive it, or would like 

to be added to the distribution, please 

contact the Office of the Secretary, 

Washington, DC 20555 (301–415–1969). 

In addition, distribution of this meeting 

notice over the Internet system, is 

available. If you are interested in 

receiving this Commission meeting 

schedule electronically, please send an 

electronic message to dkw@nrc.gov.

Dated: November 24, 2004. 

Dave Gamberoni, 

Office of the Secretary.

[FR Doc. 04–26447 Filed 11–26–04; 9:23 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–M

POSTAL RATE COMMISSION

[Docket No. MC2005–1; Order No. 1425] 

Experimental Premium Forwarding 

Service

AGENCY: Postal Rate Commission.

ACTION: Notice and order.

SUMMARY: This document announces a 

case involving a proposed two-year 

experiment that will test demand for a 

new Premium Forwarding Service 

(PFS). This service entails periodic 

reshipment of a customer’s mail from a 

permanent address to a temporary 

address. Additional fees are involved. 

Conducting an experiment will allow 

the Postal Service to determine whether 

PFS should be made available on a 

permanent basis.

DATES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

for dates.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments 

electronically via the Commission’s 

Filing Online system at http://

www.prc.gov. Hard copy submissions, 

when allowed, should be sent to the 

attention of Steven W. Williams, 

Secretary of the Commission, 1333 H 

Street NW., Suite 300, Washington, DC 

20268–0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Stephen L. Sharfman, General Counsel, 

at 202–789–6818.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Notice is hereby given that on 

November 19, 2004, the Postal Service 

filed a request with the Postal Rate 

Commission pursuant to section 3623 of 

the Postal Reorganization Act, 39 U.S.C. 

101 et seq., for a recommended decision 

on a proposed experimental PFS.1 The 

Postal Service proposes to implement 

the requested experimental service 

through additions to the Domestic Mail 

Classification Schedule (DMCS) and 

associated new fees. The request 

includes attachments and is supported 

by the testimony of four witnesses and 

a library reference. It is on file in the 

Commission’s docket room for 

inspection during regular business 

hours and is available on the 

Commission’s Home page at http://

www.prc.gov.

Description of the request. The 

proposed experiment would introduce a 

new PFS, under which the Postal 

Service would offer to reship 

periodically all of a customer’s 

incoming mail from a permanent 

address to a temporary address to which 

the customer has moved. For this 

service, the Postal Service would charge 

a $10.00 enrollment fee plus a fixed pershipment charge of $10.00. Such PFS 

shipments would be sent via Priority 

Mail service once a week to the 

customer’s temporary address. The 

Postal Service anticipates that the 

experimental PFS service will be an 

attractive supplement to existing 

options for customers who relocate 

temporarily because it would satisfy 

demand for service features not 

currently available through those 

options. 

Experimental designation. The Postal 

Service seeks consideration of its 

proposal under the Commission’s 

expedited rules of practice and 

procedure applicable to experimental 

mail classification changes, 39 CFR 

3001.67 through 3001.67d. In support of 

this approach, it cites the need to collect 

currently unavailable data to test its 

assumptions about the projected average 

weight and distance of PFS shipments, 

as well as its estimates of demand for 

the service. According to the Service, a 

two-year experimental trial of PFS 

service would enable it to collect, 

aggregate and analyze such data, so that 

a request for a permanent classification 

change can be prepared if the data 

support such a request. Further, the 

Service anticipates that a two-year 

experiment will allow customers 

sufficient time to determine whether 

PFS service meets their demands.

Compliance statement and 

conditional motion for waiver. In a 

pleading 2 filed contemporaneously 

with its Request, the Postal Service 

describes its approach to satisfying the 

filing requirements contained in 

pertinent provisions of the rules of 

practice, and asks the Commission to 

accept that approach for the purposes of 

this proceeding. Generally, the Postal 

Service states that it developed certain 

materials specifically for the PFS 

proposal, but also supplemented this 

information with documentation it 

submitted in the most recently 

concluded omnibus rate proceeding 

(Docket No. R2001–1), as well as with 

material it periodically submits to the 

Commission. The Service believes that 

incorporation of these supplemental 

materials meets most of the specific 

filing requirements of the rules of 

practice. Alternatively, if the 

Commission concludes that the 

incorporated materials are insufficient, 

the Postal Service moves for waiver of 

the pertinent provisions.

Proposed settlement procedures. The 

Postal Service’s November 19, 2004, 

filing also included a request for 

establishment of settlement procedures 

in this proceeding.3 The Service states 

that the proposed experimental PFS 

classification is simple, is supported by 

straightforward testimony, and would 

be of a limited scope and duration. The 

Service also opines that the proposal’s 

benefits to customers, its minor 

financial impact, and the fact that all its 

costs are volume-variable may increase 

the likelihood of settlement. In view of 

this prospect, the Postal Service asks 

that the Commission facilitate a possible 

settlement by making its hearing room 

available for a settlement conference 

prior to the prehearing conference in 

this docket; appoint its lead counsel to 

serve as settlement coordinator; and 

thereby provide an opportunity for its 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 229 / Tuesday, November 30, 2004 / Notices 69641

counsel to report on the likelihood of 

settlement during the prehearing 

conference.

Further procedures. Those wishing to 

be heard in this matter may choose from 

among the modes of participation 

specified in sections 20 through 20b of 

the Commission’s rules of practice (39 

CFR 3001.20, –20a and –20b). Notices of 

intervention under sections 20 and 20a 

will be due on December 20, 2004, and 

shall be filed using the Filing Online 

system at the Commission’s Web site 

(http://www.prc.gov) unless a waiver is 

obtained for hardcopy filing. See 

sections 9(a) and 10(a) of the rules (39 

CFR 3001.9a and 10a). Notices should 

indicate whether participation will be 

on a full or limited basis. Comments 

pursuant to section 20b may either be 

filed online as described in section 

20b(a) or submitted as a hardcopy letter 

to the Secretary of the Commission, 

Steven W. Williams, 1333 H Street, 

NW., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20268–

0001. 

Experimental Status 

At this stage of the proceeding, the 

Commission has docketed the instant 

filing as an experimental case for 

administrative purposes. Formal status 

as an experiment under Commission 

rules 67–67d, which the Service makes 

clear it seeks for this Request, is based 

on an evaluation of factors such as the 

proposal’s novelty, magnitude, ease or 

difficulty of data collection, and 

duration. A final determination 

regarding the appropriateness of 

accepting the filing as an experimental 

case and application of Commission 

rules 67–67d will not be made until 

participants have had an adequate 

opportunity to comment. Participants 

are invited to file comments on this 

matter by December 20, 2004. 

Section 67a of the rules specifies 

procedures for the limitation of issues in 

considering requests that involve 

classification changes that are properly 

designated as experimental. Pursuant to 

section 67a(b) [39 CFR 3001.67a(b)], 

participants are directed to submit 

statements in their notices of 

intervention indicating whether they 

seek a hearing and, if so, to identify 

with particularity any genuine issues of 

material facts believed to warrant such 

a hearing. 

The Commission grants the Service’s 

Request for Establishment of Settlement 

Procedures and appoints Postal Service 

lead counsel as settlement coordinator. 

In this capacity, counsel for the Service 

shall file periodic reports on the status 

of settlement discussions, with the first 

report to be submitted orally during the 

prehearing conference scheduled below. 

The Commission further authorizes the 

settlement coordinator to hold 

settlement and/or technical conferences, 

at the convenience of participants, 

anytime between January 3 and 6, 2005. 

Prehearing conference. A prehearing 

conference will be held in this docket 

on January 7, 2005. Participants shall be 

prepared to address whether there are 

issues of material fact requiring a 

hearing in this matter, in order to inform 

the Commission’s determination 

regarding the limitation of issues 

pursuant to section 67a(c) of the rules of 

practice [39 CFR 3001.67a(c)]. 

Public participation. In conformance 

with section 3624(a) of title 39, the 

Commission designates Shelley S. 

Dreifuss, director of the Commission’s 

Office of the Consumer Advocate (OCA), 

to represent the interests of the general 

public in this proceeding. Pursuant to 

this designation, Ms. Dreifuss will direct 

the activities of Commission personnel 

assigned to assist her and, upon request, 

will supply their names for the record. 

Neither Ms. Dreifuss nor any of the 

assigned personnel will participate in or 

provide advice on any Commission 

decision in this proceeding. 

Ordering Paragraphs 

It is ordered:

1. The Commission establishes Docket 

No. MC2005–1, Experimental Premium 

Forwarding Service, to consider the 

Postal Service Request described in the 

body of this order.

2. The Commission will sit en banc in 

this proceeding. 

3. The deadline for filing notices of 

intervention is December 20, 2004. 

4. Notices of intervention shall 

indicate whether the participant seeks a 

hearing and identify with particularity 

any genuine issues of material fact that 

warrant a hearing. 

5. The deadline for answers to the 

Statement of the United States Postal 

Service Concerning Compliance with 

Filing Requirements and Conditional 

Motion for Waiver, filed November 19, 

2004, is December 20, 2004. 

6. The Commission grants the United 

States Postal Service Request for 

Establishment of Settlement Procedures, 

November 19, 2004, under the terms 

described in the body of this ruling. 

7. The Commission appoints Postal 

Service lead counsel to serve as 

settlement coordinator in this 

proceeding. 

8. The deadline for comments on the 

Postal Service’s request for treatment of 

its Request as experimental under 

Commission rules 67–67d is December 

20, 2004. 

9. The Commission will make its 

hearing room available for settlement 

and/or technical conferences during the 

period of January 3 through 6, 2005. 

10. A prehearing conference will be 

held January 7, 2005 at 10 a.m. in the 

Commission’s hearing room. 

11. Shelley S. Dreifuss, Director of the 

Commission’s Office of the Consumer 

Advocate, is designated to represent the 

interests of the general public in this 

proceeding. 

12. The Secretary shall arrange for 

publication of this notice and order in 

the Federal Register.

By the Commission. 

Steven W. Williams, 

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 04–26354 Filed 11–29–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–EW–P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 35–27916] 

Filings Under the Public Utility Holding 

Company Act of 1935, as Amended 

(‘‘Act’’) 

November 23, 2004. 

Notice is hereby given that the 

following filing(s) has/have been made 

with the Commission pursuant to 

provisions of the Act and rules 

promulgated under the Act. All 

interested persons are referred to the 

application(s) and/or declaration(s) for 

complete statements of the proposed 

transaction(s) summarized below. The 

application(s) and/or declaration(s) and 

any amendment(s) is/are available for 

public inspection through the 

Commission’s Branch of Public 

Reference. 

Interested persons wishing to 

comment or request a hearing on the 

application(s) and/or declaration(s) 

should submit their views in writing by 

December 17, 2004, to the Secretary, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

Washington, DC 20549–0609, and serve 

a copy on the relevant applicant(s) and/

or declarant(s) at the address(es) 

specified below. Proof of service (by 

affidavit or, in the case of an attorney at 

law, by certificate) should be filed with 

the request. Any request for hearing 

should identify specifically the issues of 

facts or law that are disputed. A person 

who so requests will be notified of any 

hearing, if ordered, and will receive a 

copy of any notice or order issued in the 

matter. After December 17, 2004, the 

application(s) and/or declaration(s), as 

filed or as amended, may be granted 

and/or permitted to become effective.