REQUIREMENTS FOR FILINGS BY PUBLIC UTILITIES SEEKING TO EXTEND 

THE DATE FOR COMMISSION ACTION ON STATUTORY FILINGS 

Public utilities filing under Part 351

 sometimes make filings with the Commission 

seeking to extend the date by which the Commission must act on a pending statutory 

filing on which the Commission has not yet acted. There are many reasons why utilities 

seek to extend the Commission action date. One common reason for such filings is to 

provide an opportunity to discuss a statutory filing with protesters and perhaps reach 

agreement that may result in the filing of a settlement or other revisions to the filing. 

With the advent of eTariff, filings to extend the date by which the Commission 

must act are required to be made under the eTariff filing procedures for amendment 

filings in section 35.17(b) of the Commission regulations.2

 Filings not made through 

eTariff, but rather through the Commission’s electronic filing system or on paper will not 

affect the date by which the Commission must act. 

Under eTariff, filings to extend the Commission action date must be made as an 

amendment-type filing using the appropriate amendment code for the program in 

question.3

 An amendment-type filing is considered to be a statutory filing and extends 

the time for Commission action on all pending tariff provisions in the proceeding.4

 As 

described by the Commission,5

 an amendment-type filing must contain at least one tariff 

 

(continued)

1

 These are the companies that file under the program codes E and M. 

2

 18 C.F.R. § 35.17(b) (“Amendments or modifications to rate schedule, tariff or 

service agreement sections prior to Commission action on the filing. A public utility may 

file to amend or modify, and may file a settlement that would amend or modify, a rate 

schedule, tariff or service agreement section contained in a rate schedule, tariff or service 

agreement filing that has not become effective and upon which no Commission or 

delegated order has yet been issued”). 

3 See Electronic Tariff Filings, 130 FERC ¶ 61,047, at P 4 (2010) (filings that 

affect statutory action dates must be filed through eTariff). 

4

 An amendment filing is part of the same proceeding as the original tariff filing. 

18 C.F.R. § 35.17(b) (An amendment filing “will toll the notice period in section 205(d) 

of the Federal Power Act for the original filing, and establish a new date on which the 

entire filing will become effective, in the absence of the Commission action, no earlier 

than 61 days from the date of the filing of the amendment or modification”). A notice of 

the amendment filing will be issued. 

5 Electronic Tariff Filings, Order No. 714, 73 FR 57515 (Oct. 3, 2008), FERC 

Stats. & Regs ¶ 31,276, at P 81 (2008); Electronic Tariff Filings, 130 FERC ¶ 61,047, at 
- 2 -

record provision. The type of filing code and the proposed effective dates in the 

amendment-type filing establish the proposed effective date for any statutory filing.6

 As 

part of the eTariff rules, a proposed effective date of 12/31/9998 has been established as 

an administratively-designated proposed effective date to be used if the effective date is 

not known at the time of the filing.7

The following outlines two possible approaches that utilities can use to request an 

extension of the date for Commission action, without affecting the proposed effective 

date in the original filing. Other than the use of these procedures, revisions to a proposed 

effective date could potentially affect the effective date for a proposed tariff provision. 

1. Extending the Date for the Standard 60-day Period:

a) Under this procedure, the utility would refile a single Pending Tariff 

Record from the filing in question with the same text and proposed 

effective date as in the original filing.8

 This approach will maintain the 

existing proposed effective date of the filing while providing an additional 

60-day statutory period for Commission action. 

b) If a further extension is needed, another amendment-type filing for 

that Tariff Record will need to be made to extend the time period further; 

otherwise, the Commission will issue an order at the end of the 60-day 

period. 

c) If agreement is reached between the parties, an amendment-type 

filing containing any revised tariff provisions must be made with 

appropriate proposed effective dates to reflect the agreement. 

 

P 4 (2010). 

6 Electronic Tariff Filings, 130 FERC ¶ 61,047, at P 6 (describing how the Tariff 

Record Proposed Effective Date establishes the date on which, by statute, a tariff filing 

would go into effect by operation of law in the absence of Commission action). 

7

 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of the Secretary, Implementation 

Guide for Electronic Filing of Parts 35, 154, 284, 300, and 341 Tariff Filings, at 10 

(Version: December 22, 2011). 

8

 As with all tariff records, the filer must use a discrete version number for the 

revised Tariff Record. The Record Effective Priority Order number used will determine 

which Tariff Record will supersede any other Tariff Records proposed to be effective for 

the same date. 
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2. Extending the Date Indefinitely

a) Under this procedure, the utility would refile a single Tariff Record 

pending in the proceeding with a 12/31/9998 Date accompanied by a 

transmittal letter explaining that it is seeking a delay of Commission action 

on the original filing and that it intends the original proposed effective date 

to be retained. This approach will maintain the existing proposed effective 

date of all the tariff records in the existing filing while providing an 

unlimited time for the parties to hold discussions (without the need for 

additional amendment-type filings to extend time periods). No action will 

be taken on the original or amendment-type filing until the filer makes 

another amendment-type filing as described below to inform the 

Commission as to how it desires to proceed. 

b) An amendment-type filing will be needed to restart the processing of 

the original filing. The amendment filing would propose to revise the 

12/31/9998 date in the Tariff Record to the original proposed effective date. 

c) If agreement is reached between the parties, an amendment-type 

filing containing any revised tariff provisions must be made with 

appropriate proposed effective dates to reflect the agreement.