(a) Upon his own motion, or the motion of a party, the administrative law judge may direct the parties to meet with him for a conference or conferences to consider:

1. (1) Simplification of the issues;
2. (2) The necessity or desirability of amendments to documents for purposes of clarification, simplification, or limitation;
3. (3) Stipulations of fact, and of the authenticity, of the contents of documents;
4. (4) Limitations on the number of parties and of witnesses;
5. (5) Scope of participation of petitioners under § 1955.17 of this part;
6. (6) Establishment of dates for discovery; and
7. (7) Such other matters as may tend to expedite the disposition of the proceedings, and to assure a just conclusion thereof.