1. (a) Applicability. This section applies to all pleadings as defined in §22.2 of this title (relating to Definitions) and the following documents:

   1. (1) All documents filed relating to a rulemaking proceedings;
   2. (2) Applications filed pursuant to the Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA) or the commission's substantive rules in Chapter 25 and 26 of this title.
   3. (3) Letters or memoranda relating to any item with a control number;

   4. (4) Reports pursuant to PURA, commission rules or request of the commission, however, the following reports are exempt from the requirements of subsections (c), (d), (e), (f) and (h) of this section:

      1. (A) Reports filed on commission prescribed forms;
      2. (B) Reports prepared for other agencies and filed as information only with the commission. These reports will be accepted by the commission as filed with the other agency; and
      3. (C) Reports filed pursuant to §25.73(a)(3) of this title (relating to Financial and Operating Reports) and §26.73(a)(2) of this title (relating to Financial and Operating Reports);
   5. (5) Discovery requests and responses, however, any portion of discovery responses that are copies of documents not generated for the purpose of responding to the discovery request, are exempt from the requirements of subsections (c), (d), (e), (f) and (h) of this section.

2. (b) Requirements of form.

   1. (1) Unless otherwise authorized or required by the presiding officer or this chapter, documents shall include the style and number of the docket or project in which they are submitted, if available; shall identify by heading the nature of the document submitted and the name of the party submitting the same; and shall be signed by the party or the party's representative.
   2. (2) Whenever possible, all documents should be provided on 8.5 by 11 inch paper. However, any log, graph, map, drawing, or chart submitted as part of a filing will be accepted on paper larger than provided in subsection (g) of this section, if it cannot be provided legibly on letter-size paper. The document must be able to be folded to a size no larger than 8.5 by 11 inches. Documents that can not be folded may not be accepted.

3. (c) Format. Any filing with the commission must:

   1. (1) have double-spaced or one and one-half times spaced print with left margins not less than one inch wide, except that any letter, tariff filing, rate filing, or proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law may be single-spaced;
   2. (2) indent and single-space any quotation which exceeds 50 words; and
   3. (3) be printed or formatted in not less than 10-point type.
4. (d) Citation form. Any filing with the commission should comply with the rules of citation, set forth, in the following order of preference, by the Office of Policy Development's "Citation Guide," the most current edition of the "Texas Rules of Form," published by the University of Texas Law Review Association (for Texas authorities), and the most current edition of "A Uniform System of Citation," published by The Harvard Law Review Association' (for all other authorities). Neither Rule 1.1 of the Uniform System nor the comparable portion of the "Texas Rules of Form" shall be applicable in proceedings.
5. (e) Signature. Every pleading and document shall be signed by the party or the party's authorized representative, and shall include the party's address, telephone number, and, if available, facsimile machine number. If the person signing the pleading or document is an attorney licensed in Texas, the attorney's State bar number shall be provided.
6. (f) Page limits. In major rate proceedings, proceedings initiated pursuant to PURA Chapter 36, Subchapter D or Chapter 53, Subchapter D, fuel reconciliations, petitions to declare a market subject to significant competition, and applications for licensing of new generating plant, except for testimony and rate filing packages, no document shall exceed 100 pages in length, including attachments. In all other dockets, no document shall exceed 50 pages in length, including attachments. The page limitation shall not apply to courtesy copies of legal authorities cited in the pleading. A presiding officer may establish a larger or smaller page limit. In establishing larger or smaller page limits, the presiding officer shall consider such factors as which party has the burden of proof and the extent of opposition to a party's position that would need to be addressed in the document. The page limitations in this subsection do not apply to discovery responses.

7. (g) Hard copy filing standards. Hard copies of each document shall be filed with the commission in accordance with the requirements set forth in paragraphs (1)-(7) of this subsection.

   1. (1) Each document shall be typed or printed on paper measuring 8.5 by 11 inches. Oversized documents being filed on larger paper pursuant to subsection (b)(2) of this section shall be filed as separate referenced attachments. No single document shall consist of more than one paper size.

   2. (2) One copy of each document, that is not the original file copy, shall be filed without bindings, staples, tabs or separators.

      1. (A) This copy shall be printed on both sides of the paper or, if it can not be printed on both sides of the paper, every page of the copy shall be single sided.
      2. (B) All pages of the copy filed pursuant to this paragraph, starting with the first page of the table of contents, shall be consecutively numbered through the last page of the document, including attachments, if any.
   3. (3) For documents for which an electronic filing is required, all non-native figures, illustrations, or objects shall be filed as referenced attachments. No non-native figures, illustrations, or objects shall be embedded in the text of the document. "Non-native figures" means tables, graphs, charts, spreadsheets, illustrations, drawings and other objects which are not electronically integrated into the text portions of a document.
   4. (4) No cover letter shall be attached to any document, except tariff sheets. The cover letter for tariff sheets shall state the control number, if available, the name of the party submitting the tariff sheets, sufficient detail to identify the tariff sheets, and shall be signed by the party or the party's representative.
   5. (5) Whenever possible, all documents and copies shall be printed on both sides of the paper.

8. (h) Electronic filing standards. Any document may be filed, and all documents containing more than ten pages shall be filed, electronically in accordance with the requirements of paragraphs (1)-(8) of this subsection. Electronic filings are registered by submission of the relevant electronic documents via diskette or the internet, in accordance with transfer standards available in the commission's central records office or on the commission's World Wide Web site, and the submission of the required number of paper copies to the filing clerk under the provisions of this section and §22.71 of this title (relating to Filing of Pleadings, Documents and Other materials).

   1. (1) All non-native figures, illustrations or objects must be filed as referenced attachments. No non-native figures, illustrations, or objects shall be imbedded in the text of the document. "Non-native figures" means tables, graphs, charts, spreadsheets, illustrations, drawings and other objects which are not electronically integrated into the text portions of a document.
   2. (2) Oversized documents shall not be filed in electronic media, but shall be filed as referenced attachments.
   3. (3) Each document that has five or more headings and/or subheadings shall have a table of contents that lists the major sections of the document, the page numbers for each major section and the name of the electronic file that contains each major section of the document. Discovery responses are exempt from this paragraph.
   4. (4) Each document shall have a list of file names that are included in the filing and shall be referenced in an ASCII text file.
   5. (5) The table of contents and list of file names shall be placed at the beginning of the document.
   6. (6) Each diskette shall be labeled with the control number, if known, and the name of the person submitting the document.
   7. (7) Any information submitted under claim of confidentiality should not be submitted in electronic format.

9. (i) Disk format standards. Each document that is submitted to the filing clerk on diskette shall be submitted as set forth in paragraphs (1)-(3) of this subsection.

   1. (1) 3.5 inch diskette.
   2. (2) 1.44 M double sided, high density storage capacity.
   3. (3) IBM format.

10. (j) File format standards.

    1. (1) Electronic filings shall be made in accordance with the current list of preferred file formats available in the commission's central records office and on the commission's World Wide Web site.
    2. (2) Electronic filings that are submitted in a format other than that required by paragraph (1) of this subsection will not be accepted until after successful conversion of the file to a commission standard.

Source Note:The provisions of this §22.72 adopted to be effective November 1, 1993, 18 TexReg 6641; amended to be effective September 8, 1995, 20 TexReg 6627; amended to be effective June 1, 1997, 22 TexReg 4195; amended to be effective September 23, 1999, 24 TexReg 7401.