III.

Organization

The Department of Energy has its headquarters in Washington, D.C., and eight operations offices throughout the U.S. It has assumed control of the facilities and personnel of five regional administrations for the transmission and marketing of electric power and of strategic reserves of oil, shale, and uranium. Many research laboratories, including Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York and the nuclear research facility at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, are also part of the DOE.

The Department of Energy Organization Act, which created the DOE, stipulated that it work closely with other departments of the government to reduce energy waste in federal programs. The DOE is also required to work with such other federal agencies as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Bureau of Mines, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which have direct authority over the establishment of air and water pollution standards and standards for safe design of nuclear power plants.

The DOE is required to prepare and submit to Congress biennially a National Energy Policy Plan, outlining objectives for energy use in light of other aims, such as full employment, price stability, national security, economic growth, environmental quality and protection, control of dangerous nuclear materials, and efficient utilization of publicly and privately owned energy resources.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is an independent regulatory agency within the DOE. The FERC has many of the responsibilities of the former Federal Power Commission, including power to establish and monitor rates charged for electricity and for the transportation of oil and gas by pipeline. The chairman and the four commissioners of the FERC are appointed by the president with the concurrence of Congress.

Another department, the Energy Information Administration, collects, analyzes, and publishes data on energy reserves, production, consumption, and other matters. Extensive fieldwork is carried on to ensure the accuracy of these data.