16 U.S.C. § 824a-2 : US Code - Section 824A-2: Reliability

Search 16 U.S.C. § 824a-2 : US Code - Section 824A-2: Reliability

(a) Study
(1) The Secretary, in consultation with the Commission, shall
conduct a study with respect to -
(A) the level of reliability appropriate to adequately serve
the needs of electric consumers, taking into account cost
effectiveness and the need for energy conservation,
(B) the various methods which could be used in order to achieve
such level of reliability and the cost effectiveness of such
methods, and
(C) the various procedures that might be used in case of an
emergency outage to minimize the public disruption and economic
loss that might be caused by such an outage and the cost
effectiveness of such procedures.
Such study shall be completed and submitted to the President and
the Congress not later than 18 months after November 9, 1978.
Before such submittal the Secretary shall provide an opportunity
for public comment on the results of such study.
(2) The study under paragraph (1) shall include consideration of
the following:
(A) the cost effectiveness of investments in each of the
components involved in providing adequate and reliable electric
service, including generation, transmission, and distribution
facilities, and devices available to the electric consumer;
(B) the environmental and other effects of the investments
considered under subparagraph (A);
(C) various types of electric utility systems in terms of
generation, transmission, distribution and customer mix, the
extent to which differences in reliability levels may be
desirable, and the cost-effectiveness of the various methods
which could be used to decrease the number and severity of any
outages among the various types of systems;
(D) alternatives to adding new generation facilities to achieve
such desired levels of reliability (including conservation);
(E) the cost-effectiveness of adding a number of small,
decentralized conventional and nonconventional generating units
rather than a small number of large generating units with a
similar total megawatt capacity for achieving the desired level
of reliability; and
(F) any standards for electric utility reliability used by, or
suggested for use by, the electric utility industry in terms of
cost-effectiveness in achieving the desired level of reliability,
including equipment standards, standards for operating procedures
and training of personnel, and standards relating the number and
severity of outages to periods of time.
(b) Examination of reliability issues by reliability councils
The Secretary, in consultation with the Commission, may, from
time to time, request the reliability councils established under
section 202(a) of the Federal Power Act [16 U.S.C. 824a(a) of this
title] or other appropriate persons (including Federal agencies) to
examine and report to him concerning any electric utility
reliability issue. The Secretary shall report to the Congress (in
its annual report or in the report required under subsection (a) of
this section if appropriate) the results of any examination under
the preceding sentence.
(c) Department of Energy recommendations
The Secretary, in consultation with the Commission, and after
opportunity for public comment, may recommend industry standards
for reliability to the electric utility industry, including
standards with respect to equipment, operating procedures and
training of personnel, and standards relating to the level or
levels of reliability appropriate to adequately and reliably serve
the needs of electric consumers. The Secretary shall include in his
annual report -
(1) any recommendations made under this subsection or any
recommendations respecting electric utility reliability problems
under any other provision of law, and
(2) a description of actions taken by electric utilities with
respect to such recommendations.