16 USC 825h

§ 825g

TITLE 16—CONSERVATION

be punished by such court as a contempt thereof. All process in any such case may be served in
the judicial district whereof such person is an
inhabitant or wherever he may be found or may
be doing business. Any person who willfully
shall fail or refuse to attend and testify or to answer any lawful inquiry or to produce books, papers, correspondence, memoranda, contracts,
agreements, or other records, if in his or its
power so to do, in obedience to the subpena of
the Commission, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be subject
to a fine of not more than $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or
both.
(d) Testimony by deposition
The testimony of any witness may be taken,
at the instance of a party, in any proceeding or
investigation pending before the Commission, by
deposition, at any time after the proceeding is
at issue. The Commission may also order testimony to be taken by deposition in any proceeding or investigation pending before it, at any
stage of such proceeding or investigation. Such
depositions may be taken before any person authorized to administer oaths not being of counsel or attorney to either of the parties, nor interested in the proceeding or investigation. Reasonable notice must first be given in writing by
the party or his attorney proposing to take such
deposition to the opposite party or his attorney
of record, as either may be nearest, which notice
shall state the name of the witness and the time
and place of the taking of his deposition. Any
person may be compelled to appear and depose,
and to produce documentary evidence, in the
same manner as witnesses may be compelled to
appear and testify and produce documentary
evidence before the Commission, as hereinbefore
provided. Such testimony shall be reduced to
writing by the person taking the deposition, or
under his direction, and shall, after it has been
reduced to writing, be subscribed by the deponent.
(e) Deposition of witness in a foreign country
If a witness whose testimony may be desired
to be taken by deposition be in a foreign country, the deposition may be taken before an officer or person designated by the Commission, or
agreed upon by the parties by stipulation in
writing to be filed with the Commission. All
depositions must be promptly filed with the
Commission.
(f) Deposition fees
Witnesses whose depositions are taken as authorized in this chapter, and the person or officer taking the same, shall be entitled to the
same fees as are paid for like services in the
courts of the United States.
(June 10, 1920, ch. 285, pt. III, § 307, as added Aug.
26, 1935, ch. 687, title II, § 213, 49 Stat. 856; amended Pub. L. 91–452, title II, § 221, Oct. 15, 1970, 84
Stat. 929; Pub. L. 109–58, title XII, § 1284(b), Aug.
8, 2005, 119 Stat. 980.)
AMENDMENTS
2005—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–58 inserted ‘‘, electric
utility, transmitting utility, or other entity’’ after
‘‘person’’ in two places and inserted ‘‘, or in obtaining

Page 1310

information about the sale of electric energy at wholesale in interstate commerce and the transmission of
electric energy in interstate commerce’’ before period
at end of first sentence.
1970—Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 91–452 struck out subsec. (g)
which related to the immunity from prosecution of any
individual compelled to testify or produce evidence,
documentary or otherwise, after claiming his privilege
against self-incrimination.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1970 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 91–452 effective on 60th day
following Oct. 15, 1970, and not to affect any immunity
to which any individual is entitled under this section
by reason of any testimony given before 60th day following Oct. 15, 1970, see section 260 of Pub. L. 91–452, set
out as an Effective Date; Savings Provision note under
section 6001 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure.

§ 825g. Hearings; rules of procedure
(a) Hearings under this chapter may be held
before the Commission, any member or members
thereof or any representative of the Commission
designated by it, and appropriate records thereof
shall be kept. In any proceeding before it, the
Commission, in accordance with such rules and
regulations as it may prescribe, may admit as a
party any interested State, State commission,
municipality, or any representative of interested consumers or security holders, or any
competitor of a party to such proceeding, or any
other person whose participation in the proceeding may be in the public interest.
(b) All hearings, investigations, and proceedings under this chapter shall be governed by
rules of practice and procedure to be adopted by
the Commission, and in the conduct thereof the
technical rules of evidence need not be applied.
No informality in any hearing, investigation, or
proceeding or in the manner of taking testimony shall invalidate any order, decision, rule,
or regulation issued under the authority of this
chapter.
(June 10, 1920, ch. 285, pt. III, § 308, as added Aug.
26, 1935, ch. 687, title II, § 213, 49 Stat. 858.)
§ 825h. Administrative powers of Commission;
rules, regulations, and orders
The Commission shall have power to perform
any and all acts, and to prescribe, issue, make,
amend, and rescind such orders, rules, and regulations as it may find necessary or appropriate
to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
Among other things, such rules and regulations
may define accounting, technical, and trade
terms used in this chapter; and may prescribe
the form or forms of all statements, declarations, applications, and reports to be filed with
the Commission, the information which they
shall contain, and the time within which they
shall be filed. Unless a different date is specified
therein, rules and regulations of the Commission shall be effective thirty days after publication in the manner which the Commission shall
prescribe. Orders of the Commission shall be effective on the date and in the manner which the
Commission shall prescribe. For the purposes of
its rules and regulations, the Commission may
classify persons and matters within its jurisdiction and prescribe different requirements for different classes of persons or matters. All rules
and regulations of the Commission shall be filed

Page 1311

§ 825k

TITLE 16—CONSERVATION

with its secretary and shall be kept open in convenient form for public inspection and examination during reasonable business hours.
(June 10, 1920, ch. 285, pt. III, § 309, as added Aug.
26, 1935, ch. 687, title II, § 213, 49 Stat. 858.)
COMMISSION REVIEW
Pub. L. 99–495, § 4(c), Oct. 16, 1986, 100 Stat. 1248, provided that: ‘‘In order to ensure that the provisions of
Part I of the Federal Power Act [16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.],
as amended by this Act, are fully, fairly, and efficiently
implemented, that other governmental agencies identified in such Part I are able to carry out their responsibilities, and that the increased workload of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other agencies
is facilitated, the Commission shall, consistent with
the provisions of section 309 of the Federal Power Act
[16 U.S.C. 825h], review all provisions of that Act [16
U.S.C. 791a et seq.] requiring an action within a 30-day
period and, as the Commission deems appropriate,
amend its regulations to interpret such period as meaning ‘working days’, rather than ‘calendar days’ unless
calendar days is specified in such Act for such action.’’

§ 825i. Appointment of officers and employees;
compensation
The Commission is authorized to appoint and
fix the compensation of such officers, attorneys,
examiners, and experts as may be necessary for
carrying out its functions under this chapter;
and the Commission may, subject to civil-service laws, appoint such other officers and employees as are necessary for carrying out such functions and fix their salaries in accordance with
chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of
title 5.
(June 10, 1920, ch. 285, pt. III, § 310, as added Aug.
26, 1935, ch. 687, title II, § 213, 49 Stat. 859; amended Oct. 28, 1949, ch. 782, title XI, § 1106(a), 63 Stat.
972.)
CODIFICATION
Provisions that authorized the Commission to appoint and fix the compensation of such officers, attorneys, examiners, and experts as may be necessary for
carrying out its functions under this chapter ‘‘without
regard to the provisions of other laws applicable to the
employment and compensation of officers and employees of the United States’’ have been omitted as obsolete
and superseded.
Such appointments are subject to the civil service
laws unless specifically excepted by those laws or by
laws enacted subsequent to Executive Order No. 8743,
Apr. 23, 1941, issued by the President pursuant to the
Act of Nov. 26, 1940, ch. 919, title I, § 1, 54 Stat. 1211,
which covered most excepted positions into the classified (competitive) civil service. The Order is set out as
a note under section 3301 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
As to the compensation of such personnel, sections
1202 and 1204 of the Classification Act of 1949, 63 Stat.
972, 973, repealed the Classification Act of 1923 and all
other laws or parts of laws inconsistent with the 1949
Act. The Classification Act of 1949 was repealed Pub. L.
89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, § 8(a), 80 Stat. 632, and reenacted as
chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of Title 5.
Section 5102 of Title 5 contains the applicability provisions of the 1949 Act, and section 5103 of Title 5 authorizes the Office of Personnel Management to determine
the applicability to specific positions and employees.
‘‘Chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title
5’’ substituted in text for ‘‘the Classification Act of
1949, as amended’’ on authority of Pub. L. 89–554, § 7(b),
Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 631, the first section of which enacted Title 5.

AMENDMENTS
1949—Act Oct. 28, 1949, substituted ‘‘Classification Act
of 1949’’ for ‘‘Classification Act of 1923’’.
REPEALS
Act Oct. 28, 1949, ch. 782, cited as a credit to this section, was repealed (subject to a savings clause) by Pub.
L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, § 8, 80 Stat. 632, 655.

§ 825j. Investigations relating to electric energy;
reports to Congress
In order to secure information necessary or
appropriate as a basis for recommending legislation, the Commission is authorized and directed
to conduct investigations regarding the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric energy, however produced, throughout the
United States and its possessions, whether or
not otherwise subject to the jurisdiction of the
Commission, including the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric energy
by any agency, authority, or instrumentality of
the United States, or of any State or municipality or other political subdivision of a State. It
shall, so far as practicable, secure and keep current information regarding the ownership, operation, management, and control of all facilities
for such generation, transmission, distribution,
and sale; the capacity and output thereof and
the relationship between the two; the cost of
generation, transmission, and distribution; the
rates, charges, and contracts in respect of the
sale of electric energy and its service to residential, rural, commercial, and industrial consumers and other purchasers by private and public
agencies; and the relation of any or all such
facts to the development of navigation, industry, commerce, and the national defense. The
Commission shall report to Congress the results
of investigations made under authority of this
section.
(June 10, 1920, ch. 285, pt. III, § 311, as added Aug.
26, 1935, ch. 687, title II, § 213, 49 Stat. 859.)
§ 825k. Publication and sale of reports
The Commission may provide for the publication of its reports and decisions in such form
and manner as may be best adapted for public
information and use, and is authorized to sell at
reasonable prices copies of all maps, atlases, and
reports as it may from time to time publish.
Such reasonable prices may include the cost of
compilation, composition, and reproduction.
The Commission is also authorized to make such
charges as it deems reasonable for special statistical services and other special or periodic services. The amounts collected under this section
shall be deposited in the Treasury to the credit
of miscellaneous receipts. All printing for the
Federal Power Commission making use of engraving, lithography, and photolithography, together with the plates for the same, shall be
contracted for and performed under the direction of the Commission, under such limitations
and conditions as the Joint Committee on Printing may from time to time prescribe, and all
other printing for the Commission shall be done
by the Director of the Government Publishing
Office under such limitations and conditions as
the Joint Committee on Printing may from time