The President shall—

(1) prepare and submit to the Congress a proposed National Energy Policy Plan (hereinafter in this subchapter referred to as a “proposed Plan”) as provided in subsection (b);

(2) seek the active participation by regional, State, and local agencies and instrumentalities and the private sector through public hearings in cities and rural communities and other appropriate means to insure that the views and proposals of all segments of the economy are taken into account in the formulation and review of such proposed Plan;

include within the proposed Plan a comprehensive summary of data pertaining to all fuel and energy needs of persons residing in—

(A) areas outside standard metropolitan statistical areas; and

(B) areas within standard metropolitan statistical areas which are unincorporated or are specified by the Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce, as rural areas.

Not later than April 1, 1979, and biennially thereafter, the President shall transmit to the Congress the proposed Plan. Such proposed Plan shall—

(1) consider and establish energy production, utilization, and conservation objectives, for periods of five and ten years, necessary to satisfy projected energy needs of the United States to meet the requirements of the general welfare of the people of the United States and the commercial and industrial life of the Nation, paying particular attention to the needs for full employment, price stability, energy security, economic growth, environmental protection, nuclear non-proliferation, special regional needs, and the efficient utilization of public and private resources;

(2) identify the strategies that should be followed and the resources that should be committed to achieve such objectives, forecasting the level of production and investment necessary in each of the significant energy supply sectors and the level of conservation and investment necessary in each consuming sector, and outlining the appropriate policies and actions of the Federal Government that will maximize the private production and investment necessary in each of the significant energy supply sectors consistent with applicable Federal, State, and local environmental laws, standards, and requirements; and

(3) recommend legislative and administrative actions necessary and desirable to achieve the objectives of such proposed Plan, including legislative recommendations with respect to taxes or tax incentives, Federal funding, regulatory actions, antitrust policy, foreign policy, and international trade.

The President shall submit to the Congress with the proposed Plan a report which shall include—

(1) whatever data and analysis are necessary to support the objectives, resource needs, and policy recommendations contained in such proposed Plan;

(2) an estimate of the domestic and foreign energy supplies on which the United States will be expected to rely to meet projected energy needs in an economic manner consistent with the need to protect the environment, conserve natural resources, and implement foreign policy objectives;

(3) an evaluation of current and foreseeable trends in the price, quality, management, and utilization of energy resources and the effects of those trends on the social, environmental, economic, and other requirements of the Nation;

(4) a summary of research and development efforts funded by the Federal Government to forestall energy shortages, to reduce waste, to foster recycling, to encourage conservation practices, and to otherwise protect environmental quality, including recommendations for developing technologies to accomplish such purposes; and

(5) a review and appraisal of the adequacy and appropriateness of technologies, procedures, and practices (including competitive and regulatory practices) employed by Federal, State, and local governments and nongov­ernmental entities to achieve the purposes of the Plan.

The President shall insure that consumers, small businesses, and a wide range of other interests, including those of individual citizens who have no financial interest in the energy industry, are consulted in the development of the Plan.

(Pub. L. 95–91, title VIII, § 801, Aug. 4, 1977, 91 Stat. 610.)