Except as otherwise expressly prohibited by law, and except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the Secretary may delegate any of his functions to such officers and employees of the Department as he may designate, and may authorize such successive redelegations of such functions within the Department as he may deem to be necessary or appropriate.

The Secretary is authorized to prescribe such procedural and administrative rules and regulations as he may deem necessary or appropriate to administer and manage the functions now or hereafter vested in him.

For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this chapter, the Secretary, or his duly authorized agent or agents, shall have the same powers and authorities as the Federal Trade Commission under section 49 of title 15 with respect to all functions vested in, or transferred or delegated to, the Secretary or such agents by this chapter. For purposes of carrying out its responsibilities under the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 [15 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.], the Commission shall have the same powers and authority as the Secretary has under this section.

The Secretary is authorized to acquire (by purchase, lease, condemnation, or otherwise), construct, improve, repair, operate, and maintain laboratories, research and testing sites and facilities, quarters and related accommodations for employees and dependents of employees of the Department, personal property (including patents), or any interest therein, as the Secretary deems necessary; and to provide by contract or otherwise for eating facilities and other necessary facilities for the health and welfare of employees of the Department at its installations and purchase and maintain equipment therefor.

The Secretary is authorized to establish, alter, consolidate or discontinue and to maintain such State, regional, district, local or other field offices as he may deem to be necessary to carry out functions vested in him.

The Secretary is authorized to establish a working capital fund, to be available without fiscal year limitation, for expenses necessary for the maintenance and operation of such common administrative services as he shall find to be desirable in the interests of economy and efficiency, including such services as a central supply service for stationery and other supplies and equipment for which adequate stocks may be maintained to meet in whole or in part the requirements of the Department and its agencies; central messenger, mail, telephone, and other communications services; office space, central services for document reproduction, and for graphics and visual aids; and a central library service. The capital of the fund shall consist of any appropriations made for the purpose of providing capital (which appropriations are hereby authorized) and the fair and reasonable value of such stocks of supplies, equipment, and other assets and inventories on order as the Secretary may transfer to the fund, less the related liabilities and unpaid obligations. Such funds shall be reimbursed in advance from available funds of agencies and offices in the Department, or from other sources, for supplies and services at rates which will approximate the expense of operation, including the accrual of annual leave and the depreciation of equipment. The fund shall also be credited with receipts from sale or exchange of property and receipts in payment for loss or damage to property owned by the fund. There shall be covered into the United States Treasury as miscellaneous receipts any surplus found in the fund (all assets, liabilities, and prior losses considered) above the amounts transferred or appropriated to establish and maintain said fund. There shall be transferred to the fund the stocks of supplies, equipment, other assets, liabilities, and unpaid obligations relating to the services which he determines will be performed through the fund. Appropriations to the fund, in such amounts as may be necessary to provide additional working capital, are authorized.

The Secretary shall cause a seal of office to be made for the Department of such design as he shall approve and judicial notice shall be taken of such seal.

The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, the United States Postal Service, and the Administrator of General Services shall each designate one Assistant Secretary or Assistant Administrator, as the case may be, as the principal conservation officer of such Department or of the Administration. Such designated principal conservation officer shall be principally responsible for planning and implementation of energy conservation programs by such Department or Administration and principally responsible for coordination with the Department of Energy with respect to energy matters. Each agency, Department or Administration required to designate a principal conservation officer pursuant to this section shall periodically inform the Secretary of the identity of such conservation officer, and the Secretary shall periodically publish a list identifying such officers.

The Secretary of the Interior shall submit to the Congress not later than one year after August 4, 1977, a report on the organization of the leasing operations of the Federal Government, together with any recommendations for reorganizing such functions may deem necessary or appropriate.

The Secretary, when authorized in an appropriation Act, in any fiscal year, may transfer funds from one appropriation to another within the Department, except that no appropriation shall be either increased or decreased pursuant to this section by more than 5 per centum of the appropriation for such fiscal year.

The unexpended balances of prior appropriations provided for activities in this Act or subsequent Energy and Water Development Appropriations Acts may on and after October 2, 1992, be transferred to appropriation accounts for such activities established pursuant to this title.1

In this Act and future Acts, up to 4 percent of program direction funds available to the National Energy Technology Laboratory may be used to support Department of Energy activities not included in this Fossil Energy account: Provided further, That in this Act and future Acts, the salaries for Federal employees performing research and development activities at the National Energy Technology Laboratory can continue to be funded from any appropriate DOE program accounts.

Appropriations to carry out the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to annual authorization.

The Administrator may provide technical assistance to customers to, among other things, conduct integrated resource planning, implement applicable integrated resource plans, and otherwise comply with the requirements of sections 7275 to 7276c of this title. Technical assistance may include publications, workshops, conferences, one-to-one assistance, equipment loans, technology and resource assessment studies, marketing studies, and other mechanisms to transfer information on energy efficiency and renewable energy options and programs to customers. The Administrator shall give priority to providing technical assistance to customers that have limited capability to conduct integrated resource planning.

The Administrators of the Western Area Power Administration, the Southwestern Power Administration, and the Southeastern Power Administration may each carry out programs to reduce vandalism, theft, and destruction of property that is under their jurisdiction.

In carrying out a program under this section and section 7276d of this title, each Administrator referred to in section 7276d of this title is authorized to provide rewards (including cash rewards) to individuals who provide information or evidence leading to the arrest and prosecution of individuals causing damage to, or loss of, Federal property under their jurisdiction. The amount of any one such reward paid to any individual may not exceed a value of $1,000.

Notwithstanding section 3302 of title 31, section 825s of title 16, and section 392a of title 43, funds collected by the Western Area Power Administration from the sale of power and related services that are applicable to the repayment of the annual expenses of this account in this and subsequent fiscal years shall be credited to this account as discretionary offsetting collections for the sole purpose of funding such expenses, with such funds remaining available until expended: Provided further, That for purposes of this appropriation, annual expenses means expenditures that are generally recovered in the same year that they are incurred (excluding purchase power and wheeling expenses).

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 2 of the Act of June 18, 1954 (68 Stat. 255) as amended, and section 3302 of title 31, all funds collected by the Western Area Power Administration from the sale of power and related services from the Falcon and Amistad Dams that are applicable to the repayment of the annual expenses of the hydroelectric facilities of these Dams and associated Western Area Power Administration activities in this and subsequent fiscal years shall be credited to this account as discretionary offsetting collections for the sole purpose of funding such expenses, with such funds remaining available until expended: Provided further, That for purposes of this appropriation, annual expenses means expenditures that are generally recovered in the same year that they are incurred.

Appropriations for the Department of Energy under this title 1

Notwithstanding section 301(c) of this Act, none of the funds made available under the span “Department of Energy—Energy Programs—Science” in this or any subsequent Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies appropriations Act for any fiscal year may be used for a multiyear contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or Other Transaction Agreement of $1,000,000 or less unless the contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or Other Transaction Agreement is funded for the full period of performance as anticipated at the time of award.

The Secretary of Energy shall include in the budget justification materials submitted to Congress in support of the Department of Energy budget for a fiscal year (as submitted with the budget of the President under section 1105(a) of title 31) specific identification, as a budgetary line item, of the amounts required to meet the pension obligations of the Department of Energy for contractor employees at each facility of the Department of Energy operated using amounts authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Energy.