Department of Energy gasoline-allocation program. Report of the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate made by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. [Senate report]

Book · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1981

OSTI ID:5533750

The gasoline-allocation program was a failure in 1979 and may have actually contributed to gasoline lines. It failed to address adequately the competitive concerns of the oil industry, particularly with respect to retail-gasoline dealers. DOE failed to coordinate its efforts with State and local authorities, and failed to prevent fraud and abuse within the program. The federal government failed to reassure the public during a period of uncertainty. Two major causes for the failure were a lack of departmental planning and preparedness before 1979 and inherent flaws in the structure of the program. The key flaws were the use of an historical base period and, perhaps, an overly broad congressional mandate which required the program to address conflicting priorities. DOE is only slightly more prepared for an oil-supply disruption now than before 1979. The report recommends developing sound contingency plans for a supply disruption, increasing the levels of priority and attention given such plans, and revamping the structure and procedures of the exceptions process. 232 references.

• OSTI ID: 5533750
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020700 -- Petroleum-- Economics
Industrial
& Business Aspects
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
292000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Supply
Demand & Forecasting
293000* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Policy
Legislation
& Regulation
ALLOCATIONS
EMERGENCY PLANS
ENERGY POLICY
EVALUATION
FUELS
GASOLINE
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
LIQUID FUELS
MANAGEMENT
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
SUPPLY DISRUPTION