The National Energy Act of 1978 (NEA78) was a legislative response by the
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
to the
1973 energy crisis. It includes the following statutes:
*
Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act
The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA, ) is a United States Act passed as part of the National Energy Act. It was meant to promote energy conservation (reduce demand) and promote greater use of domestic energy and renewable energy (inc ...
(PURPA) ()
*
Energy Tax Act The Energy Tax Act (, , enacted November 9, 1978) is a law passed by the U.S. Congress as part of the National Energy Act. The objective of this law was to shift from oil and gas supply toward energy conservation; thus, to promote fuel efficiency a ...
()
*
National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA) ()
*
Power Plant and Industrial Fuel Use Act
Power most often refers to:
* Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work"
** Engine power, the power put out by an engine
** Electric power
* Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events
** Abusive power
Power may a ...
()
*
Natural Gas Policy Act
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...
({{USPL, 95, 621)
The legislative initiative was introduced by President
Carter
Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to:
Geography United States
* Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Carter, Montana, a census-designated place
* Carter ...
. The package was a major step in the legislation of the energy field, both the supply and the demand side. The package has soon been followed by
Energy Security Act
The Energy Security Act was signed into law by U.S. President Jimmy Carter on June 30, 1980. Thursday, 19 January 2017
It consisted of six major acts:
* U.S. Synthetic Fuels Corporation Act
* Biomass Energy and Alcohol Fuels Act
* Renewable Ener ...
, 8 acts signed by president Carter in 1980. This sequel package addressed
energy conservation and development of
renewable energy sources
Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
.
The NEA78 and the "security" package established a framework for
regulatory
Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...
and
market-based
A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers are ...
initiatives,
energy efficiency programs,
tax incentives
A tax incentive is an aspect of a government's taxation policy designed to incentivize or encourage a particular economic activity by reducing tax payments.
Tax incentives can have both positive and negative impacts on an economy. Among the posi ...
, tax disincentives, energy conservation programs and
alternative fuel
Alternative fuel, known as non-conventional and advanced fuels, are any materials or substances that can be used as fuels, other than conventional fuels like; ''fossil fuels'' (petroleum (oil), coal, and natural gas), as well as nuclear materi ...
programs. Most of the market-based mechanisms have been retained in some form to the present, whereas
command and control
Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...
items have been abandoned.
Julia Richardson and Robert Nordhaus: ''The National Energy Act of 1978'', Natural Resources & Environment, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Summer 1995), pp. 62-68, 87-88
republished i
National Energy Act of 1978
retrieved 2015-12-14
The next major step in energy legislation in the USA was the Energy Policy Act of 1992
The Energy Policy Act of 1992, effective October 24, 1992, (102nd Congress H.R.776.ENR, abbreviated as EPACT92) is a United States government act. It was passed by Congress and set goals, created mandates, and amended utility laws to increase c ...
.
References
United States federal energy legislation
1978 in law