§6408 Market survey and consumer protection

Summary

Two years after the Council is set up, and every year after that, the Secretary of Commerce must make and share a report with the Council, the Secretary of Energy, and the public that compares consumer propane prices to other home energy prices. The report uses the refiner price for consumer propane from the Energy Information Administration and other public sources. It compares changes in propane to a combined measure of residential electricity, residential natural gas, and No. 2 fuel oil. The comparison uses a 5-year rolling average that starts with the year four years before the Council began. If the 5-year propane price average is more than the combined average by over 10.1 percent in any year, the Council can only work on research and development, training, and safety. The Council must tell the Secretary of Energy and Congress when that limit starts. After 180 days of the limit, the Secretary of Commerce must run the price comparison again. The limits stay in place until the propane excess is 10.1 percent or less.