§6408 Market Survey and Consumer Protection

Summary

Every year, starting two years after the Council is created, the Commerce Secretary must publish a public report that compares changes in consumer propane prices to changes in other home energy prices. The report must use propane price data from the Energy Information Administration and other public sources. It compares a 5-year rolling average for consumer-grade propane to a composite 5-year rolling average of residential electricity, residential natural gas, and No. 2 fuel oil. The 5-year averages start with the year four years before the Council began. If the 5-year propane index is more than 10.1% higher than the composite index in any year, the Council must limit its work to research and development, training, and safety. The Council must tell the Energy Secretary and Congress when that happens. After 180 days of those limits, the Commerce Secretary must run the price report again. The limits stay in place until the propane excess is 10.1% or less.