GAO's Role in Energy Policy

GAO has two distinct roles under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act: (1) to examine the books and records of energy firms and to verify the information they produce; and (2) to oversee the work of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Energy (DOE) in developing an energy database and related accounting practices and to report to Congress on the adequacy of their work. Rather than systematically verifying the accuracy of data reported to the government by energy firms, GAO has used its authority to gather credible information needed for particular issues under study. Since GAO began its use of this authority, it has requested information from more than 100 different energy companies and has conducted onsite audits of data in over 30 companies. The approach taken to its oversight role has been to monitor the efforts of SEC and DOE to provide observations on their work informally as projects progress. DOE has completed a comprehensive data collection form, but it is unclear how the data in that form will assist DOE in analyzing policy issues or how the data will meet the needs of other government decisionmakers. There are a number of things SEC can do to improve accounting standards without DOE guidance as to what data it needs, but SEC must eventually have DOE input to ensure that its accounting standards meet the needs of policymakers. Without a well-documented system, DOE runs the risk of imposing unnecessary reporting burdens on industry. DOE should determine whether sample basis reporting by small producers will adequately provide the needed information.