CFR

700.21—Application for priority rating authority.

(a) For projects believed to maximize domestic energy supplies, a person may request priority rating authority for scarce, critical, and essential supplies of materials, equipment, and services (related to the production of materials or equipment, or the installation, repair, or maintenance of equipment) by submitting a request to the Department of Energy. Further information may be obtained from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585.

(b) On receipt of the application, the Department of Energy will:

(1) Determine if the project maximizes domestic energy supplies; and

(2) Find whether the materials, equipment, or services involved in the application are critical and essential to the project.

(c) If the Department of Energy notifies Commerce that the project maximizes domestic energy supplies and that the materials, equipment, or services are critical and essential, Commerce must find whether the items in question are scarce and whether there is a need to use the priorities and allocations authorities.

(1) Scarcity implies an unusual difficulty in obtaining the materials, equipment, or services in a timeframe consistent with the timely completion of the energy project. Among the factors to be used in making the scarcity finding will be the following:

(i) Value and volume of material or equipment shipments;

(ii) Consumption of material and equipment;

(iii) Volume and market trends of imports and exports;

(iv) Domestic and foreign sources of supply;

(v) Normal levels of inventories;

(vi) Rates of capacity utilization;

(vii) Volume of new orders; and

(viii) Lead times for new orders.

(2) In finding whether there is a need to use the priorities and allocations authorities, Commerce will consider alternative supply solutions and other measures.

(d) If Commerce does not find that the items of materials, equipment, or services are scarce, it will not proceed to analyze the need to use the priorities and allocations authorities.

(e) Commerce will inform the Department of Energy of the results of its analysis. If Commerce has made the two required findings, it will authorize the Department of Energy to grant the use of a priority rating to the applicant.

(f) Schedule I includes a list of approved programs to support the maximization of domestic energy supplies. A Department of Energy regulation setting forth the procedures and criteria used by the Department of Energy in making its determination and findings is published in 10 CFR part 216.

Code of Federal Regulations

[49 FR 30414, July 30, 1984. Redesignated at 54 FR 601, Jan. 9, 1989, as amended at 63 FR 31923, June 11, 1998; 73 FR 34, Jan. 2, 2008]

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