16 U.S.C. § 792

A commission is created and established to be known as the Federal Power Commission (hereinafter referred to as the “commission”) which shall be composed of five commissioners who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, one of whom shall be designated by the President as chairman and shall be the principal executive officer of the commission. Each chairman, when so designated, shall act as such until the expiration of his term of office.

The commissioners first appointed under this section, as amended, shall continue in office for terms of one, two, three, four, and five years, respectively, from June 23, 1930, the term of each to be designated by the President at the time of nomination. Their successors shall be appointed each for a term of five years from the date of the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed and until his successor is appointed and has qualified, except that he shall not so continue to serve beyond the expiration of the next session of Congress subsequent to the expiration of said fixed term of office, and except that any person appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for the unexpired term. Not more than three of the commissioners shall be appointed from the same political party. No person in the employ of or holding any official relation to any licensee or to any person, firm, association, or corporation engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution, or sale of power, or owning stock or bonds thereof, or who is in any manner pecuniarily interested therein, shall enter upon the duties of or hold the office of commissioners. Said commissioners shall not engage in any other business, vocation, or employment. No vacancy in the commission shall impair the right of the remaining commissioners to exercise all the powers of the commission. Three members of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and the commission shall have an official seal of which judicial notice shall be taken. The commission shall annually elect a vice chairman to act in case of the absence or disability of the chairman or in case of a vacancy in the office of chairman.

Each commissioner shall receive necessary traveling and subsistence expenses, or per diem allowance in lieu thereof, within the limitation prescribed by law, while away from the seat of government upon official business.

The principal office of the commission shall be in the District of Columbia, where its general sessions shall be held; but whenever the convenience of the public or of the parties may be promoted or delay or expense prevented thereby, the commission may hold special sessions in any part of the United States.

(June 10, 1920, ch. 285, pt. I, §1, 41 Stat. 1063; June 23, 1930, ch. 572, §1, 46 Stat. 797; renumbered pt. I, Aug. 26, 1935, ch. 687, title II, §212, 49 Stat. 847; 1950 Reorg. Plan No. 9, §3, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3175, 64 Stat. 1265; Pub. L. 86–619, §1, July 12, 1960, 74 Stat. 407.)

Provisions which prescribed the compensation of commissioners were omitted as obsolete. Compensation of the Chairman and members of the Commission was prescribed by sections 5314 and 5315 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, prior to termination of the Commission. See Termination of Federal Power Commission; Transfer of Functions note below.

1960—Pub. L. 86–619 provided for continuation in office of a commissioner upon termination of his term until a successor is appointed and has qualified, not beyond expiration of next session of Congress subsequent to the expiration of said fixed term of office.

1930—Act June 23, 1938, amended section generally. Prior to amendment section read as follows: “A commission is hereby created and established, to be known as the Federal Power Commission (hereinafter referred to as the commission), which shall be composed of the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Agriculture. Two members of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and the commission shall have an official seal, which shall be judicially noticed. The President shall designate the chairman of the commission.”

Act Oct. 15, 1949, ch. 695, §5(a), 63 Stat. 880, formerly cited as a credit to this section, was repealed by Pub. L. 89–554, §8(a), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 655.

Federal Power Commission terminated and its functions, personnel, property, funds, etc., transferred to Secretary of Energy (except for certain functions transferred to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) by sections 7151(b), 7171(a), 7172(a), 7291, and 7293 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.

Executive and administrative functions of Federal Power Commission, with certain reservations, transferred to Chairman of such Commission, with authority vested in him to authorize their performance by any officer, employee, or administrative unit under his jurisdiction, by Reorg. Plan No. 9 of 1950, set out below.