Subject to the provisions of this chapter, the Administrator is authorized to contract in accordance with section 2(f) of the Bonneville Project Act of 1937 (16 U.S.C. 832a(f)). Other provisions of law applicable to such contracts on December 5, 1980, shall continue to be applicable.
The Administrator shall discharge the executive and administrative functions of his office in accordance with the policy established by the Bonneville Project Act of 1937 (16 U.S.C. 832 and following), section 7152(a)(2) and (3) of title 42, and this chapter. The Secretary of Energy, the Council, and the Administrator shall take such steps as are necessary to assure the timely implementation of this chapter in a sound and businesslike manner. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed by the Secretary, the Administrator, or any other official of the Department of Energy to modify, alter, or otherwise affect the requirements and directives expressed by the Congress in section 7152(a)(2) and (3) of title 42 or the operations of such officials as they existed prior to December 5, 1980.
Any contract of the Administrator for the sale or exchange of electric power for use outside the Pacific Northwest shall be subject to limitations and conditions corresponding to those provided in sections 2 and 3 of the Act of August 31, 1964 (16 U.S.C. 837a and 837b) for any contract for the sale, delivery, or exchange of hydroelectric energy or peaking capacity generated within the Pacific Northwest for use outside the Pacific Northwest. In applying such sections for the purposes of this subsection, the term “surplus energy” shall mean electric energy for which there is no market in the Pacific Northwest at any rate established for the disposition of such energy, and the term “surplus peaking capacity” shall mean electric peaking capacity for which there is no demand in the Pacific Northwest at the rate established for the disposition of such capacity. The authority granted, and duties imposed upon, the Secretary by sections 5 and 7 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 837e and 837f) [16 U.S.C. 837d and 837f] shall also apply to the Administrator in connection with resources acquired by the Administrator pursuant to this chapter. The Administrator shall, in making any determination, under any contract executed pursuant to section 839c of this title, of the electric power requirements of any Pacific Northwest customer, which is a non-Federal entity having its own generation, exclude, in addition to hydroelectric generated energy excluded from such requirements pursuant to section 3(d) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 837b(d)), any amount of energy included in the resources of such customer for service to firm loads in the region if (1) such amount was disposed of by such customer outside the region, and (2) as a result of such disposition, the firm energy requirements of such customer or other customers of the Administrator are increased. Such amount of energy shall not be excluded, if the Administrator determines that through reasonable measures such amount of energy could not be conserved or otherwise retained for service to regional loads. The Administrator may sell as replacement for any amount of energy so excluded only energy that would otherwise be surplus.
There is hereby established within the administration an executive position for conservation and renewable resources. Such executive shall be appointed by the Administrator and shall be assigned responsibility for conservation and direct-application renewable resource programs (including the administration of financial assistance for such programs). Such position is hereby established in the senior executive service in addition to the number of such positions heretofore established in accordance with other provisions of law applicable to such positions.