The Quadrennial Energy Review

The Quadrennial Energy Review

CRS Insights
The Quadrennial Energy Review
Michael Ratner, Specialist in Energy Policy (mratner@crs.loc.gov, 7-9529)
March 20, 2015 (IN10248)
The first ever installment of the Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) was due to the President January
31, 2015, according to the Presidential Memorandum—Establishing a Quadrennial Energy Review.
President Obama established the QER process, which is fashioned on the more well-known Quadrennial
Defense Review, on January 9, 2014, in part to develop "a comprehensive and integrated energy
strategy resulting from interagency dialogue and active engagement of external stakeholders." The QER
is to be based on the Administration's Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future (March 30, 2011) and the
Climate Action Plan (June 25, 2013). The concept of the QER was mentioned in the Report to the
President on Accelerating the Pace of Change in Energy Technologies Through an Integrated Federal
Energy Policy (November 2010) by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology,
which included current Secretary of Energy Moniz.
The Department of Energy was singled out in the Presidential Memorandum and directed to "... provide
support for the [Quadrennial Energy Review] Task Force, including support for coordination activities
related to the preparation of the Quadrennial Energy Review Report, policy analysis and modeling, and
stakeholder engagement." However, the QER Task Force is led by the Director of the Office of Science
and Technology Policy, and the Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change from
the Domestic Policy Council, and includes representatives from 22 federal agencies. As stated in Section
2 of the Presidential Memorandum there are four main points of the QER:
provides an integrated view of, and recommendations for, federal energy policy in the context of
economic, environmental, occupational, security, and health and safety priorities, with attention in
the first report given to the challenges facing the nation's energy infrastructures;
reviews the adequacy, with respect to energy policy, of existing executive and legislative actions,
and recommends additional executive and legislative actions as appropriate;
assesses and recommends priorities for research, development, and demonstration programs to
support key energy-innovation goals; and
identifies analytical tools and data needed to support further policy development and
implementation.
The first QER report is to focus on U.S. energy infrastructure, specifically transmission, storage, and
distribution (TS&D), looking out to 2030. The main purpose of TS&D is to connect suppliers of energy
with consumers of energy. The increase in domestic energy supplies in recent years, particularly in
regions of the country not known for energy production, has raised questions about the adequacy of
U.S. energy infrastructure to move the new sources of energy, especially oil and natural gas, to
market. Additionally, much U.S. TS&D is relatively old and in need of repair and of upgrade. For
example, older natural gas distribution pipelines that are made of cast iron, wrought iron, or bare steel
are more vulnerable to accidents than newer pipes.
The QER is supposed to be an actionable document that presents data and analysis on the challenges,
requirements, and barriers facing the U.S. energy sector. Some topics that will likely be included in the
first QER and may be of interest to Congress are reforming the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, natural
gas and crude oil exports, electrical grid reliability, cybersecurity, port congestion, effects of climate
change, data requirements, and jobs. In addition to the QER document, the supporting analysis
commissioned by DOE as well as stakeholder input will be available.
Despite the delay in releasing the QER, Congress has already expressed an interest in its findings and
recommendations. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has scheduled a hearing on
the QER for March 26, 2015.