42 U.S.C. § 16432 — Study on the benefits of economic dispatch

(a) Study: Working with the states, the Secretary must study the procedures electric utilities currently use for economic dispatch; possible revisions to those procedures that would improve nonutility generation resources' ability to offer their output for sale as part of economic dispatch; and the potential benefits to residential, commercial, and industrial electricity consumers — nationally and in each state — if economic dispatch procedures were revised to improve nonutility generators' ability to sell into it. (b) Definition: In this section, "economic dispatch" means operating generation facilities to produce energy at the lowest cost needed to reliably serve consumers, while recognizing any operational limits of generation and transmission facilities. (c) Report to Congress and the States: Within 90 days after August 8, 2005, and yearly after that, the Secretary must submit a report to Congress and the states on the study's results, including any recommended legislative or regulatory changes.