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President Nixon establishes the Energy Policy Office. The office is responsible for formulating and coordinating energy policies at the presidential level.
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The Yom Kippur War breaks out in the Middle East. October 17, 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries declares an oil embargo, sparking the first "energy crisis."
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President Nixon launches Project Independence, with the goal of achieving energy self-sufficiency by 1980. Recalling the Manhattan Project, Nixon declares that American science, technology, and industry can free the United States from dependence on foreign oil.
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The Federal Energy Office replaces the Energy Policy Office. The new office is assigned the task of allocating reduced petroleum supplies to refiners and consumers and of controlling the price of oil and gasoline. William Simon is named Administrator.
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President Nixon signs the Federal Administration Act of 1974. The Federal Energy Administration replaces the Federal Energy Office
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President Ford signs the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, abolishing the Atomic Energy Commission and establishing the Energy Research and Development Administration and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
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The Energy Research and Development Administration is activated. The new agency is given responsibility for the Atomic Energy Commission's nuclear weapons program. President Ford appoints Robert C. Seamans, Jr., as Administrator.
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President Ford signs the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, extending oil price controls into 1979, mandating automobile fuel economy standards, and authorizing creation of a strategic petroleum reserve.
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President Carter signs the Emergency Natural Gas Act of 1977.
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The Energy Research and Development Administration announces the establishment of the Solar Energy Research Institute, a Federal facility dedicated to finding and improving ways to harness and use energy from the sun, at Golden, Colorado.
