North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 113B. North Carolina Energy Policy Act of 1975 § 113B-11. Powers and authority

(a) The Energy Policy Council is authorized to secure directly from any officer, office, department, commission, board, bureau, institution and other agency of the State and its political subdivisions any information it deems necessary to carry out its functions; and all such officers and agencies shall cooperate with the Council and, to the extent permitted by law, furnish such information to the Council as it may request.

(b) To assure the adequate development of relevant energy information, the Council may require all energy producers and major energy consumers, as determined by the Council, to file such reports and forecasts and at such dates as the Council may request; provided, however, that the Council may request only specific energy-related information which it deems necessary to carry out its duties as defined in Articles 1 and 2 of this Chapter.

(c) The Council shall have authority to apply for and utilize grants, contributions and appropriations in order to carry out its duties as defined in Articles 1 and 2 of this Chapter, provided, however, that all such applications and requests are made through and administered by the Department of Environmental Quality.

(d) The Council shall have authority to request said Department to allocate and dispense any funds made available to the Council for energy research and related work efforts in such a manner as the Council desires subject only to the stipulation that said funds be reasonably used in furtherance of the purposes of this Article.

(e) Staff support required by the Council shall be supplied by the Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources of the Department of Environmental Quality. The Department of Environmental Quality shall provide legal support to the Council as needed from the Department's staff. The Department of Commerce and the Utilities Commission are hereby authorized to make their staff available to the Council to assist in the development of a State energy policy.