GAO was asked whether certain provisions in draft legislation would be deemed an unconstitutional delegation of congressional authority to a private organization. The draft provisions, part of the draft Energy Policy Act of 2003, would authorize a privately-run but FERC-certified Electric Reliability Organization to establish and enforce, subject to FERC review, reliability standards for the bulk-power electricity transmission system.

GAO concludes that the provisions would comply with the courts' limitations on permissible delegations of congressional authority and thus would be constitutional.