18 CFR § 3b.2 - Definitions.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t18/s3b.2"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "18 CFR § 3b.2 - Definitions."
title_number: 18
title_name: "Conservation of Power and Water Resources"
section_number: "3b.2"
section_name: "Definitions."
chapter_name: "FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY"
subchapter_number: "A"
subchapter_name: "GENERAL RULES"
part_number: "3b"
part_name: "COLLECTION, MAINTENANCE, USE, AND DISSEMINATION OF RECORDS OF IDENTIFIABLE PERSONAL INFORMATION"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "Federal Power Act, as amended, sec. 309, 49 Stat. 858-859 (16 U.S.C. 825h); Natural Gas Act, as amended, sec. 16, 52 Stat. 830 (15 U.S.C. 717o); and Pub. L. 93-579 (88 Stat. 1896)."
regulatory_source: "Order 536, 40 FR 44288, Sept. 25, 1975, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "3b"
---


# 3b.2 Definitions.

In this part:

(a) *Agency,* as defined in 5 U.S.C. 551(1) as “* * * each authority of the Government of the United States, whether or not it is within or subject to review by another agency, * * *”, includes any executive department, military department, Government corporation, Government controlled corporation, or other establishment in the executive branch of the Government (including the Executive Office of the President), or any independent regulatory agency [5 U.S.C. 552(e)];

(b) *Individual* means a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence;

(c) *Maintain* includes, maintain, collect, use, or disseminate;

(d) *Record* means any item, collection or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, his education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and that contains his name, or the identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, such as a finger or voice print or a photograph;

(e) *System of records* means a group of any records under the control of any agency from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual;

(f) *Statistical record* means a record in a system of records maintained for statistical research or reporting purposes only and not used in whole or in part in making any determination about an identifiable individual, except as provided by section 8 of title 13 of the United States Code;

(g) *Routine use* means, with respect to the disclosure of a record, the use of such record for a purpose which is compatible with the purpose for which it was collected; and

(h) *Disclosure* means either the transmittal of a copy of a record or the granting of access to a record, by oral, written, electronic or mechanical communication.