If you ask Americans what the Department of Energy does, the majority will tell you, they are tasked with generating electricity and other forms of energy. The real mission of the DOE is quite different.
The Department of Energy was formed after the oil crisis on August 8, 1977 by Jimmy Carter who signed The Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977. It began operations on October 1, 1977. The DOE operates 34 science laboratories.