Building Careers and Shaping Public Policy

23 April 2002

Dear Sirs:

On behalf of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-United States of America (IEEE-USA), I would like to urge your support for increasing the appropriations for the Transmission Reliability Research line item (ER 2-9) within the US Department of Energy (DOE) budget.

The current Transmission Reliability Research program is leading to the development of new methodologies, technologies, and technically based policy options to assure reliable electric power, and address the gaps in understanding the operation of the electric power system in a competitive, restructured industry. The program's real-time data collection and display technologies transform information into knowledge for operating the electric system more reliably and electricity markets more efficiently.

It is critically urgent to accelerate this program and start applying the results to the simulation and modeling of full-scale system operation under variations of the type of standard market designs proposed by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Experience and earlier simulations of proposed market designs illustrate that it is far better to reveal hidden flaws through experiments with computer models than through multi-million dollar price excursions in the real world. For such work to translate into a reliable, secure, and efficient power delivery infrastructure in a timely manner, we urge Congress to increase the Transmission Reliability Research line item to at least $10 million in FY03 appropriations.

Now more than ever there is a critical need for research to ensure a reliable and secure interconnected electric system within North America. Your help is urgently needed to make this happen. Thank you for your consideration on this important issue. IEEE-USA is an organizational unit of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc, created in 1973 to promote the careers and public policy interests of the more than 235,000 electrical, electronics, computer and software engineers who are U.S. members of the IEEE.

Sincerely,

LeEarl A. Bryant, P.E. 
2002 IEEE-USA President

Thomas R. Schneider
Chair, IEEE-USA Energy Policy Committee

(Also sent to Rep. Sonny Callahan, Chairman, and Rep. Peter Viclosky,
Ranking Member, of the House Appropriations Subcommittee
on Energy and Water Development)

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Last Update:  24 April 2002
Staff Contact: Bill Williams, bill.williams@ieee.org

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