Building Careers and Shaping Public Policy

25 April 2003
(Faxed 28 April 2003)

The Honorable Peter Domenici, Chair
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Domenici:

The IEEE-USA would like to urge your support for language creating a self-governing reliability organization (Title XI, Subtitle A, in the Chairman's Mark) of the Senate Energy Bill as it is debated in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. This language is vital to promoting and ensuring the sustained reliability of the electric grid in the United States and throughout North America. IEEE-USA represents approximately 240,000 electrical, electronic and computer engineers in the USA.

The IEEE-USA Energy Policy Committee, consisting of members with expertise in all aspects of electrical power agrees that:

• The ongoing decline in the quality and reliability of electric power negatively impacts the nation's economy. This decline is a consequence of under-investment in transmission and distribution infrastructure, the patchwork nature of deregulation and confusion over responsibility for reliability.
• No individual state is able to assure both reliable operation and economic efficiency of electric power in the United States. Federal action is needed to restore reliability.
• Reliability and economic efficiency can only be achieved at the national and regional levels.

The Senate reliability language is essential and urgently needed to provide a legislative foundation for the reliability of electric power through a self-regulating industry reliability organization with the power to set and enforce reliability standards, subject to government oversight.

We urge you and your fellow committee members to approve Subtitle A. Retaining this language in the energy bill is a must to protect the reliability of the North American transmission grid. Reliable electric power is critical to the economy, the environment, and national security. Without this language, consumers, industry and government are all exposed to increased risk of power outages, extended blackouts and widespread failure of the electric grid.

Thank you for your support and action. If you need further information, please contact Bill Williams at 202-530-8331, or at Bill.Williams@ieee.org.

Sincerely,

James V. Leonard, P.E.
President, IEEE-USA

(Sample of Letter Sent to Members of the
Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee)