Building Careers and Shaping Public Policy

30 August 2001

Senator Jeff Bingaman
Chairman
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
312 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Bingaman:

On behalf of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-United States of America (IEEE-USA), I would like to thank you for addressing the pressing need for a comprehensive national standard for the interconnection of distributed electrical generation resources. Quality electric power system interconnections are critical to the economics of distributed energy resources and the safety and reliability of the power system.

IEEE-USA recommends that Congress and federal and state agencies support the adoption of interconnection standards developed by a consensus of professional societies on a voluntary basis, such as those established by IEEE's Standards Coordinating Committee-21 P-1547, a working group that was chartered in 1998 for developing the interconnection standard.

This working group, comprised of 350 technical experts representing a broad cross section of interested stakeholders, is currently establishing the technical criteria and requirements for interconnection of distributed resources with electric power systems. Work on the standard is expected to be finalized by the end of this year. Standards developed by such consensus-based processes assure reasonableness and high technical quality and encourage the likelihood of broad acceptance.

We would like to reiterate what David Garman, Department of Energy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, testified before your committee on July 19th:

The Department of Energy has been supporting efforts by the industry through the IEEE to develop voluntary national interconnection standards. This effort has been in effect for the past several years and has involved extensive working group deliberations involving staff from electric utilities as well as equipment manufacturers and distributed energy project developers. The technical standard being developed by the IEEE could well provide a basis for the rulemaking process and, the minimum, should be referenced to ensure that the progress that has been made by this group is not lost or duplicated unnecessarily.

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 230,000 electrical, electronics, computer and software engineers who are U.S. members of the IEEE. If we can be of further assistance, please contact Bill Williams in our Washington office at (202) 785-0017 x 8331 or email at bill.williams@ieee.org.

Sincerely,

Ned R. Sauthoff, Ph.D.
2001 IEEE-USA President

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Last Update:  31 August 2001
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