The IEEE-USA Energy Policy Committee, as part of the Technology Policy Council, is focusing on a few key topics that relate to near-term government activity aimed at assuring reliable and affordable electricity. Position statements establish the basis for IEEE-USA interactions with legislators, regulators, and the executive branch. The development sequence for such government relations activity involves prudent selection of high impact topics based on the legislative or executive opportunity and on IEEE’s ability to provide competent contributions, assembly of a team of experts (including both IEEE technical society delegates and at-large members), development of a set of recommendations, committee reviews of the recommendation, compilation of related background material to provide references for readers, and then review and possible approval by the IEEE-USA Board of Directors.

In the most recent months, the following position statements were approved:

• Benefits of Electrification,
• Energy Efficiency, and
• Interconnection Standards.

Position statements under development include:

• Electric Power Reliability,
• Solar and Renewable Energy,
• Photovoltaic Energy Development,
• Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology (with NPSS and the American Nuclear Society)

Especially noteworthy has been IEEE-USA’s recent activity in the area of distributed energy sources.  Efforts on standards for the interconnection of distributed energy sources led to legislative language in the Daschle/Bingaman Energy Bill that explicitly mentioned IEEE’s work on related standards, advocating the adoption of consensus-based standards from groups like IEEE.

Another success was the restoration of funding for the Department of Energy’s Electric Energy Systems program.

The Energy committee, the Technology Policy Council and the IEEE-USA Board have debated assorted proposed foci and concluded that the 2002 priority themes will include:

• Homeland Security (including critical infrastructure protection, national aviation safety and security, public health information infrastructure, and cybersecurity R&D),
• Federal R&D Investment Policy (including computer, information technology and networking R&D),
• Energy Reliability,
• Broadband Deployment, and
• National Voting Technology Standards.

As such, the Energy Committee will focus on aspects of reliability in the restructured regulatory environment and protection of the critical electricity infrastructure. NPSS members are encouraged to get involved.

Ned Sauthoff, the NPSS Liaison to the IEEE-USA Energy Policy Committee, can be reached at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, MS-37, P.O. Box 451, Princeton, NJ  08543; Phone: +1 609 243-3207; Fax: +1 609 243-3266; E-mail: n.sauthoff@ieee.org.