Spectrum for smart grid: Policy recommendations enabling current and future applications

2010 1st IEEE International Conference on Smart Grid Communications, SmartGridComm 2010

Volumn , Issue , 2010, Pages 578-582

  Kilbourne, Brett ^a   Bender, Klaus ^a  

^a Utilities Telecom Council   (United States)

Author keywords

Smart grid; Spectrum; Utilities; Wireless

Indexed keywords

FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS; FEDERAL POLICIES; FUTURE APPLICATIONS; PUBLIC SAFETY; SMART GRID; SPECTRUM; UTILITIES; WIRELESS;

EID: 78650104274     PISSN: None     EISSN: None     Source Type: Conference Proceeding    
DOI: 10.1109/SMARTGRID.2010.5622000     Document Type: Conference Paper

References (7)

1. 49 USCA Sec. 60102(a)(1)(B) of the Pipeline Safety Act requires gas pipelines to establish emergency plans that include adequate means of communications with fire, police and other public officials for the emergency shutdown and pressure reduction in any section of a pipeline; reliable and secure private communications are essential to meet these requirements
2. FEMA "Criteria for Preparation and Evaluation of Radiological Emergency Response Plans and Preparedness in Support of Nuclear Plants" requires utilities to have "reliable primary and backup means of communications" and the preparation of an emergency plan to include use of these communications between a nuclear facility and the utility's near-site emergency operations facilities, state and local emergency operations centers, and radiological monitoring teams.
3. FEMA specifies in its "Functional Criteria for Emergency Response Facilities" that reliable primary and backup means of communications are necessary between the Emergency Operations Facility, Technical Support Center, Nuclear Regulatory Commission and state and local emergency operations centers; reliability of these communications systems has to be demonstrated under emergency conditions.
4. Many state public service commissions require utilities to respond to reports of downed electric lines and gas leakages within 30 minutes; by law, police and fire personnel cannot enter unsafe or burning buildings until the electricity shut off - this requires interference free communications capabilities with emergency field crews (can cite interference from NY limousine service on 16 separate occasions which prevented central dispatch from contacting field crews in response to fire emergencies).
5. Susan Lau, "A Day Unlike Any Other: ConEd Maintains Critical Communications Recovery", UTC Journal, December 2002.
6. Letter to Michael Chertoff, Secretary U.S. Department of Homeland Security, et al. from Haley Barbour, Chairman of the Southern Governors Association, dated May 15, 2007 (recommending 1) a nationwide spectrum allocation for utilities and other emergency services; 2) priority access for utilities and others in the public safety community on existing spectrum below 1 GHz in times of emergency; 3) a review regulations that discourage utilities from building shared systems to support public safety communications and recommend any actions that may be required to eliminate those regulations that discourage the development of shared systems by utilities that promote interoperable public safety communications).
7. Final Report of the Commission's Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks ("Katrina Panel Final Report") at http://www.fcc.gov/pshs/docs/advisory/hkip/karrp.pdf