March 20, 2001
Cumberland Electric Membership Cooperative
Carl Wilson, Chief Executive Officer
P. O. Box 3000
Clarksville, TN 37043-3300
Dear Mr. Wilson:
The Federal Communications
Commission has received complaints that equipment operated by your company is
causing harmful radio interference to operators in the Amateur Radio Service.
The complainant is:
[deleted]
The FCC has the
responsibility to require that utility companies rectify such problems within a
reasonable time if the interference is caused by faulty power utility
equipment. Under FCC rules, most power-line and related equipment is classified
as an "incidental radiator." This term is used to describe equipment
that does not intentionally generate any radio-frequency energy, but that may
create such energy as an incidental part of its intended operation.
To help you better understand
your responsibilities under FCC rules, here are the most important rules
relating to radio and television interference from incidental radiators:
Title 47, CFR Section 15.5
General conditions of operation.
(b) Operation of an
intentional, unintentional, or incidental radiator is subject to the conditions
that no harmful interference is caused and that interference must be accepted
that may be caused by the operation of an authorized radio station, by another
intentional or unintentional radiator, by industrial, scientific and medical
(ISM) equipment, or by an incidental radiator.
(c) The operator of the radio
frequency device shall be required to cease operating the device upon
notification by a Commission representative that the device is causing harmful
interference. Operation shall not resume until the condition causing the
harmful interference has been corrected..
Title 47, CFR Section
15.13 Incidental radiators:
Manufacturers of these
devices shall employ good engineering practices to minimize the risk of harmful
interference.
Title 47, CFR Section
15.15 General technical requirements.
(c) Parties responsible for
equipment compliance should note that the limits specified in this part will
not prevent harmful interference under all circumstances. Since the operators
of Part 15 devices are required to cease operation should harmful interference
occur to authorized users of the radio frequency spectrum, the parties
responsible for equipment compliance are encouraged to employ the minimum field
strength necessary for communications, to provide greater attenuation of
unwanted emissions than required by these regulations, and to advise the user
as to how to resolve harmful interference problems (for example, see Sec.
15.105(b)).
In the present matter, the
complainant has attempted unsuccessfully to work through your usual complaint
resolution process and as a result the matter has been referred to our office.
The FCC prefers that those responsible for the proper operation of power lines
assume their responsibilities fairly. This means that your utility company
should locate the source of interference caused by its equipment and make
necessary corrections within a reasonable time.
While the FCC has confidence
that most utility companies are able to resolve these issues voluntarily, the
FCC wants to make your office aware that this unresolved problem may be a
violation of FCC rules and could result in a monetary forfeiture for each
occurrence. At this stage, the FCC encourages the parties to resolve this
problem without FCC intervention; but if necessary to facilitate resolution,
the FCC may investigate possible rules violations and address appropriate
remedies.
The American Radio Relay
League, a national organization of Amateur Radio operators, may be able to
offer help and guidance about radio interference that involves Amateur Radio
operators. You may wish to contact them at:
American Radio Relay League
Radio Frequency Interference Desk
225 Main Street
Newington, CT 06111
860-594-0200
E Mail: rfi@arrl.org
Our office understands that
the ARRL has been in contact with Mr. Bobby Gibbs, the CEMC Operations manager
for Cumberland. Mr. Gibbs did make attempts to locate the interference but was
unable to do so. His conclusion was that if Mr. Fulk or a representative from
ARRL were to locate the cause of the interference, then Cumberland would
correct the cause. FCC rules require, however, that the operator of the device
that is radiating interference locate and correct the interference.
In the case of power lines,
it is not possible for non-utility company people to safely perform all of the
testing necessary to identify the source of the interference. If your company
lacks the trained personnel necessary to troubleshoot and repair the reported
problems, you may wish to retain an outside consultant. ARRL can provide names
of such consultants.
Please advise the complainant
within 30 days of what steps your utility company is taking to correct this
reported interference problem. The FCC expects that most cases can be resolved
within 90 days of the time they are first reported to the utility company. If
you are unable to resolve this within 90 days, please advise this office about
the nature of the problem, the steps you are taking to resolve it and the
estimated time in which those steps can be accomplished.
If you have any questions
about this matter, please contact:
W. Riley Hollingsworth
Special Counsel, Enforcement Bureau, FCC
717-338-2502
Thank you for your
cooperation.
Sincerely,
Sharon Bowers, Deputy Chief
Consumer Center
Consumer Information Bureau