On August 22, 2019, NRECA, EEI, and UTC filed comments with FERC in response to a recent FERC technical conference on the reliability of the bulk power system, including the potential impact of an FCC proposal to open the 6 GHz spectrum band, heavily used by utilities, on electric reliability and resilience.

Interference in the 6 GHz range could create risks to reliable grid operations and public safety. Due to the vast service territories and the rapid communication timeframes required for critical systems, the 6 GHz band is an extremely important band to the electric power industry because it can accommodate the bandwidth and performance objectives needed over long microwave paths to ensure grid reliability. FERC should seek to coordinate with the FCC on cross-industry issues as described above, including on potential impact to electric power industry reliability and resiliency from radio frequency interference with electric company wireless networks and from unlicensed devices operating in the 6 GHz band.