==>FCC SPELLS OUT UTILITY'S OBLIGATIONS IN INTERFERENCE CASES Electric utilities must correct equipment problems that cause harmful interference to stations operating in the Amateur Service. Following up on a recent pledge to get tougher on electric utilities that fail to promptly fix faulty gear that generates interference, FCC Special Counsel Riley Hollingsworth made that point doubly clear August 9 in an letter to Reliant Energy Company of Houston. The case involves unresolved interference complaints from Edward J. Gerber, W5GCX, of Houston. "Reliant must do all things necessary, and bear any and all necessary costs, to comply with its obligations as an operator of unlicensed devices pursuant to the Commission's Part 15 regulations," Hollingsworth reminded the utility's attorneys. He asked Reliant to provide a written report in 30 days detailing steps taken to eliminate the interference to W5GCX. Hollingsworth said he'd hold off on enforcement action until he has the report in hand but added that the FCC "expects a complete solution without further delay." In its reply to a May 23 letter from the FCC, Reliant had suggested that the interference Gerber was experiencing had come from an otherwise properly operating 250 kVA step-down transformer. The utility had proposed to relocate the transformer at Gerber's expense. Hollingsworth pointed out that the utility may not pass on the cost of fixing the problem to the victim of the interference. "It is exclusively the obligation of the operator of the unlicensed device," Hollingsworth wrote, referring to the FCC's Part 15 rules. Responding to the initial FCC letter, the utility's attorneys--Baker Botts LLP of Houston--had attempted to claim it was not obligated to avoid interference to amateur stations. Hollingsworth called the attempted distinction "baseless." A copy of the letter went to the office of Texas Public Utility Commission Chairman Rebecca Klein. The League has worked with the FCC and utilities to resolve dozens of interference complaints. ARRL Electromagnetic Compatibility and Radio Frequency Interference Engineer John Phillips, K2QAI, applauded Hollingsworth's tenacious approach to dealing with interference complaints involving power companies. "Amateur Radio is very fortunate to have someone like Riley Hollingsworth in our corner," he said. "There is no way that amateurs could ever hope to resolve some of these problems without the backing of the FCC."