60 Years of the Rural Electric Power Committee [History]

The IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS) Rural Electric Power Committee (REPC) is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. The REPC has a long history of providing sound, usable technical information for electric utilities that serve rural and suburban territories. The REPC was formed in 1956 by a group of engineers as a forum to share best practices for rural electric utilities providers. Participants came from a variety of interests. Large utilities sent engineers from their rural operating divisions, and other members were from smaller utilities that did not serve urban areas but perhaps served some suburban customers. Engineers from companies that provided products and services to these utilities as well as engineering professors and students also joined the group. This diversity helped all members stay abreast of the latest technology and techniques available as well as those envisioned for the future. Two previously published articles provided status reports on the REPC [1], [2].