"Want more? Here are a few suggested links and book titles."

NATIONAL UTILITY ASSOCIATIONS

• UTC - United Telecommunications Council [site]
• APPA (American Public Power Association) [site]
• NRECA - National Rural Electric Cooperative Association [site]
• EPRI - Electric Power Research Institute [site]

REGIONAL UTILITY ASSOCIATIONS

• NEPPA - Northeast Public Power Association [site]
• TVPPA - Tennessee Valley Public Power Association [site]
• NCAMES- North Carolina Association of Municipal Electric Systems [site]
• ElectriCities (NC, SC, VA) [site]
• Municipal Electric Utilities Association (NY) [site]
• CARILEC - The Association of Caribbean Electric Utilities [site]
• California Municipal Utilities Association [site]
• Florida Municipal Electric Association [site]

USDA RURAL DEVELOPMENT

• RUS – Rural Utilities Services [site]
• RUS Electric Division [site]
• RUS Distance Learning and Telecommunications initiatives [site]

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES AND STANDARDS BODIES

• IEEE – Institute of Electric and Electronics Engineers [site]
• IEEE Power Engineering Society [site]
• IEEE PES Power Systems Communications (includes Fiber Optics Subcommittee and Fiber Optics Standards JWG) [site]
• IEEE PES Transmission & Distribution (includes Towers, Poles & Conductors Subcommittee and Overhead Line Construction WG) [site]
• IEEE Standards Association [site]
• National Electrical Safety Code Committee [site]
• IEC – International Electrotechnical Commission [site]
• CIGRE – International Council on Large Electric Systems [site]
• Optical Society of America [site]

RECOMMENDED SPECIALIZED RESOURCES

• Powerline Systems, Inc. (world leader in transmission line design and analysis software) [site]
• FLI-MAP John Chance Land Surveys, Inc. (helicopter laser surveys) [site]
• RSoft Design Group (network optimization tools) [site]
• Kinectrics (formerly Ontario Hydro Technologies – premier independent test lab for utility fiber cable and hardware) [site]
• Telcordia Technologies, Inc. (formerly Bellcore – network optimization tools, network operating systems, Bell System standards) [site]

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

• National Electrical Safety Code 2012
• NESC Handbook, SEVENth Edition
• Electric Power Distribution Systems: A Nontechnical Guide
• The Essential Guide to Telecommunications, 3rd Edition
• Communications Systems and Networks, 2nd Edition
• Telecommunications Essentials
• Lineman's and Cableman's Handbook
• Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers, 14th Edition
• Fiber Optics Technician's Manual, 2nd Edition
• Understanding Fiber Optics
• Fiber Optic Cables, 4th Edition
• Telecommunications Cables: Design, Manufacture and Installation
• Theory of Wire Rope, 2nd Edition
• Cable Television Handbook
• Modern Cable Television Technology: Video, Voice, and Data Communications
• The ARRL Handbook for Radio Amateurs 2003
• Optical Networks: A Practical Perspective, 2nd Edition
• Special Edition Using TCP/IP (2nd Edition)
• Internetworking Technologies Handbook, 3rd Edition (Cisco Press)
• Understanding SONET/SDH and ATM
• Overhead Conductor Manual (Southwire)
• IEEE Standard Construction of Composite Fiber Optic Overhead Groundwire (IEEE Std. 1138)