The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is an international standards organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic, and related technologies, collectively known as "electrotechnology". IEC standards cover a vast range of technologies from power generation, transmission, and distribution to home appliances and office equipment, semiconductors, fiber optics, batteries, solar energy, nanotechnology, and marine energy, among others. The IECs mission is to promote international cooperation on all questions of electrotechnical standardization and related matters such as the assessment of conformity to standards in the fields of electricity, electronics, and related technologies. IEC standards are developed in a consensus process by experts from participating countries and are often used as a basis to globally harmonize technical requirements in IEC member and non-member countries. The IEC headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland, and currently, 89 countries are IEC members while another 85 participate in the Affiliate Country Programme.