The magnitude of the spatial and energy scales in homogeneous intrinsic amorphous semiconductors resulting from the long-ranged Coulomb potential due to a random distribution of charged defects is calculated. It is shown that, for a reasonable concentration of charges, around 1018cm-3, in the absence of strong inhomogeneities, the magnitude of the long-range potential is small and does not affect significantly the electronic structure of the localized states. With strong inhomogeneities, the theoretical situation is not clear and more research is needed. © 1990 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.