Check this out:

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0012xf

-- Sally Strackbein (sally@y2kkitchen.com), July 06, 1999

Answers

link

-- RUOK (RUOK@yesiam.com), July 06, 1999.

FYI: Follow the above link.

However, I broke this story on the EUY2K forum, and here is the text of my reply to Drew Parkhill. Posting it here, because I think it's important.

"Thanks, Drew for your preliminary "dig" into this.

I was the person who brought the story to this forum's attention (and when Rick decides he's sick of paying his bills on time, it may show up in the EUY2K Newsroom--:)), so I'm grateful for the initial verification.

IMHO, the Cameron Daley quote that needs further clarification (in advance of the public release of the NERC report later this month) is as follows:

`The whole grid won't collapse, but there will be outages that could last up to several weeks.''

Several weeks?

Several weeks without power during a North American Summer is one thing. Uncomfortable for the masses? You bet. Bad news? Certainly. Could we survive? Probably. At least most of us.

However, several weeks without power during a North American Winter? Elderly people freezing in their homes because they refuse to leave--believing that the power will come back on--SOON?

That's why "Several weeks" needs to be nailed down.

For those who just joined the party on this story, here's the original report.

Utilities Say They're Y2K Ready, Though Blackouts Expected

Washington, June 30 (Bloomberg) -- Most U.S. utilities said today that their power plants and transmission lines are ``Y2K ready,'' though experts still expect some power failures when the New Year comes.

Utilities were asked to report their level of ``readiness'' to the North American Electric Reliability Council today. While a full report on the results won't be ready until July 29, dozens of utilities declared their success at finding and eliminating the Millennium bug. Electric utilities spent billions of dollars over the past several years to prepare for the day when aging computer and analog systems can't determine whether the digits ``00'' represent the year 1900 or 2000. They've been upgrading and testing components of power plants and distribution systems, and setting up contingency plans in case of failures.

``Utilities are scared,'' said Cameron Daley, chief operating officer of Framingham, Massachusetts-based Tava/R.W. Beck, which tested and upgraded systems for more than 100 U.S. utilities. ``The whole grid won't collapse, but there will be outages that could last up to several weeks.''

While no utility has guaranteed there won't be blackouts Jan. 1, industry groups said utilities are doing everything they can to prevent problems, including preparing for the worst.

`We believe Y2K won't be a problem,'' said Eugene Gorzelnik, a spokesman for the council. ``There will be a huge backlash if a utility reports it's Y2K ready, and it turns out that it wasn't.'' Edison International's Southern California Edison utility, which has spent $72 million on Y2K preparation, said it plans to dispatch an extra 500 employees on New Year's Eve. Wisconsin Energy Corp.'s Wisconsin Electric Power Co. plans to have as much as 50 percent more electricity available than it normally needs at that time of year.

Still, deregulation has pushed utilities to cut labor and other costs, and those that are deepest in negotiations with regulators haven't been as focused on preventing problems related to the millennium bug, Daley said.

``The utilities most distracted by deregulation aren't doing enough to identify and prevent problems,'' Daley said.

There are a number of instances where utilities didn't go deep enough into their systems -- they accepted vendors' words that parts of a system were compliant.'' Even if a utility corrects all the problems in its own system, power still may be cut off to their customers. That's because U.S. and Canadian power lines connect all utilities, and when one utility system breaks down, it could cause problems for others.

``We cannot provide warranties (against blackouts) because our readiness depends in part on other parties,'' said Samuel Manno, director of Niagara Mohawk Power Corp.'s Y2K project.

At the trade council's suggestion, utilities agreed to conduct the first major test of the entire power systems' ability to properly recognize dates beyond 1999 on September 9.

``We hope to learn what still needs to be done at that point and correct any glitches before they happen,'' Gorzelnik said.

(Note: You can still access (for now, at least) the original Bloomberg story by copying and pasting the following URL into your browser. Once there, go to the search engine, and type in the word "blackout." The story will surface.) http://www.aol.com/mynews/business/story.adp/cat=020102&id=19990630080 19182

Thanks to all in advance, for investigating this further. Inquiring minds want to know. (Especially those with stubborn elderly relatives, living alone in "empty nest" homes with no backup sources of heat, and no close relatives living nearby.)

FOOTNOTE #1:

I followed the url provided but had to enter "y2k blackout" to get the full story. Thanks for the information.

-- kevin (innxxs@yahoo.com), July 06, 1999.

FOOTNOTE #2:

Backlash? What backlash? The Y2k liability law is now close to being written in stone. Will somebody tell me utilities are exempt?

-- confused (it's@so.confusing), July 06, 1999.