Story

Fayetteville Utility Warns Residents to be Ready for Y2K FAYETTEVILLE (WRAL) --

Most of us take electricity for granted, but one local power company is warning its customers to be prepared for the worst when the clock strikes midnight this New Year's Eve.

Fayetteville's Public Works Commission is asking residents to prepare for the new year as if a hurricane were approaching, and the request is creating a storm of reaction.

Ron Taylor needs electricity for almost everything he does both at work and home, and he never thought Y2K might leave him powerless. "That really surprises me. It's been my impression that all these Y2K bugs have been worked out of the system years and years ago," Taylor says.

Sharon Johnson-Harris and her children say a power outage will not leave them in the dark. "I keep candles and flashlights because of the storms and all," Johnson-Harris says. "If the lights go off and it gets dark, I'm going to deal with it."

The PWC says residents should be ready with: 7 gallons of water per person a battery-operated TV or radio flashlights batteries non-perishable food Public works leaders are taking the threat so seriously that they are calling in more than 100 workers on the holiday. The extra workers will be waiting in the emergency dispatch room, ready for anything.

"You may lose power depending on where you are. I think if you take that approach you'll be safe. It's just like insurance. You never know when you're going to need it," says PWC Risk Manager Ike Copeland. The PWC says it does not believe anyone will lose power; they just want customers to be prepared for whatever happens. They say there may be people who cut off others' power to create chaos.

Other area power companies say they are ready for Y2K as well. CP&L, Duke Power and North Carolina Power all say they do not expect any major outages as a result of the possible computer bug. But all three companies do plan to have extra workers on hand on New Year's Eve, just in case.

-- Mr. K (Mr.K@work.today), November 11, 1999

Answers

Mr. K,

It is nice to see you again. Hope things are going well with you

cannotsay25@hotmail.com aka cannot-say@this.time

-- (cannotsay25@hotmail.com), November 11, 1999.

Wow....this is a very strong warning indeed. I wonder how many more we'll start seeing as we get closer to December 31.

If they are saying this publicly....imagine what they are thinking privately.

Amazing.

-- Lara (nprbuff@hotmail.com), November 11, 1999.

If the power company is sure, nothing is going to happen, then why prepare for a failure.....sound like they know things, they arent saying to me......

-- stone michaels (stone484@aol.com), November 11, 1999.

...as Dave Matthews would sing..."life.....it seems a struggle between what we see...what we do"

-- Vern (bacon17@ibm.net), November 11, 1999.

An Assistant Secretary from the NC Department of Crime Control and Public Safety spoke at a small meeting I attended tonight in Durham. His topic was nothing to do with Y2K but he happened to mention something about FEMA which started the ball rolling.

As most of you know, eastern North Carolina was decimated by flooding and is still in dire straits. FEMA has pulled out most of the workers who were here immediately after Floyd hit because they have ten other disaster sites to handle and they are spread thinly. (I remember hearing the same from the Red Cross.) At that, someone said, well, I hope we don't have any problems from Y2K then.

The speaker then commented that his office had heard a rumor that the National Guard would be on standby for rollover but it turned out to be untrue. He noted that if the federal government called out the NG, then they would pay for it; however, if the state called them out the state would have to pay. (The state is strapped after Floyd and will have to impose a 1% increase in the sales tax.) He also mentioned there are 17,000 NG troops in NC. He added that the only thing his office was worried about was from people panicking; they are not worried about actual Y2K problems.

Someone mentioned last night's TV report (above), then someone talked about the problems with half the 911 systems. I explained how they could look up the regular number of the 911 office and use that in an emergency. Suddenly a woman burst out with, "Well, I'M ready. I've got six months of food and supplies in my guest room." Eyebrows were raised but not one of the 18 people present smirked or scoffed. I got the impression that up to the point of those two reports these people had not worried a great deal about Y2K. I wouldn't be at all surprised if some of them stopped at the supermarket on the way home.

I guess the most important piece of information to come out of the meeting is that it looks as if none of us can expect much help from FEMA and the Red Cross if anything untoward happens in the not too distant future, Y2K or not.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), November 11, 1999.