From the BBC (London):

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Wednesday, February 17, 1999 Published at 02:41 GMT

Utilities told: Tackle Y2K bug

Gas companies say supplies are not at risk

Utility company regulators are being urged to redouble their efforts to ensure that the millennium bug does not disrupt vital services.

David Davis, chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, made the appeal following a National Audit Office report on the regulators' progress in ensuring utility companies are addressing the Year 2000 problem.

The report stressed that the regulators had to monitor the companies' progress closely to ensure there was no slippage in their programmes to make their computer systems bug-proof.

[Usual explanation of Y2K problem.]

'Serious consequences'

Mr Davis warned: "If the regulators fail to ensure that utility companies are millennium-compliant it is likely that the consequences will be severe."

The Tory MP added: "These companies are responsible for the very fabric of the economy: water, electricity, telecoms and gas. By definition any failures will have serious consequences. For example, people might be unable to phone the emergency services."

In the NAO report, the Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, said considerable progress had been made but the utility companies and their regulators - Offer, Ofgas, Oftel and Ofwat - still had work to do to ensure there was no disruption to essential services.

Sir John warned that if the bug was not dealt with properly there could be disruption to the electricity supply, sewer flooding and gas supply failures which could take months to fix.

He cautioned that there were gaps in the regulators' knowledge of what the companies were doing to address the bug, notably on their contingency plans for dealing with problems that might arise.

In addition, many firms still had work to do to complete testing of systems to ensure the continuity of supplies.

Utilities confident

The call for greater vigilance comes less than a month after the utilities and the regulators expressed confidence that they would beat the bug.

Phone regulator Oftel said 90% of the telephone sector would be bug-proof by mid-1999, with the remaining 10% achieving compliance by September.

The gas and electricity industries also said they were well prepared.

The water regulator, Ofwat, has also said its efforts to ensure that the water and sewerage companies conquer the problem were well advanced.

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-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), February 18, 1999

Answers

Old Git:

I think any intelligent person is at risk when absorbing official governmental and business propaganda. There is a deliberate attempt to brainwash the mass public, and I don't like the reactions I hear from those who feel safe in believing what banks and governmental agencies state about no-need-to-worry compliance regarding Y2K. Some are so eager to hear any "good news" that they neglect critical thinking. I think the government and businesses want to avoid mass panic at all costs.

OK, off the subject: I've been reading Ed's message board for almost one month, and I've recently started posting and most appreciate the feedback, however strange. But your posts are honest and insightful. I view you as a grandfather since you've made reference to your old age by your user name and previous postings.

When did you become aware of Y2K? Do you think America will be severely judged by God and be given a severe Depression?

-- dinosaur (dinosaur@williams-net.com), February 20, 1999.