The timing of the next NERC drill is impeccable:

http://infoseek.go.com/Content?arn=PR8712-19990412&qt=%22year+2000%22+bug*+glitch*+y2k&sv=IS&lk=noframes&col=NX&kt=A&ak=news1486

[added bold emphasis mine]

[snip]

About 70 CSW employees at 21 locations were part of the exercise. In the drill, employees used the company-owned radio system to send critical information, such as power flows, voltage and watts readings from power stations and substations to regional dispatch centers, which in turn relayed their information to the CSW System Control Center in Dallas.

CSW's utilities participated in the exercise along with about 200 other U.S. electric utilities. This was the first drill planned by NERC. A second drill planned for September 8-9 will test the utilities' administrative, operating, communications and contingency response readiness.

[snip]

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), April 14, 1999

Answers

I hear in the second drill, they're actually going to use the cell phones to order pizza.

-- a (a@a.a), April 14, 1999.

As anyone who has ever participated in ARES/RACES or REACT knows, you cant put a bunch of unexperienced civilians with radios and expect communication to happen, it doesn't work.

Even with engineers it doesn't work. Most people do not use handheld radios from day to day. And most of the ones who do so informally arent used to the high level of traffic that you'd find on a metro police channel where all the traffic is carefully orchestrated and special language is used.

These tests are laughable. Even more laughable was the AP article on the FAA's tests where they checked the radios. For the most part, radios dont have y2k problems. I've yet to find a radio that has a serious y2k problem of any kind.

I'm sure these morons will forget to charge the batteries, and will forget that the charger runs on 120VAC. The nicad packs they're all using is probably 3 years old and about dead. The antennas on the roof are probably all rusted, and there's water in the coax.

If they're planning on using cell phones they're in for a big surprise.

-- hjuntchbaque. (quasimodo@belltower.com), April 14, 1999.