Link to this brief story This is the very short story (entire): MADISON, May 11 A utility based in Madison wants to charge its customers to pay the costs of preparing for the year 2000 computer problem.

Wisconsin Power and Light wants customers to pay approximately $16 million in surcharges.

The Public Service Commission will hold a hearing on the proposal Wednesday. Wisconsin Electric Power Company of Milwaukee says it will have all of its systems ready for Y2K by June 30. WEPCO has factored in the Y2K costs in bills since last year.

Now this is the gaul. Even though I don;t live in WI, this takes it. I'm afraid I'd have to go off the grid voluntarily and permanently if this happened in our state.

However, I haven't located the results of the public hearing yet. Hopefully, this travesty was struck down.

Mr. K

-- Mr. Kennedy (Mr.K@home.tonight), May 12, 1999

Answers

Lol, I found this earlier news story from February about WEPCO:

WEPCO readies for $80 million computer switch

Pete Millard

Wisconsin Electric Power Co. is installing an $80 million management information system that promises to improve its handling of emergency outages, customer service connections and billings.

A 20-year-old mainframe computing systems now in place will be ditched during the second weekend of August, when WEPCO, the Milwaukee electric utility subsidiary of Wisconsin Energy Corp., flips the switch on the new client server network.

Further in the story they make this claim:

"It's the largest enterprisewide application we've ever installed," said Kristine Rappe, WEPCO's vice president of customer service. "It needs to be an invisible change."

Any prospect of bad weather will postpone the conversion for two weeks, Rappe said. The company won't risk managing emergency crews with the new system during an outage.

The cost of the system was covered in the latest rate hike approved by the PSC. Even though the PSC staff questioned whether WEPCO needed to buy everyone a new personal computer, the commissioners unanimously approved the plan. "It will boost our (service) reliability and address Year 2000 (computer) problems," Rappe said.

Okay, so the Y2K updates were already paid for. What's this crap now about WEPCO wanting to charge its customers to pay the costs of preparing for the year 2000 computer problem???
(approximately $16 million in surcharges!!)wants to charge its customers to pay the costs of preparing for the year 2000 computer problem.

Electricity is nearly impractical in costs now. Now it looks like consumers are having to PAY AGAIN for BAD MANAGEMENT CHOICES.

Mr. K
***burning up at "so-called management"....those who can't do it "manage"***

-- Mr.K (Mr.K@home.tonight), May 12, 1999.

This may be a case of "double charging," but it would be unrealistic to think that all those expensive y2k mitigations being done by corporations and utilities won't be passed through to the customer. It surely will effect the economy and our purchasing power.

-- marsh (armstrng@sisqtel.net), May 13, 1999.

Listen up!!

Alliant Power Company here in Wisconsin already jacked us up for Y2K repairs. In their last billing statement, they said we could have outages but it would only be like the power outage from a storm.

I remember back in 1976 when an ice storm cut our power for two weeks. That was fun....NOT

-- GeeGee (GeeGee@madtown.com), May 13, 1999.

There seems so be alot of coverage for both WEPCO and WP&L- has anyone seen info. on MG& E?

-- c. mcwilliams (billmcbill@worldnet.att.net), May 13, 1999.