The USDA has published the "RUS YEAR 2000 COMPLIANCE SURVEY SUMMARY" on March 31, 1999. It appears the data is as of February. I don't recall seeing this information on the forum before. There are a lot of tables, so I haven't "cut and pasted them." The report summary, however, has been posted on http://www.usda.gov/rus/y2k/survey.htm

Results show:

ELECTRIC: "50% of the respondents indicate total Year 2000 compliance as of March 31, 1999." "A total of 496 electric cooperatives (76% of the respondents) are either fully compliant now or have indicated specific plans to be fully compliant by year-end 1999."

TELECOMMUNICATIONS: "27% of the respondents indicate total Year 2000 compliance as of March 31, 1999."

"A total of 726 telecommunications cooperatives and companies (98% of the respondents) are either fully compliant now or have indicated specific plans to be fully compliant by year-end 1999."

Rural readiness appears slightly below the curve of urban utilities. Perhaps this is what the talking heads mean by local disruptions.

-- marsh (armstrng@sisqtel.net), June 20, 1999

Answers

Most of these folks are on the recieving end and then they pass it along. All they need do, is look "up" the chain with wondering eyes. The "origin" is what worries me. They don't have much to say, aside from, "Don't panic, we have this Tiger by the tail, we can't proove it though, you'll just have to take our word for it. We suggest you pester the folks beneath us". patuie

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 20, 1999.

Our local coop has assured us, in articles in our Missouri Electric Cooperative paper, Rural Missouri, that everything is fine; we have nothing to worry about. They are prepared. However, the last sentence in this article does not inspire confidence. This paper is so biased on so much, that I hardly believe anything they write.

-- gilda (jess@listbot.com), June 20, 1999.

gilda: you forgot to tell us what the last sentence says. Go ahead, share. I just love word games!

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 20, 1999.

Never mind....I just realized you were talking about the above article...sorry. I shouldn't be jumping back and forth between the bar-b-que and the forum, HA!

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 20, 1999.

Well let's paraphrase Will, but turn it around a bit....

"Time to panic, this Tiger is running amok, we can't prove it though, you'll just have to take our word for it. We suggest you spread the word". patuie

If you doom jockeys knew half of what you think you know, you'd be pretty smart. But that's just "if".

-- Chicken Little (panic@forthebirds.net), June 20, 1999.