SCARY - Looks like they're not planning on doing anything significant for Y2K, not even preparing contingency plans. Midwest Energy's Electric service area is Central Kansas (around Great Bend) and Northwest Kansas. Their gas service is Central and North Central Kansas (Great Bend to the Nebraska border, if you know your Kansas geography) I guess this is one of the "rural utilities" that may be a risk (read 'local failures')

Link: www.mwenergy.com

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Midwest Energy Year 2000 Preparations

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1. In regard to Year 2000 preparations, what steps are being taken to ensure public safety and reliability of service?

Midwest Energy, Inc. has reviewed the public safety and reliability aspect of service and find no steps that are apparently required for preparation of the Year 2000. Our meter manufacturers indicate we should not have reliability problems with their equipment. Any reports will be adjusted to compensated for deficiencies if problems do occur. Midwest Energy, Inc. has no operational procedures that are affected.

2. What steps are being taken to protect quality of service, billing systems, and other customer related data? a. In 1998, we replaced our mainframe computer with a computer from a different vendor. This also necessitated new software for the mainframe. A new Customer Information System, of which one segment is billing, was installed and operational in 1998. This system, Mirror Pond by Orcom Systems, is year 2000 compliant. The remainder of the computer applications, Financial, Operational, etc. will be replaced with new year 2000 compliant systems in the last quarter of 1998 and the first half of 1999.

b. We have completed replacing all our P.C.s with Pentium P.C.s running Windows 95, Microsoft Office 97, PageMaker, etc. This eliminates most of our P.C. related Year 2000 problems. Any miscellaneous non-compliant software will be replaced or eliminated by mid 1999.

c. In 1999, we will be replacing our Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) computer system. This system is used to provide control and operating data for our transmission, generation, and distribution systems. This replacement will include both new hardware and software for the system. This new SCADA system will likely be an upgrade of our existing Advanced Controls System HPM-7000 Master Station. The new HPM-9000 Master Station is Year 2000 compliant with regard to both hardware and software. It is anticipated that this upgrade will be completed in the third quarter 1999.

d. The only peaking generation unit owned by Midwest Energy utilizing microprocessor technology has been updated and certified by the manufacturer.

e. Midwest Energy is required to file readiness reports with both the Kansas Corporation Commission and the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC), as to inventory readiness, assessment and testing. The final report filing is to be made September 30, 1999.

3. a. What are the estimated costs for investigating and fixing Year 2000 related problems for your entire organization?

Due to the software change required by the new hardware, there will be no Year 2000 related cost on the mainframe systems. All the new software is certified to be Year 2000 compliant.

The upgrade of the SCADA system was not required for Year 2000 compliance, but rather to meet the needs of our operation in the changing industry. Since all new hardware and software is certified to be Year 2000 compliant, there is no direct cost associated with achieving Year 2000 compliance in the System Operations computer systems.

Until any miscellaneous software on P.C.s that might have Year 2000 problems is identified, we cannot give an estimate of these costs. In any event, we anticipate the cost for fixing the software will be minimal.

b. Do you foresee an impact upon rates due to this problem? If yes, please explain.

NO.

4. a. In regard to problems that may arise on or after January 1, 2000, is your company making any special plans to handle these problems? If yes, what kind of plans?

Nothing, other than the normal control functions already in place to identify and eliminate problems.

b. How are you addressing the possibility of supply problems caused by an unprepared outside vendor?

We constantly evaluate whether our suppliers are able to meet our delivery requirements when we place orders. If they cant, we use another supplier.

All of our major suppliers already have, or are in the process, of fixing the Year 2000 problem.

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The North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) states findings continue to indicate that transition through critical year 2000 rollover dates is expected to have minimal impact on electric system operations in North America. NERC concludes that nearly all electrical systems necessary to operate in the year 2000 will have been tested, remediated, and declared Y2K ready by June 30, 1999. The councils final assessment is due to be made to the Department Of Energy by July 1999.

The North American Electric Reliability Council is a voluntary, non-profit organization formed in 1968 to coordinate the reliability and adequacy of bulk electric systems in North America. It consists of ten Regional Reliability Councils spanning the United States, Canada and a portion of Mexico.

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Comments???

-- Mr. Details (bcobur@go.com), August 26, 1999

Answers

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2. What steps are being taken to protect quality of service, billing systems, and other customer related data? a. In 1998, we replaced our mainframe computer with a computer from a different vendor. This also necessitated new software for the mainframe. A new Customer Information System, of which one segment is billing, was installed and operational in 1998. This system, Mirror Pond by Orcom Systems, is year 2000 compliant. The remainder of the computer applications, Financial, Operational, etc. will be replaced with new year 2000 compliant systems in the last quarter of 1998 and the first half of 1999.

b. We have completed replacing all our P.C.s with Pentium P.C.s running Windows 95, Microsoft Office 97, PageMaker, etc. This eliminates most of our P.C. related Year 2000 problems. Any miscellaneous non-compliant software will be replaced or eliminated by mid 1999.

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Switching to Pent-PCs running Win95 will eliminate most of their PC- related Y2K problems?!?!?

Ummm, 'scuse me a sec...

[OddOne walks a healthy distance away... He suddenly doubles over, grasping his sides... Laughter is faintly heard. After about thirty minutes of this he returns, wiping tears from eyes and flushed red...]

Ah, that was a good one.

According to the Microsoft Y2K Product Guide (URL is http://www.microsoft.com/technet/year2k/product/product.asp , in case anyone wants to see it for themselves), all Windows 95-98 flavors are marked as compliant*, where the * means:

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The product is compliant with recommended customer action. This indicates a prerequisite action is recommended which may include loading a software update or reading a document.

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Given how often I see people that use Win95/98 in an office-type environment perform or receive updates, there's almost no way in H-E- double-hockeysticks that the machines will be properly set up to be compliant, unless they have an IT department that is REALLY on the ball re: Y2K.

Funny how MS says almost ALL their relatively recent products are compliant, BUT NONE are compliant out-of-the-box! They don't have an option for "complaint" as its own entity, only for compliant with certain conditions or requirements. You can't even exclude the complaint-but-with-a-catch apps, they're either compliant or they're not, despite the fact that they require patches, fixes, or workarounds that might not be out yet.

Sounds to me like they're jacked...

OddOne, who knows first-hand Win95 isn't fixed merely by setting its date displays to use four-digit years...

-- OddOne (mocklamer_1999@yahoo.com), August 27, 1999.