http://www.phillynews.com/daily_news/99/Oct/07/local/BYER07.htm

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PGW puts callers, bills, pipes on hold

Don't take it personally if you're still struggling to get through on the phone to PGW with questions about your bill.

You're in good company. Lots of it. In fact, PGW's latest internal analysis of incoming phone calls in August shows the following:

Incoming: 185,802.

Answered: 75,504.

Abandoned: 110,298.

That means almost 60 percent of PGW customers who tried to get through on the phone with questions or complaints couldn't do so.

But PGW's top brass doesn't stop at stiffing normal customers looking for information. Members of the Philadelphia Gas Commission don't fare much better.

At Tuesday's commission hearing, John Foulkes, who was sitting in for commission member Jonathan Saidel, wanted to know if the new phone and data system was working yet. He never got an answer, other than some indecipherable double-talk about just how very, very difficult it is these days to switch from an old to a new computer system.

PGW's new president, Ben Hayllar, was asked why the cash statements that PGW is supposed to file every month with the commission had not been produced in either August or September. He simply said, "We don't have them," and that was that.

No apology. No explanation. No remorse. In essence, Hayllar told the commission that the company's new computer system ate his financial records. He assured everyone that everything was A-OK, but had no financial records, for the last three months, to back him up.

PGW's credit rating with Wall Street may be ready to blow up in everyone's face, but neither Hayllar nor the Gas Commission has any advance warning.

Thanks to creative bookkeeping, however, that probably won't happen. At that same commission hearing, the guru in charge of installing PGW's dysfunctional data system innocently explained that the company had shifted about $40 million of the computer costs onto the company's capital books to make sure the regular books passed muster with Wall Street. No one blinked.

Nor did anyone blink when the commission tried to get answers to another potentially explosive issue - PGW's plans to repair or replace leaking gas lines. Ten years ago there were 93 blocks throughout the city which had experienced six or more breaks and there are now 224 such blocks.

Instead of expanding its repair and replacement schedule, however, PGW is now replacing pipes at about half the rate that it's own studies suggest is both needed and appropriate for its aging system.

No one knows how serious the problems are, or how much it will cost to fix them. But Hayllar told the commission he's hired a new engineering firm to study it and has a tricky, some might say risky, financing scheme to pay for any needed repairs.

In essence. his plan involves refinancing about $100 million in existing PGW bonds in a deal described as producing PGW about $6 million, risk-free, as long as interest rates don't rise too much. But anyone buying the argument that Wall Street will give PGW $6 million "risk-free" ought to be buying the Brooklyn Bridge, not PGW bonds.

Meanwhile, the only people no longer at risk from the ongoing insanities of PGW are deadbeats. Thanks in large part to that dysfunctional data system, efforts to collect those deadbeats' bills by phone have totally collapsed.

In August 1998, PGW selected 19,187 of those accounts for collection by phone, tried to do so 26,852 times (calling some customers more than once) and connected with 6,713 customers. In August of this year they selected, attempted and connected with the grand total of "zero" customers. That's right. None.

So now we head into winter, which raises still other problems for PGW. Having lost the chance to cut off deadbeats in the summer, often for lack of even trying, PGW must carry them until next spring because it's next-to-impossible to shut folks off in the winter.

Simultaneously, PGW must pray for a cold winter to replenish its skimpy cash accounts from regular customers just to pay its bills and keep Wall Street happy.

However, PGW can't really afford an extremely cold winter because freezing ground breaks water pipes, which creates still more gas leaks. Yet PGW has no systematic plan for fixing pipes already identified as troublesome, nor enough cash to do so.

Yet thanks to a computer system that doesn't work, it can't easily or reliably improve its cash flow. Tens of thousands of deadbeats are effectively off the hook and 110,298 customers calls were abandoned in August - a total of 872,118 through the entire year - as customers tried to figure out what to pay, when and why.

Is this a crazy company, or what?

W. Russell G. Byers is senior editor of the Daily News. E-mail is Russell.Byers@Phillynews.com and phone is 215-854-4789.

-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), October 07, 1999

Answers

...more problems in Philadelphia...

School district workers not getting paid PHILADELPHIA, PA - Attorneys for the School District of Philadelphia are in court Friday promising to pay hundreds of workers, many of which havent been paid. The problem revolves around a new computer designed to be Y2K compliant. Its supposedly ready for the new millenium, but it wasnt ready for the beginning of the school year.

Post your comments on the NBC10 Bulletin Board!

The School District of Philadelphia

It was September 7th that Philadelphia schools opened for business. The students were greeted by teachers, custodians, cafeteria workers - some 29,000 employees in all. But now, with their second check due Friday, some of those employees say the new computer system is bugging them. Im a second-shift operator and we produce the checks, and I just cant see it, said Felix Serrano, Jr., who said theyre not getting the right checks. It should be direct deposit, Serrano said. All of a sudden, Im getting a live check. Serranos problem is simple compared with what some other district employees have been facing: No check at all, or no contractual bonus. That is why Local 1201 went to court Thursday. If this is the way we can get people to wake up and do something, make commitments and get to the top of the pile, then thats what were going to do, said Ralph Teti, a union attorney. And if thats what the lawsuit does then well have accomplished what we set out to do. Thomas McGlinchy, the districts acting managing director, admits there have been computer problems, and he understands the concern. You need to get paid, McGlinchy said. I still remember living paycheck to paycheck so I know how important it is. We are really concentrating on those folks who didnt get anything first, trying to get them a paycheck. Workers should get their bonuses by October 15th. McGlinchy says there have actually been fewer mistakes this September than in previous years. Hes hoping the computer problems will begin to decrease as the computer glitches get fixed.

http://www.msnbc.com/local/WCAU/195694.asp

-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), October 07, 1999.

Another Homer! THANKS! Geez, lookit all deez computer failures. Might inconvenient. Gum up the works. Stop business cold. Hhhmmm. Makin' the public real fond of Automation. Pink slip, lay off, replace with robot software. The box smarter than you, faster, does a lot more, doesn't take bathroom breaks or complain, can run 24/7. Bottom line, dividend rub, bonus for the head honcho. Real real smart. We'll just go manual! That's gonna sound obscene real soon now.

COMMUNICATION is going to FAIL big-time in the USA. We're startin ta think bout buying that there scanner, Old Git. Old Git knows more than a thing or two!

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), October 07, 1999.

Homer Beanfang, please eMail us. Addy's real.

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), October 07, 1999.

Ashton & Leska,

No big deal, these things happen all the time.

-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), October 07, 1999.

I want to roll over and hit the snooze bar : (

Anyone know what it is Pollys take to sleep through this kind of stuff when it happens?

Mike

=====================================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), October 07, 1999.

Isn't it great that PA is the leader of the pack on Y2K work?!?! <:)=

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), October 07, 1999.

Homer, yep, and pretty soon they gonna all happen all the time.

Our COMMUNICATIONS comment is based on some new info we got indicating the big & medium & small telecoms just ain't gonna make it.

Another fun day on the stress-o-meter!

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), October 07, 1999.

Those two articles above are illustrative! And the reporter seems to be waking up from the Disconnect. Zowie, what if more wake up and start seeing the peril, the absurdities, the disconnect, the
DANGER

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), October 07, 1999.

I wonder why the pollies never respond to articles like this. Do they think these articles are hoaxes? Adding to all of this, what will happen when Medicare and Medicaid go down? Think of all those people not getting payments through. But, according to the pollies there is just no way we can have a depression. Why, I ask?

-- Larry (cobol.programmer@usa.net), October 07, 1999.

BTW, PGW stands for Philadelphia Gas Works, a city agency.

http://www.phila.gov/y2k/index.shtml

Philadelphia Y2k page

This is for those of you who believe Y2k disclosures mean anything.

The City of Philadelphia stands ready for the Year 2000 "change over".

Standing in front of the City4s new generator electrical power backup system that has been implemented to provide continuous, uninterrupted power to the City4s central computing center, are from the right: Brian Anderson, Chief Information Officer

Howell Herring Director, Data Center Operations and Technical Support Services

Welcome to the City of Philadelphia Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure web page. Our goal is to provide you with up-to-date, credible information about the scope of the problem known as the Year 2000 computer problem, or Y2K for short.

We want you to know that City government in Philadelphia is well aware of the problem, and already has implemented a number of activities designed to prevent a crisis from taking place on January 1, 2000. This website will provide you with the latest information about these initiatives and their impact on the overall condition of the City's technology systems as we approach the millennium.

And since the City's technology systems depend on private sector services like electrical power and telecommunications, we also will keep you informed about our joint initiatives with private companies like PECO Energy and Bell Atlantic.

We welcome your participation and your comments. You can reach the City4s Year 2000 Readiness Initiative at Y2K.readiness@phila.gov.

All statements contained in the pages of this Website and linked City Websites, and all documents printed from this website, are intended as "Year 2000 Readiness Disclosures" as defined by the Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act, Public Law 105-271, 112 Stat. 2386, enacted October 19, 1998.

-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), October 07, 1999.

The question remains--- Is this good news or bad news? Other systems that did nothing probably would not be having problems now. Then it would be total disaster on 1-1 2000. At least this group is trying. Too little and too late but better than nothing? Or is the system selected flawed?

-- Ed (Ed@wondering.gom), October 07, 1999.

Ed,

Read the articles on the Nevada DMV. It is not good news, getting late.

-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@bellfry.com), October 07, 1999.

So, Ashton & Leska, if the big and medium and small telecoms aren't going to make it, let's see, what's that leave? And by not going to make it, do you mean, not be compliant and IV&V? Or are they toast! Or, shall we say, the line is dead?

What do you know, and when did you know it? ; )

-- greg (walshbros1@aol.com), October 08, 1999.

A local person we know who works for a big telecom told us they are realizing they're not gonna make it, and are trying to figure out what to do, and that most of the others are in the same boat.

They're all warning everybody NOT to expect a dial tone on 1/1/2000 because everybody will be picking up their phone "to see if it works." But actually they know it will fail and are hoping really hard that they'll be able to FOF fairly quickly. But they're starting to see that may take longer than they imagined ...

The programmers, engineers, folks who order/install stuff realize it more than the other company workers, or their supervisors. But since they haven't encountered exactly this type of problem and can't say FOR SURE because it hasn't happened before, they aren't willing to risk their careers on an "uncertainty." But privately they say, "It's gonna come crashing down, one snarled giant mess."

Not a nice thought! Need a phone line & electrical outlet to log on to the Internet, communicate -- don't wanna be plunged into darkness. Dangerous, too, to have civilization suddenly go dark and isolated. *shudder* If only the humanimals would behave themselves ...

-- Ashton & Leska (is it morning already? groan) (allaha@earthlink.net), October 08, 1999.