The following article is supposed to be good news about Y2K, but it only convinces me more that the extra water and food I've set aside for early next year was the prudent thing for me to do:

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19991121/tc/yk_utilities_5.html

[snip]

Aside from a terrorist attack on an electric grid or a massive case of overconfidence, nothing can go wrong, industry experts say, while keeping their fingers crossed just in case.

[snip]

Possible cyber or physical attacks by extremist groups are a concern and utilities will increase security amid fears some groups may strike on Jan. 1 for religious or other reasons.

``The electric utility industry is Y2K ready. It is not an engineering problem any more, it is a people problem,'' said John Castagna, a spokesman for the Edison Electric Institute, which represents U.S. investor-owned utilities.

[snip]

-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), November 22, 1999

Answers

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19991121/tc/yk_utilities_5.html

[Fair Use: For Educational/Research Purposes Only]

Sunday November 21 5:36 AM ET

U.S. Utilities Believe Y2K Victory Near

By Nigel Hunt

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Never mind that a new TV movie prophecies mayhem and near nuclear meltdowns, or that a cheeky Toyota commercial has the lights going out in New York City, or that all kinds of weird things happen every time the residents of planet Earth celebrate a new millennium.

U.S. electric utilities say they have Y2K on the ropes and wish people would stop worrying.

Aside from a terrorist attack on an electric grid or a massive case of overconfidence, nothing can go wrong, industry experts say, while keeping their fingers crossed just in case.

``Let's say we're the Yankees and it's the top of the 9th and it's 12 to 1, but we can't yell victory yet (because the game is not over),'' said Gerry Cauley, Y2K program coordinator for the North American Electric Reliability Council.

Cauley, referring to the New York team's four-game World Series sweep of the Atlanta Braves that made winning look easy, commented at a recent council workshop here on final preparations for the Y2K transition. Participants said the level of concern was clearly lower than a year ago.

``Most of us feel it will be a nonevent but we need to be prepared,'' said Bonnie Woodson, who is coordinating the Year 2000, or Y2K, efforts of Anaheim Public Utilities, whose customers include entertainment theme park Disneyland.

Governments and industries have allocated billions of dollars to try to make sure computer systems do not crash if systems misread the date 2000. Many systems are programmed to read only the last two digits of the year and could mistake 2000 for 1900, possibly causing widespread malfunctions.

But some experts believe that while the industry has made tremendous progress in dealing with the issue over the last 12 months, there are dangerous signs of overconfidence.

Beware Of Overconfidence

``I'm starting to feel that there is a sense of complacency on the electric industry's part that they have this thing licked and that it is going to be a total nonevent. I think that is a very shortsighted view,'' said Rick Cowles, president of CSAmerica, a New Jersey-based technology consulting firm for the power industry.

Cowles said he did not expect a ``big bang'' on Jan. 1, 2000, but rather a period of perhaps two to four weeks when errors accumulate in data processing and control systems. ``If you don't start dealing with those errors during the period when they are accumulating, you are going to see some major crashes, but that is not unique to the electric utility industry.''

He added that he expected some nuisance failures and a decline in the reliability of utility delivery systems next year. ``I don't think we are going to see anything that is catastrophic, that meets the end-of- the-world predictions of some of the stronger Y2K pundits,'' Cowles said.

Possible cyber or physical attacks by extremist groups are a concern and utilities will increase security amid fears some groups may strike on Jan. 1 for religious or other reasons.

``The electric utility industry is Y2K ready. It is not an engineering problem any more, it is a people problem,'' said John Castagna, a spokesman for the Edison Electric Institute, which represents U.S. investor-owned utilities.

Threats To Computer And Physical Security

A security adviser at a major Midwestern utility warned that possible threats to the grid could come from groups such as White Supremacists seeking to launch a race war or others seeking to profit financially from grid problems.

``You have a whole gamut of people who pose a threat to the grid for a variety of reasons, from financial to political,'' said the security expert, who asked not to be identified. He said there were recent attempts to break into his company's computer systems, including a four-minute attack from a Korean University in which virtually all the company's ports were scanned as hackers searched for a back door into the system.

``We have attempts from all over the world every day,'' he said, adding that some utilities plan to sever links on the Internet for a few hours on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day while many others are likely to remain connected but watchful.

``There is some thought that with the increased vigilance someone who wants to do mischief may just wait,'' he said.

Some utilities are concerned that an NBC movie due to air Nov. 21 called ``Y2K'' could inspire trouble because it depicts nuclear power plants problems and widespread chaos. ``I expect I will get a lot of calls the following day,'' one Y2K coordinator for an Eastern utility said.

The Edison institute recently asked NBC affiliates around the country to consider alternative programming. ``We are concerned that the NBC film, while clearly intended as entertainment and not news, may unnecessarily cause Americans to have unjustified fears about U.S. preparedness for the conversion to the year 2000,'' an EEI letter said.

EEI has also complained to Toyota about its commercial but has so far received no response.

Others believe few will take the movie seriously.

``From some of the previews ... it is so crazy, so ridiculous. Anyone who has got a couple of brain cells to rub together is going to be able to see that it is obviously a stretch of the imagination,'' Cauley of NERC said.

There is a possibility some problems may be caused if there is extremely low demand for electricity, which could lead to some power lines being shut down. ``It is a concern and one of the most real in terms of basis in fact,'' Cauley said.

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-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), November 22, 1999.

Feds warn solar storms may add to Y2K woes

-- Dewey Decimal (lisa@book.reshelver), November 22, 1999.

It's 'near' don't mean it's 'here'!

Faith is such a lovely and precious thing, ain't it?

Kook

-- Y2Kook (Y2Kook@usa.net), November 22, 1999.

In addition to water and supplies... it's time to polish up your spirits, too.

Remember Y2K does not happen in a vacuum.

That said...

...Aside from a terrorist attack on an electric grid or a massive case of overconfidence, nothing can go wrong...

Isnt REASON enough... to prepare the populace... for MORE than a three day storm... Koskinen, et. al?

*Sheesh*

Diane

Time to re-read...

OT?: William S. Cohen, Secretary of Defense: Preparing For A Grave New World (USIA)
http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id= 0018ov

Or...

Two important releases from Clark Staten of ERRI. A new warning against anti-US/UN terrorism. (stay alert in Seattle.), interview w/ ex sov biowar scientist.

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id= 001mBe

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), November 22, 1999.

Ok,baseball fans....do you know any team that ever won when they were down 12 to 1 in the last inning? Please say yes!!

-- citizen (lost@sea.com), November 22, 1999.

* Y2K is Real
* Y2K is a subset of the Millenium Problem


-- Dan G (earth_changes@hotmail.com), November 22, 1999.

My God, Diane. I must not have started lurking until August. That old thread is very chilling. It is clear that at some point the filters in place that have kept this country relatively safe will slip and terrorism be it cyber, biological or nuclear is gonna get in.

Y2K is just one reason to change the way we manage our lives.

thank you.

-- (wellsnl@hotmail.com), November 22, 1999.

I'll say it's a people problem. For instance, the greedy heads of PG&E:

From 1987 to 1994 PG&E diverted $77.6 million from its ratepayer- funded tree-trimming budgets to fund other programs and boost profits. Some of that money went to managers as bonuses for "cost cutting." And Calif. got some very nice wild fires out of it. PUC staff research also discovered that during the period 1987-1994, PG&E "under-spent authorized budgets for maintenance of its distribution system by $495 million."

Anyone remember the Dec. 10 San Francisco blackout?

PG&E recently faced more than 500,000 counts of criminal negligence, but backed down and paid a relatively modest fine. PG&E tells its California customers it is doing all it can to fix their problems but the criminal background of the company, and the weasle words from the CEO's mouth, makes a person wonder.

If you are a PG&E customer, or know someone who is, read my essay or send it to your contact, Connecting With PG&E Forewarned, forearmed.

-- johno (jobriy2k@yahoo.com), November 22, 1999.

johno--I admit, I am a slave ( I mean rate payer) to PG&E. Our county in its infinite wisdom passed an ordinance that basically does not allow fire-places to be built in new homes (VOC/Pollution). It has been one of my worries, at least I won't freeze to death in my climate zone if the SHTF (just get really cold). I mean really, how could the all mighty PG&E fail in its "duty" (LOL) to provide basic services to its customers?

-- gotuggs!! (karlacalif@aol.com), November 22, 1999.