Okay for what it's worth. Talking to a friend of mine today who just put in a generator. Since he had never mentioned Y2k I asked why he was having it put in. He told me he was talking to a friend who worked for Alliant power in Northeast Wisconsin and asked him about the potential for any problems with "that computer thing". The power worker paused then told him, " well about 80% of the guys have installed one themselves, including almost all the management". That was all my friend needed to hear. Went out bought the thing that day had it installed within a week. So at least here in Wisconsin some of the smaller power suppliers don't sound too confident. It gets mighty chilly here, most people have gas furnaces that won't run without power, no ignition no blower. At least the power workers will keep their families nice and toasty warm.

-- kozak (kozak@formerusaf.guv), December 02, 1999

Answers

We get out power from Alliant, Secondhand through Interstate Power. Remember back a year or so ago when a spokeswoman for Alliant said that they couldn't guarantee power, and that subscribers should consider finding alternate power sources? She was really bawled out for saying it, but she stuck to her statement. That's when we started serious preparations. We bought one generator, then bought a bigger one, took the smaller one to our son in Arizona, and finally found an even smaller one for little jobs.

-- Liz Pavek (lizpavek@hotmail.com), December 02, 1999.

Just a thought, but gasoline pumps need electricity too....

-- TA (sea_spur@yahoo.com), December 03, 1999.

Yeah, they need electricity, thats why I've got about 100 gallons set aside (counting the 40 I keep in the Suburban). At 5 gal/8hr I can run 8 hrs a day for about 3 weeks. Also have a woodburning stove. I plan on keeping my wife and kids warm too.

-- kozak (kozak@formerusaf.guv), December 03, 1999.

Thanks for this post, Kozak. I'm in south central Wisconsin, and I've interviewed PR people from Alliant who constantly say they are "Y2K ready" but never "compliant."

I always get the sense they aren't shooting straight. Now I know why.

I talked with a spokesperson with the Governor's Y2K commission who became angry and testy when I pressed him about power generation readiness in Wisconsin and the possibility of problems.

Pam Wegner, of Alliant, is one of the co-chairs of the commission, so I'm not surprised by there happy face report they issued.

How people at Alliant are prepping _personally_ gives us a much better picture than the "Don't Worry Be Happy" report from the Y2K Commission.

Also, Wisconsin always has power transmission and supply problems in the summer when we need lots of power. I wonder if the industry will be able to manage if there are cascading defaults.

(Here's the link for the y2k commission infrastructure report)

http://y2k.state.wi.us/Public/PDF%20Files/consolidated.pdf

Most of it is three-day prep business ... or blame the hoarders for problems. Here's a small part:

"Individual businesses and organizations cannot assume that because we believe the state will survive Y2K without serious damage that they will, too. Potential Year 2000 problems can bring down any business if it doesn t take care of its own vulnerabilities or doesn t do the necessary consultations with crucial business partners.

Likewise, a family with special circumstances, such as taking care of an individual at home with extensive medical needs, should consult with their service providers to make sure they re accounting for all possible scenarios. The Commission views thorough contingency planning as an integral part of Y2K readiness, not as some tacit admission that we expect the worst.

To summarize, then, the Blue Ribbon Commission, based on the significant progress we ve seen in the public and private sectors during the past year, is encouraged about the state s overall readiness for January 1, 2000. Absent any highly unusual behavior by consumers  e.g., hoarding prescription medications, stockpiling fuel, drawing large sums of cash out of the bank, testing utilities on the rollover date  we anticipate a relatively smooth transition into the next millennium."

On another topic, I have a friend who works with DWD who says the state is very serious about *it's* Y2K contingency planning and they have set up an extensive command bunker for the rollover, so I know state officials are taking contingency planning seriously.

From now on, whenever I have to talk to these people I will ask "What preps are YOU making?"

-- Lara (nprbuff@hotmail.com), December 03, 1999.