Don't know if anyone has seen this, if so, apologize for repost..
Courtesy (sort of) of Dow Jones.
Regards,
Dan
U.S. DOE Urges Power Industry To Tackle Y2K Computer Glitch
272 Words
2384 Characters
05/12/1998
10:36
Dow Jones Energy Service
(Copyright (c) 1998, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The U.S. Department of Energy is asking the electric
power industry to undertake an effort to ensure electric system reliability
despite the pending year 2000 computer glitch.
Energy Secretary Federico Pena and Deputy Energy Secretary Elizabeth Moler
last week wrote to the North American Electric Reliability Council, requesting
that it coordinate "a smooth transition" by the industry.
The letter asked the industry group overseeing grid reliability standards to
provide written assurances by July 1, 1999, that the electric system won't be
compromised by the computer problem.
It also called for a public forum to be convened no later than autumn to
assess the problem and define a plan to ensure it grid operations aren't
disrupted.
"The electric system is such a highly interdependent network, and so vital
to the security and well-being of the nation, that there is very little margin
for error or miscalculation," said the letter.
"The nation needs to know that a systematic process is in place to ensure
that the electric supply system will not experience serious disruption," it
continued.
The DOE missive acknowledged that efforts are underway by the Electric Power
Research Institute and other federal agencies to address the issue, but
requested NERC to assume a role as coordinator of the disparate initiatives.
Since the year 2000 computer problem is "truly a reliability issue," it is
only appropriate that the industry group that oversees reliability standards
organize the process, Pena and Moler said.
The U.S. House Science Committee has scheduled a hearing for Thursday to
assess the electric industry's vulnerability to the problem.
-By Bryan Lee; 202-862-6647
(END) Dow Jones Newswires 12-05-98
1436GMT |
