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Technology Stocks : Discuss Year 2000 Issues -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Mansfield who wrote (2493)	8/29/1998 2:19:00 PM
From: John Mansfield	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9818

'In year 2000, do you know if you'll have power? By Matthew Jones LONDON (Reuters) - It is the morning of Jan. 1, 2000, the dawn of a bright new, but strangely quiet era. Parents may lie in bed happy with the knowledge that their kids have reprogrammed the video recorder and washing machine -- there's only one problem - no power. If the world's energy companies have failed to squash the millennium bug that threatens chaos when the clock ticks to 2000 then everyone is going to know about it. Producing energy for the world is a complex business. The last time the millennium came around it was a simple mattter of putting more wood on the fire and getting a candle out of the cupboard. But come 01/01/2000 if the energy industry has failed the millennium challenge millions of people may as well stay in bed, because almost nothing will work. Oil wells will stop pumping, gas pipeline will shut down, power stations will grind to a halt and petrol stations will be empty. These inconviences will be nothing if systems governing nuclear power plants fail. Energy companies are having to radically overhaul all parts of their businesses to ensure everything will continue to function in the complex inter-locking chain that allows motorists to fill up and householders to switch on. Computer systems involved in the exploration, drilling, mining, refining, distribution, retailing, accounting, communication fields all have to be made millennium compliant. Start early and get the top people on board is the message those in charge of millennium programmes at energy companies are trying to get across. ''Esso UK started to study the problem back in 1994. We looked around at the rest of industry and we were pretty lonely,'' said Charles Loane, an executive at Esso UK at a Y2K (jargon for Year 2000) conference in London. Once the problem and potential solution were indentified it was critical to get senior management backing and funding. Loane said Esso UK secured this in 1995 and the company's Year 2000 programme was well in place by 1996. By the end of 1998 most of the compliance work should be complete. British nuclear power plants have also been working on the problem for some time and a nuclear safety watchdog has assured the public there is no cause for concern. But not everyone is up to speed. Russia doubts it can fix the millennium bug by 2000, Sweden may temporarily shut down its nuclear plants on the eve of the New Year and Jamaica has admitted it will not overcome all Y2K problems until 2004, but hopes to have utilities ready by next year. Peter Newport, principal consultant Business Continuity at AEA Technology said there was often a problem in getting management to make a committement to invest time and resources in continuity planning. Most companies around the world and a lot of individuals are aware that the millennium could cause problems with computers. Large corporations, such as those that operate in the energy field, generally have the drive and skills to address the problem, but over-confidence can creep in. ''An attitude of 'it won't happen to us' is a dangerous one,'' said Newport, because it most certainly will. Waiting for a quick fix to appear in the shops a few days before 2000 is just not going to happen. Fixing one's own computers is just the start. Suppliers and customers also have to be aware of the sort of problems they face. Thre is no point spending millions of pounds on becoming millennium compliant if the people you do business with have not done the same, experts say. Esso UK's early start attracted the attention of parent Exxon Corp (NYSE:XON - news) which adopted the British dveloped process throughout its international affliates, except those in the United States. Loane's advice is to tell the bad news early and not to underestimate the cost. Amoco (NYSE:AN - news) is another energy group that has not let the grass grow. Richard Lillie, Year 2000 Project Manager at Amoco UK said it was important not to guess what the problem might be and to share best practices. ''Its not rocket science, but we've never done this before,'' he said. Concentrating on the upstream gas business, Amoco has had to contend with a plethora of potential difficulties. A prime concern is the state of preparedness and openness of customers. If customers' systems are not ready to recieve gas then operators like Amoco can't produce, said Lillie ... dailynews.yahoo.com