'YEAR 2000 CONTINGENCY PLANNING FOR ELECTRIC UTILITIES
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'We also have a network of TAVA/R.W. Beck LLC Y2K Business Systems Alliance Partners whose expertise is available to supplement our own, where necessary. TAVA/R.W. Beck LLC has teamed with both Keane, Inc. and Data Dimensions, Inc., two of our leading Y2K Business Systems Alliance Partners, to provide additional expertise on other similar projects. The benefits of such a team are a very wide scope of subject matter experience, a combined database, and an expanded resource pool. '
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FEBRUARY 1-2, 1999
Orlando, FL MARCH 4-5, 1999
Las Vegas, NV APRIL 19-20, 1999
Chicago, IL
Sponsored by:
DMR Consulting Group
TAVA/R.W. Beck LLC
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Hear the most renowned electric industry Y2K experts address these vital issues:
Establishing a Framework for Your Y2K Contingency Planning: Dealing with NERC Reporting Guidelines
Successful Risk-Driven, Continuity Planning for Large and Small Utilities—Making Sure You Mitigate both the Operational and Legal Risks
Addressing Your Vendor and Supply Chain Issues in Contingency Planning
Regional and Inter-organizational Issues in Utility Contingency Planning—How you should handle them
Testing and Revising Your Contingency Plans
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Dear Colleagues:
The Year 2000 poses a unique challenge for the power industry: the reliance on your neighboring utilities, telecommunications vendors, and fuel suppliers to reliably generate, transmit and distribute power can put you at the mercy of entities whose own Y2K preparations are not under your control. That means effective contingency planning is a must for all utilities, regardless of how well your own remediation efforts are proceeding. And, if your remediation efforts look to fall short, contingency planning can help you develop workarounds in advance for potential failures in numerous non-critical systems that, taken as a whole, could disrupt service.
Let's face it. Preparations for potential Y2K problems must take into account elements that go well beyond those used in your existing disaster recovery plans. Even NERC's assumption of responsibility for monitoring the electric industry's Y2K efforts will not guarantee your continuity of operations unless you have developed, tested, and refined your contingency plans to remedy the exigencies you will otherwise encounter with the advent of the third millennium.
Infocast has assembled a power team of the leading experts on the Year 2000 problem in electric utilities to address “Year 2000 Contingency Planning for Electric Utilities.” Consultants and leaders of electric industry Y2K efforts will show you how utilities such as Alliant Energy, Public Service Electric & Gas and TU Electric are approaching their Y2K contingency planning. You will get specific guidance on how to approach some of the thorniest Y2K contingency planning problems, including power systems operation, external telecommunications, and supply chain issues. You will learn how to protect your organization against potential legal problems downstream. And finally, you will learn from PUC, ISO, power pool and other regional operating authorities how to address the regional and inter-organizational operating issues in your planning.
The time to take action to address potential Y2K contingencies is NOW! Attend Infocast's “Year 2000 Contingency Planning in Electric Utilities” conference and find out how to attack the problem. To register, simply call (818) 888-4444, fax in the completed registration form on the back of this brochure to (818) 888-4440, or visit the Infocast website at www.informationforecast.com.
I look forward to meeting you in the spring of 1999.
Sincerely yours,
Theresa Gaffney
Director, Y2K Industry Solutions,
TAVA/R.W. Beck LLC
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Benefits of Attending Year 2000 Contingency Planning for Electric Utilities:
As the millennium gets closer and closer, Y2K contingency planning becomes more and more important . . . and, Y2K project teams are working more and more hours! Consequently, we decided to offer a series of three conferences across the country to minimize your time away from the office. While the agenda will remain substantially the same in all locations, the rapid advancement of both the presenters' Y2K contingency plans, and your own project needs means that the depth of information presented will increase as the series moves forward. The specific objectives and benefits of attending each session are:
Orlando: Jumpstart your Y2K contingency planning efforts. Learn how the leading utilities are developing their contingency plans. Use their experiences as a basis for refining your own plans.
Las Vegas: Learn how to refine your Y2K contingency plans. Get the latest information on developing guidelines for telecommunications contingency planning for electric utilities, as well as progress reports from leading utilities' efforts.
Chicago: Contingency plans are being finalized by the leading utilities. How do yours compare? Find out the results of regional tests of contingency plans, and the implications for your developments.
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Featuring Experts from:
Alliant Energy Cliffside Software, Inc.
ComEd Data Dimensions, Inc.
DMR Consulting Duke Engineering Services
ISO-New England New York Power Pool
Public Utility Commission, Ohio Reilly Associates
TAVA/R.W. Beck LLC Thelen, Reid & Priest L.L.P.
T/K Industries, Inc. TU Electric
Public Service Electric & Gas Company
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Day One
Chairperson's Welcome AND Opening Remarks
Theresa Gaffney, Director of Contingency Planning Services, TAVA/R.W. BECK, LLC
Session 1
Establishing a Framework for Your Year 2000 Contingency Planning
Dealing with the NERC Guidelines for Contingency Planning
The origins of the guidelines: guidance from NEI/NUSMG, EPRI
The level of detail question: do you need to plan deeper than NERC requires for submission?
The second level of detail question: can NERC effectively review what you submit, and if not, how do you test your own contingency plans?
Theresa Gaffney, Director of Contingency Planning Services, TAVA / R.W. BECK, LLC (Las Vegas & Chicago)
Risk-Driven Continuity Planning for Electrical Utilities
Conducting internal risk-management evaluations: determining the scope of risks from applications, internal vendor interfaces, external interfaces, embedded systems, interfaces with other utility companies
Key areas for risk-management in electric utilities: establishing a risk control structure for your utility
Prioritizing areas of risk
Systematically identifying risk levels
Identifying risk reduction process enablers
Contingency plans for reducing Year 2000 risk
Tony Bellino, Vice President, DMR Consulting
Special Extended Networking and Refreshment Break
Session 2
Business Continuity Planning—Doing It Right
Contingency Planning for the New Millennium: A Checklist for Business Continuity
Who needs to be involved in the planning?
Can you leverage your existing disaster recovery and business resumption plans?
How much should your organization spend on contingency planning for Y2K?
How do you design SWAT teams that are capable of handling the unexpected?
Who should make up a Year 2000 SWAT team?
How do you educate your media relations department regarding potential millennium disaster?
How we are approaching the problem at PSE&G
Robert Green, Manager, Enterprise Year 2000 Project, PUBLIC SERVICE ELECTRIC & GAS COMPANY (Orlando & Las Vegas)
Chicago speaker to be announced
Sponsorship Opportunity Available! Call Joel Lander at (818) 902-5405 ext. 34
INVENTORY ASSESSMENT AND CONTINGENCY PLANNING AT THE LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER
The LADWP is one of the largest municipal utilities in the country. Its reorganization in the face of well-publicized financial difficulties and the opening of California to retail competition combined to delay the start of LADWP's Y2K remediation efforts. Hear how the LADWP got on a fast track to handle its Y2K problems, the role of contingency planning in the solutions being developed, and how the lessons learned on this fast-track project might be applied to other time-critical situations.
Dealing with Y2K operational issues in the water systems run by the LADWP
Contingency planning for generation systems operations
Contingency planning for transmission systems operations
Contingency planning for distribution systems operations
Contingency planning for utility telecommunications systems
Thomas Forde, Project Director, LADWP Y2K Project Team, TAVA/R.W. Beck LLC
Legal Issues and Risk-Mitigation Planning for the Year 2000
Impact of “Good Samaritan” Act on your Y2K remediation and contingency planning
The unique economic role of utilities—and the implications of that crucial position on the potential for liability suits
Identifying the “hidden risks” in your Y2K program
Contract negotiation: limiting your exposure to potential Year 2000 liability
Public and regulatory disclosure issues—what types of disclosures may protect you from legal liability?
External Risk-Avoidance Strategies—and what you should be doing in constructing your contingency plans to protect yourself down the road
Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures: special legal considerations in the face of potential Year 2000 problems
Managing litigation risk-management stemming from the Year 2000 problem
Dean Morehous(Chicago), & Wynne S. Carvill (Las Vegas), Partners, THELEN, REID & PRIEST L.L.P.
Session 3
Addressing Vendor and Supply Chain Issues in Contingency Planning
Special Focus (2-hour session):
Integrating Contingency Plans with Overall Supply Chain Risk Management
The electric utility is critically dependent on numerous vendors and suppliers—from fuel suppliers and telcos, without whom it would be difficult to operate generation and transmission facilities post-2000, to embedded chip and control system vendors, without whose cooperation it may be difficult to complete your remediation efforts pre-2000. This workshop will examine how to implement a business management process which encompasses vendor management, supply chain management, and embedded systems. You will learn:
How to identify your potential supply chain risks
Developing risk scenarios for the year 2000
Prioritizing risks—why the business relationship function is critical to your success
Impact of “Good Samaritan” Act on relations with your supply chain
How the business management process fits into the overall Year 2000 solution
Developing contingency plans to address supply chain risks
Testing your contingency plans
When and how to involve executive management, legal counsel, risk management, contract administration and others
David Hurst, Director of Non-IT Issues, Data Dimensions, Inc. (Las Vegas & Chicago)
Special Extended Networking and Refreshment Break
Addressing Concerns with Telecom Systems: What Are Your Options?
Examining the potential scenarios for telecom failures in electric utility systems
Dealing with external effects
A good sampling of what TelCos are doing in regards to remediating and contingency planning for Y2K problems
Guidance on how to do internal and external contingency planning from the UTC
Experiences of TU Electric and Alliant Energy in developing telecom contingency plans
Ed Lee, Senior Engineering Analyst, Year 2000 Coordinator for Transport, TU Electric (Orlando)
James T. Reilly, Principal, Reilly Associates (Las Vegas & Chicago)
Jim Teach, Lead Telecommunications Engineer, Alliant Energy (Chicago)
An Opportunity to Socialize with Speakers and Fellow Attendees
Sponsorship Opportunity! Call Joel Lander at (818)902-5405 ext. 34
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Day Two
Chairperson's Recap of Day One
Theresa Gaffney, Director of Contingency Planning Services, TAVA/R.W. BECK, LLC
Panel Discussion:
Successfully Dealing with Regional and Inter-organizational Issues in Utility Contingency Planning to Assure Reliability
This panel will examine, from a wide variety of perspectives, the regional and inter-organizational issues that must be considered when developing contingency plans for electric utilities.
NERC, Regional Reliability Council, ISO and power pool roles in contingency planning
Operational issues at the ISO level
Tools available for developing and testing regional contingency plans
Studies of various contingency planning methods
The view from the regulator's side of the boat
Avoiding mindset traps: reactive government agencies, planning as a product, official smiley faces
How to get state government on your Y2K team
PUCs as facilitators of information exchange
Planning for external effects in your contingency plans
Pros and cons of islanding as a method to increase grid stability
Coordinating contigency plans with key suppliers and customers
Orlando Panelists:
Douglas James, Manager, Transmission Reliability, ISO-New England
Richard C. Cahaan, Chief Economist, Public UtilIty Commission, Ohio
Ed Pirkowski, Consultant (formerly Year 2000 Program Manager, Compliance, Niagara Mohawk Power Corp.)
Las Vegas Panelists:
Richard C. Cahaan, Chief Economist, Public UtilIty Commission, Ohio
James T. Reilly, Principal, Reilly Associates
Kim Pitchell, Senior Exchange Officer-Y2K Operations, CENTRAL MARKET OPERATIONS-ONTARIO HYDRO
Chicago Panelists:
Douglas James, Manager, Transmission Reliability, ISO-New England
Richard C. Cahaan, Chief Economist, Public Utility Commission, Ohio
David S. Petersen, T&D Y2K Project Manager, Y2K Contingency Planning Coordinator, ComEd
Session 4
Testing Your Contingency Plans
Special Focus (2-hour session):
Making Your Contingency Plans Real and Debugged: Preparing and Training Your Year 2000 Emergency Response Team
This special focus will involve the audience in building a Y2K contingency plan exercise. Using an automated exercise development tool, you will learn pitfalls to avoid and procedures to follow to improve and validate Y2K contingency plans. The major focus will include these critical issues in developing contingency plan tests:
Identifying the elements of good planning processes, plan quality, plan creation, and plan training
Instilling quality into the process of contingency planning
Reducing the costs of plan creation, training and testing
Integrating your supply chain partners in the testing process
Improving your confidence in all your contingency plans
Avoiding liabilities through thorough plan test documentation
Michael W. Frishberg, President, Cliffside Software, Inc.
Optional Post-Conference Workshops: Developing Your Contingency Plans (1:30-4:30 P.M.)
Post Conference Workshop #1
GENERATION OPERATIONAL PLANNING FOR Y2K
This in-depth workshop will guide you through the application of NERC contingency planning guidelines to generation operations. The workshop will address both internal generation operational issues, as well as the handling of potential external problems. Among the things you will learn are:
Contingency planning for the operation of generation facilities
Developing risk-management strategies for generation: identifying the staff resources, additional equipment and facilities, and special operating procedures that may be needed
Preparing for the event: training and drills, procurement of backup systems
Power system operation planning: performing system studies to determine reserve requirements, commitment of generation facilities, special system operating limitations
Forming a Y2K System Operating Plan
Dealing with external issues in generation facilities
Fuel supply issues: coal reserves, gas pipeline operating issues
Uncharacteristic load patterns
Loss of load: incorporating your major customers in your contingency planning
Edward O'Brien, Program Manager, Y2K Programs & Projects, and Theresa Gaffney,
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Post Conference Workshop #2
DEVELOPING CONTINGENCY PLANS TO DEAL WITH EXTERNAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS PROBLEMS
Developing your scenarios for telecommunications-related Y2K problems
Examining the potential scenarios for telecommunications failures in electric utility systems
Marrying failure scenarios with disaster planning
The differences between Y2K and other failure scenarios
Identifying concrete lists of items that may be at risk—and potential workarounds
PBX system issues
T-1 (Hi-Cap), 4-Wire data, and dedicated radio (RT) circuits
Internal Microwave links for SCANA systems
Planning to deal with external effects from independent TelCos
A good sampling of what TelCos are doing in regards to remediating and contingency planning for Y2K problems
Guidance on how to do internal and external contingency planning for utility telecommunications systems from the UTC
James T. Reilly, Principal, REILLY ASSOCIATES; Chair, External Contingency Planning Working Group, UTILITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COUNCIL (UTC)
About Our Sponsors:
DMR Consulting Group, the Consulting and Professional Services division of Amdahl, is recognized as a leader in providing unique, cost effective and bottom line oriented solutions to the worldwide Energy industry by offering strategic consulting, systems integration services and business solutions to our energy clients who are challenged by competition and deregulation. Our value-added core competencies include: Enterprise Architecture (including requirements definition, vendor evaluation, application delivery, implementation and application maintenance); Year 2000 services (assessments, code conversion, embedded controller, risk evaluation). Merger and acquisitions (data conversion, IT consolidation) Convergent Billing (frameworks to ensure viability in an open access environment) Retail Marketing (including profitability analysis and data warehousing); Electronic Commerce (including Internet, intranet and extranet)
TAVA/R.W. Beck LLC has been created to assure long-term success for its clients by providing an approach and solution to operations-related Y2K issues. We consider the overall Y2K issue as a critical concern for all of us to survive . . . together. TAVA/R.W. Beck LLC provides service based upon a structured quality system, extensive engineering resources, and electric utility control and information systems experience. We have the resources and the tools to address every facet of the Y2K challenge. We also have a network of TAVA/R.W. Beck LLC Y2K Business Systems Alliance Partners whose expertise is available to supplement our own, where necessary. TAVA/R.W. Beck LLC has teamed with both Keane, Inc. and Data Dimensions, Inc., two of our leading Y2K Business Systems Alliance Partners, to provide additional expertise on other similar projects. The benefits of such a team are a very wide scope of subject matter experience, a combined database, and an expanded resource pool.
BEFORE YOU SET YOUR CONTINGENCY PLAN, MAKE SURE YOUR Y2K REPAIRS WORK! ATTEND THIS SEMINAR FOCUSED ON TESTING!
Testing Year 2000-Vulnerable Systems in Electric Utilities
December 10-11, 1998 – Orlando, FL
January 25-26, 1999 – Dallas, TX
February 11-12, 1999 – Las Vegas, NV
Presented by: Byron Van Epps, President, NetSolve, Inc.
This seminar will center on the lessons learned and pitfalls to avoid in testing Year 2000-specific requirements. The discussion will focus on the similarities and differences in testing IT software systems and vulnerable systems (embedded systems). We will review methods of testing the vast array of application software in both mainframe and open architecture client-server environments, as well as telecommunications and vulnerable system areas. It will address efforts to perform enterprise-wide regression testing to check if your ‘corrected' code has in fact introduced new errors in other systems, as well as the testing of supporting systems such as telecommunications. Finally, it will address what to do in situations where testing hasn't begun or is just now being started, including the pros and cons of various catch-up methods.
Program Outline
Strategies for Designing a Successful Testing Program at Your Utility
Testing Essentials: Guidelines for Success in the Year 2000
Estimating time for testing IS, telecommunications and embedded systems
Pre- and post-remediation testing needs
Where your testing project must be now, and what to do if it isn't there
Planning Your Testing Activities
Forming an enterprise Year 2000 test and evaluation master plan
Planning for the nuts and bolts issues of running a test
Testing standards and methodology for Y2K
Acceptance testing: establishing your success criteria
Documenting Y2K testing efforts– capturing essential data
Successful Project Management for Your Testing Program
How to Design and Perform Y2K Tests at the Unit/Component Level
Hardware availability issues
Involving users in testing process
Integration testing: interfaces between sets of modules for century compliance issues and mismatches
Planning and Performing Enterprise-wide and Inter-organizational Tests of Y2K Changes
System level testing issues
Regression testing guidelines
End-to-end testing: interaction of your systems with your suppliers, customers, and vendors
Ensuring the Creation of Comprehensive Test Data in Your Testing Program
Ensuring You Test All Critical Scenarios
Data quality issues
Test data quantity and diversity: how much test data is enough?
How to avoid testing pitfalls
Generating test data with manual vs. automated systems
Ensuring You Test All Critical Dates
What dates should be covered besides 1-1-00?
Windowing data: testing both within and outside the window of operation
How to easily adjust test data for tests of multiple critical dates
Lessons Learned in Y2K Testing at Utilities
Avoiding Pitfalls in Y2K Testing
Testing third party software
Testing backup and restoration procedures for compliance
Integrating other changes
Selecting the Right Testing Tools for Application to Your Year 2000 Problems: Debuggers, date simulators, data aging tools, capture and playback tools, coverage analysis tools, performance analysis tools
CASE STUDY REPORT:Testing National Power's Systems for Y2K Problems
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