I work as a co-ordinator for the Year 2000 project at West Merchant Bank and have been tasked with, what now seems like a fruitless task having spent several hours unsuccessfully surfing the net, of locating information on the readiness of the utilities suppliers of some 20 countries. We have rep offices in South America, Latin America and the Far East and what I need is information. guidance or even web addresses that will help me complete my task. I apologise if I'm using the wrong forum for a query like this, but I would really appreciate some help.

Many thanks

Susannah Midgley

-- Anonymous, September 23, 1998

Answers

Oh, Susannah, I can imagine the frustration you must be going through. Those of us who are trying to get accurate information from our local utilities in the U.S. are hitting our heads against a lot of brick walls as it is. Trying to get info on utility readiness outside the U.S. is, in my opinion, an exercise in futility. But if you have to try, then you have to try. I would first call each of those rep offices you mention and have someone at the location tell you what company supplies their electricity, and what the phone number of that utility is. Then call the utility directly, identify your bank and it's concerns, and ask your questions. If language is a barrier, then have someone from these rep offices ask the questions and report back to you. Delegate.

You can also try contacting the American Embassies in these countries and ask for help in identifying regional electric suppliers.

You could also try calling your bank's disbursement officer (or whatever the section is called) and see if you can access the address/phone of those utilities to whom regular payments are made for electrical use. Whatever country your offices are in, there has to be a record somewhere of utility bills and payments.

I don't think you can rely on the internet for this job. It's going to take a lot of phone work instead. I hope the above ideas may give you at least a chance of getting the information you need. Personally, I'd say your bank would be better off installing deisel generators for all of their sites, if they're really concerned about loss of power. I don't think you'll get too much concrete information or guarantees, even when you do make contact with those foreign utilities - but at least the effort will have been made!

Good luck in your efforts and best wishes.

-- Anonymous, September 23, 1998