I was wondering if anyone has any information about Y2K progress at Commonwealth Edison in the Chicago area.

I called them and recieved a form letter saying they were on schedule to have all systems Y2k ready by "3rd quarter '99."

Does this sound feasible?

Thanks for any info.

Roy

-- Anonymous, October 22, 1998

Answers

I work for ComEd Chicago - and I have asked the question -- don't believe the panned answer!

-- Anonymous, October 23, 1998

TheSeptember 3 testimony of Alan Ho, Unicom's Y2k Manager, to the House Task Force on the Year 2000 is available on the Unicom web site at http://208.137.11.172/comed/business/display.asp?id=107. Unicom also made a presentation to its Chicago-area business customers on September 9, 1998. This included sessions on the Transmission and Distribution Y2K project as well as the general Y2K presentation. Percent complete figures as of 9/1/1998 included in these materials indicate that, with respect to software applications, inventory is 94% complete, analysis 51%, renovation 42%, testing 27% and deployment 22%. With respect to embedded systems, inventory is 70 complete, analysis 19%, renovation 5%, testing 5% and deployment 5%.

-- Anonymous, October 28, 1998

The form letter they sent you is "a little" outdated:

You can find the info that UNICOM (parent company of ComEd) has filed with the Securities and Exchange commission by going to:

http://www.progsys.com/yardeni/Y2KFind.asp

and where it says: Company

type UNICOM

you will get their latest quarterly report with only the Y2K info. there will be a couple of links below it to see previous reports.

Note the difference between a report filed 3/31/98 and the most current one:

3/31/98 (snip)===================== The schedule for the implementation of new Year 2000-compliant software and upgraded versions of existing software, and the remediation of software not being replaced or upgraded, contemplates that such efforts will be completed by the end of 1998, except in the nuclear generation business unit, where completion is scheduled for the third quarter of 1999. The total cost of remediating or upgrading software, that is not being replaced or upgraded in accordance with business plans, is currently estimated to be approximately $20 million. ============================

now the current report, note that they said previously that they would be DONE with remediation by the END of 1998, now they say they will be 50% DONE by the end of 1998, now they claim to be Year 2000 ready by the END of 1999! oops!

current Quarterly report:

(snip)======================= Overall, Unicom estimates that implementation of Year 2000 compliant software and systems is approximately 30% complete as of July 31, 1998 and that such efforts will be over 50% complete by the end of 1998. The total cost of remediating or upgrading software that is not being replaced, in accordance with business plans, is estimated to be $20 million, and the total cost of upgrading or remediating embedded technology systems is estimated to be approximately $20-$40 million. Such costs are expensed as incurred. An independent consultant has been engaged to assist Unicom in the assessment of the process being used to address the Year 2000 issue. All Unicom systems and software are expected to be Year 2000 ready by the end of 1999.

In addition to the steps described above, Unicom is working with various industry groups including NERC, the EPRI and EEI to coordinate electric utility industry Year 2000 efforts with the Clinton Administration's Year 2000 Conversion Council, the DOE and Congress. The DOE has requested from NERC a status report and coordination plan by September 1998, and a full status report by July 1999, as to the measures that are being taken to prepare electric power supply and delivery systems for transition into the Year 2000. ============================

In six months, they just got a year behind. Does this mean their next report will claim compliance by 2nd quarter of 2000?

-- Anonymous, November 06, 1998

fyi, the next ComEd update for BUSINESS customers is scheduled for 8 to 10 a.m. on Wednesday, November 11. If you are a ComEd BUSINESS customer, you can get an invite from your ComEd sales rep. Residential customers apparently have to rely on Y2K information provided via ComEd's usual communications programs (e.g., bill inserts, internet site, and speakers bureau). In addition to the general Y2K update, the November 11 meeting will feature a presentation on the Y2K status of the Nuclear generating plants.

-- Anonymous, November 08, 1998

sorry for the length of this, but my jaw just dropped to the floor when I read it in the paper today:

This is from the Saturday Nov 14 1998 issue of the Chicago Tribune. I don't know how long this URL is good for, they tend to scroll off and then when you search for an article, you get the first paragraph and have to pay $1.95 or something to get the rest of it.

http://chicagotribune.com/splash/article/0,1051,SAV-9811140099,00.html

COMED CLIENTS BLOW A FUSE OVER BILL SNAFUS

By Cornelia Grumman Tribune Staff Writer November 14, 1998

Problems with a new multimillion-dollar billing system have left thousands of Commonwealth Edison's commercial and industrial customers confused, angry and worried they might face power cutoffs.

Regular monthly electricity bills never arrive, and in other cases, months go by with no bill, then customers suddenly get socked with a whopper. Late fees are slapped on bills that were never paid because they never arrived. Worse, many businesses and building managers are receiving notices that their power is about to be shut off because of non-payment.

"Edison's billing system is a mess," said Martin Cohen, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board watchdog group. "There are all sorts of bugs in the software, and customers are very frustrated by their inability to get accurate information or real bills with real numbers they can understand."

CUB's phone lines have been flooded in recent weeks by complaints from both commercial and residential customers, Cohen said. The Illinois Commerce Commission, which oversees the state's utilities, also has received a rash of billing complaints, according to spokeswoman Beth Bosch.

ComEd acknowledges the problems and even has returned to its old system--one that had been in place for 35 years--for 7,000 of its larger customers.

The troubles have put a strain on the company's cash flow by as much as $200 million a month, or three times normal levels for delayed billing, said William Downey, vice president of customer operations.

"There's a period of time, they call it the `storm period,' where you've got people adjusting to a new system," he said. "The storm period normally is a four- to six-month period, and we seem to be tracking along there, though I would say we've had more problems than we expected on the business side."

But Downey added that ComEd, which has 3.4 million customers in northern Illinois, expects the problems to subside by the end of the year. In the meantime, no commercial customer will have its power shut off or be assessed late fees, in spite of what its bills might indicate.

That doesn't reassure Dave Jandak, assistant comptroller for Wolin- Levin Inc., which manages more than 200 condominiums and apartment buildings in the Chicago area.

In recent weeks, Jandak said, he has received shutoff notices for nearly 10 buildings for bill non-payment, forcing him to spend hours on hold with ComEd customer-service representatives to take care of crises.

"You call them, they put you on hold for an hour, and then you beg them to remove the late fees," Jandak said. "I've done it for a couple of the big (properties) so far. Now I'm going to have to do it for another 100 or 200 buildings."

Since June, Jandak either has not received monthly electricity bills from ComEd on many of Wolin-Levin's properties or he has been hit with cumulative bills months later, prompting calls from his company's president, treasurer and board members.

"I have a bill in front of me for $51,000, even though we usually pay $10,000 a month for power in this one building," he said this week. "But they didn't send us a bill for four months, and now there's a $757.70 late fee."

Many customers have been given simple estimated bills that offer no detail on how the charge was determined. Others, such as Michele Winner, co-owner of the Sand Tropez tanning salon in Chicago's Lakeview community, are given estimated bills that are higher than expected.

"Our peak season is in the spring, when our electricity bills are about $750 or $800," she said. "There is no way in life that we're doing that kind of business here in August, and yet all my bills since June have been estimated at $700. I understand they'll adjust it in the long run, but for a small company it puts a real strain on the business."

In an agreement with the commerce commission, ComEd stopped taking action against non-paying residential customers because of uncertainty over whether the computer system caused the discrepancy.

"If there was a question, we'd err on the side of the customer," ComEd's Downey said.

Most of the residential problems have been resolved, the utility said, and ComEd has resumed taking action for non-payment.

But Downey acknowledged that problems continue with ComEd's 300,000 commercial and industrial customers.

Besides changing over to the new billing system for all customers in July, ComEd also installed a sophisticated new program that electronically feeds meter readings into the billing system.

ComEd's workers record meter readings in hand-held devices. The devices then are placed in an electronic cradle in field offices, where the data are transmitted by telephone lines to the main computer system.

Complications arise because the data have to be fed into the computer in a particular electronic sequence to be integrated properly into the billing system, according to Downey.

"It's in the interface, the talking back and forth, between the new billing system and a new interface system that brings these meter readings in electronically," Downey said. "That's where we're having difficulty, in talking between those two systems."

Regardless, ComEd likes the new system. It says the system is compliant with year 2000 technology; automatically factors in new, more complicated tax structures; programs the 15 percent residential rate reduction that went into effect in August; and calculates future bill adjustments included in last year's utility deregulation legislation.

Andersen Consulting, which installed and activated the system in July, issued a statement that noted how call-center service and residential-billing operations have improved with the new system.

"The billing requirements for large industrial customers are much more complex, and Andersen Consulting has been working vigorously with ComEd to address the specific needs of these customers," the statement said.

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http://chicagotribune.com/splash/article/0,1051,SAV-9811140099,00.html

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-- Anonymous, November 14, 1998

Jim (Janecek), thanks for posting the Tribune article. I was particularly struck by the line: "That's where we're having difficulty, in talking between those two systems." It would appear from this statement that the company implemented their new Y2K compliant billing system without testing for integration and compatibility with the new meter reading system. Many of the SEC filings for various companies indicate a severe lack of testing time budgeted in Y2K remediation plans. I would not be surprised to see a whole lot of problems similar to those of ComEd's arise in various sectors in the next year, and post 2000.

Another interesting statement is, " The devices then are placed in an electronic cradle in field offices, where the data are transmitted by telephone lines to the main computer system." Pray tell what happens if the local telecommunications lines have Y2K disruptions? It's just one more good example of the dependence and inter-relationships between industries and how non-compliance in one area will create ripple effect problems elsewhere.

-- Anonymous, November 14, 1998