In our Jan. 99 Rual Co-op paper they say, "In a way Missouri's electric co-ops are in an enviable position when it comes to Y2K readiness. We control our own destiny in that we own our power plants and wires that deliver that power to your door. This has streamlined the process of perparing for compliance." They go on to say the have stockpiled additional supplies such as coal and spare parts. Does this mean we'll have power even if everyone else doesn't, or is this just more pollyanna spin?

-- Anonymous, January 03, 1999

Answers

Gilda, the sentence "This has streamlined the process of preparing for compliance." in no way says they ARE compliant. The quotes you gave from the co-op paper actually state only that they are not responsible to a larger corporate entity, and nothing can be implied from that about the actual state of their readiness. It sounds good, but gives no actual facts about their Y2K remediation status.

That they have stockpiled additional supplies does follow along with several utilities' contingency plans in the event of vendor/supplier disruptions. I'd call them and politely press for more specific answers, such as have they finished their assessment yet? Are they doing their remediation "in house" or have they hired outside expertise? Are they working on critical systems only or everything? Have they checked for embedded systems? When do they project complete Readiness? Do they have a written Y2K plan? When did they start their project? How many people do they have working on it? etc. etc.

Hopefully you'll be able to get some answers, but that "control our own destiny" line can also mean they don't *have* to tell anybody anything if they choose not to. If they are a privately owned business and not responsible to investors (shareholders) then they have the option of keeping details to themselves. So don't be surprised if they stonewall you - but it's worth a try to find out more. Maybe they'll feel that keeping good customer relations is worth answering some questions.

Good luck!

-- Anonymous, January 04, 1999