In both cases citing the NERC report...

Page 2 of the Executive Summary:

"about 50% of the [electric] utilities had completed Y2K remediation as of December 1998."

Page 4 of the Utilities section:

"Remediation and testing is only 36% complete." "the assessment phase in only 75% complete."

Lash me with al dente pasta if this has been previously noted. However, your average Joe may only read the Summary and be unduly lulled.

A complete contradiction as to remediation? Not if you speak Clintonese: "50% of all power companies are remediated" is not the same as "36% of all remediation is completed". But it sure sounds the same on first glance, how convenient.

Such a subtle manipulation of statistics, damn statistics and lies.

-- mabel (mabel_louise@yahoo.com), March 09, 1999

Answers

Clarification:

The Senate Report was citing the NERC report.

-- mabel (mabel_louise@yahoo.com), March 09, 1999.

Hi Mabel. Bonnie Camp over at euy2k has the same question. Maybe this will help. <:)=

euy2k link

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), March 09, 1999.

Mabel; Good post. Sysman; Good link. Thanks,

-- Watchful (seethesea@msn.com), March 09, 1999.

Clarifying myself further:

"50% of all power companies are remediated" and "36% of all remediation is completed" may both be legally accurate statements due to the subtle apples and oranges sentence construction.

Bonnie's post focuses on nuclear plants, but apparently the same concept: "playing around with the numbers".

-- mabel (mabel_louise@yahoo.com), March 09, 1999.

Here is an explanation. The Y2K remediation effort undergoes a number of phases (these phases may differ from company to company): assessment (inventory), analysis and design, remediation (actual code changes), testing, and implementation. You cannot skip phases. These phases show the progression through the project. The above quotes "the assessment phase in only 75% complete" implies that 25% still need to go through assessment. "about 50% of the [electric] utilities had completed Y2K remediation" implies half (probably about 2/3 of the 75% assessed) actually went thru the code changes. "Remediation and testing is only 36% complete" implies that a little more than half of those systems remediated have completed testing.

-- Maria (anon@ymous.com), March 09, 1999.

It could also mean that some power companies had a greater volume of code, programs, systems and embedded components, and the 50% of companies which are remediated were the "easy" ones.

That would explain half the companies being done, but only 36% of the remediation being completed.

Or it could be just some bozo with a calculator messing around with the percentage key.

Percentages are always suspect. Percent of WHAT???

-- mabel (mabel_louise@yahoo.com), March 09, 1999.

The answer to all of the above questions is that the percentages are an aggregate - as an aggregate (from the January, 1999 NERC stats) the electric industry is 57% complete with remediation / testing.

No way are 50% of the electric companies finished. Not even 1% are finished.

What's the old saying? There's lies, damn lies, and statistics.

-- Dan Webster (cant.sp@m.me), March 09, 1999.

Oooh, another subtlety.

"50% of the utilities had completed Y2K remediation" (direct quote from Senate Report) may not mean 50% of power *companies*.

That may fall into the category of damn lies.

While not being truthful, it was legally accurate. I'm sorry if I misled the American people.

-- mabel (mabel_louise@yahoo.com), March 09, 1999.

Believe what you want, believe what you will". Ho hum! Another day in paradise.

Quote of the Day: "Figures never lie....but liars figure"

To paraphrase Robert Heinlein, "Never underestimate the power of human stupidity. And the power that goes to those that can control it."

-- Lobo (Hiding@woods.com), March 10, 1999.

Saw an article in www.news.com last week. Headline, "Expert says no Y2K problems for telecommunications." First paragraph, he says most telecomm companies have completed their repairs. Second paragraph, you find out his definition of "most"--36%. It's amazing how they report this stuff with a straight face.

-- Shimrod (shimrod@lycosmail.com), March 10, 1999.