http://www.abqjournal.com/news/2news03-11.htm

Albuquerque Journal

http://www.abqjournal.com/news/2news03-11.htm

Thursday, March 11, 1999

PNM: Brief Y2K Outages Possible

Utility Urging Customers To Safeguard Electronics on Jan. 1

By John J. Lumpkin

Albuquerque Journal Staff Writer

Expect power surges and possibly a few hours without lights on the morning of Jan. 1, 2000, but extended outages caused by the Y2K computer problem are unlikely.

That message was delivered Wednesday to the city's Millennium Committee by a Public Service Company of New Mexico official.

While Scott Witschger, PNM's year 2000 program director, didn't promise the lights would stay on uninterrupted after the turn of the century, he said PNM is doing all it can -- including spending $20 million -- to resolve its end of the Y2K computer problem.

He did advise people to buy surge protectors or unplug sensitive electronics, like home computers, to avoid damage from power fluctuations.

The Y2K problem -- also known as the "Millennium Bug" -- originates in older computers and electronic systems that recognize only the last two digits of the year. That could cause some computers to function as if it was Jan. 1, 1900, instead of 2000.

...

On New Year's Eve, PNM will have crews ready to operate its entire power system manually, if need be, Witschger said. He said the same will be done for its natural gas distribution operation.

Both of PNM's in-state power plants -- the San Juan coal plant near Farmington and the Reeves Generating Station, a natural gas plant in Albuquerque -- will be on-line, something usually done only during peak usage months in the summer.

About 47 percent of PNM's identified, Y2K noncompliant systems were repaired by the end of February, Witschger said. PNM plans to have all of its systems compliant by July 2, he added.

Nevertheless, Witschger said there's a "high probability" of frequency or voltage variations for at least a few hours after midnight, Dec. 31.

These would come as PNM's heaviest consumers, such as manufacturing plants, deal with their own Y2K problems and shut down or reset their systems. Such large changes in power consumption on the grid could cause voltage drops or spikes elsewhere.

The only danger from these fluctuations are to sensitive equipment, including computers and other electronics. Witschger said surge protectors should prevent any damage -- as would simply unplugging the equipment.

He said there's a "moderate" likelihood of power outages lasting from one to three hours, especially if automated systems fail and crews have to operate power plants and distribution centers manually.

There's a "low probability" of power outages lasting up to 24 hours, and that's if "absolutely everything goes wrong," he said. There's a similar low chance of natural gas distribution problems.

...

However, if other electric utilities fail because of Y2K and start to drain PNM's system, PNM can cut itself off from the regional grid and go on its own. PNM's in-state power plants supply enough juice for its customers during the winter months, but, in the summer, electricity is usually drawn from the Palo Verde nuclear plant outside of Phoenix.

PNM provides power to Albuquerque, Santa Fe and other parts of north and central New Mexico and is the state's largest utility.

-- Bill (billdale@lakesnet.net), March 18, 1999