Is it rumor or truth that NERC has promulgated a document very recently, that instructs utilities to test only those things they are sure will pass so that they can look ready even when not? I heard this on y2knewswire, and they gave a link to the NERC document, but i could not open it.

-- Anonymous, March 19, 1999

Answers

The document is in .PDF format, requiring you to have or download Adobe Acrobat Reader. However, I've heard from several people who were unable to access the document even though they possessed Abobe Acrobat. For this reason, I've retyped the four-page text, verbatim, of NERC's "Session 2-C (10:30 - 12:00) Y2k Drill Preparations" document which is analyzed at http://www.y2knewswire.com/19990304.htm This small document is a set of specific instructions based on NERC's eleven page drill guide titled "NERC Y2k April 9, 1999 Drill Development Guide - Prepared by the System Operator Subcommittee and the Y2k Contingency Planning Task Force" dated February 22, 1999, also located on the NERC y2k website at ftp://www.nerc.com/pub/sys/all_updl/docs/y2k/planning-a-drill-4-9-99- final.pdf. Enjoy! >"~"<

-- Malthusienne

[document begins - note that underlined text IS UNDERLINED in the original from NERC website]

Session 2-C (10:30 - 12:00) Y2k Drill Preparations Assignment: Discuss the following questions. Prepare a summary of major conclusions to present to other workshop participants at the general session in the afternoon. You will have about 10 minutes to summarize the conclusions (5-8 PowerPoint slides maximum).

Background:

The electric industry in North America is preparing to conduct a Y2k drill on April 9, 1999. The purpose of the drill is to prepare for operation with limited voice and data communications. A drill guide has been prepared defining the objectives and steps to prepare for and conduct the drill.

Discussion Questions: 1. The April 9 drill is intended to instill public confidence through success and at the same time be a real test of our ability to operate with limited communications capabilities. How can these two goals be balanced to provide the greatest value from the exercise? Start planning for it now. Prior to drill, test the system(s) that will be exercised during the drill. Document drill procedures. Identify system(s) to be drilled. Identify people involved and responsibilities (operators, data gatherers and observers). Establish success parameters. Verify that there are no real security issues during the time of the drill. Do not schedule unnecessary maintenance during the date of the drill. Individual companies who choose to should develop their own plans to notify and coordinate with their local media. Have a plan for proactive customers who may come forward with questions about their participation. What will the final report look like. Work backwards from this in the development of the drill procedures. 2. With slightly more than two months to prepare for an event that has never happened before -- an industry wide drill -- what steps are appropriate (by whom) to facilitate these preparations and enhance success? Statement from each region to their member systems their regional drill requirements and external drill issues. Control Area's are responsible for reporting their drill plans to other Control Area's in region before March 5th. Companies should move forward on drill preparation regardless of Region requirements to be determined. The Regions could slow us down because they do not currently have the guide. We should not wait on the regions. Drill coordinators are in charge. Companies should identify their drill coordinators now. Do not make the drill to complex. We want to have a meaningful story for publication. Identify the "success parameters" before the test. What are the weaknesses we are looking for. 3. Describe specific types of scenarios or scripts that would be effective considering the goals of the drill. Identify the critical communication loops to be drilled. Drill the people involved as well as the process. The drill should not interfere with normal operations. The drill should test partial loss of voice and data communications and partial loss of EMS functionality. 4. How can we ensure that conduct of the drill does not adversely impact normal operations on April 9? What types of controls are appropriate during a drill of this type? Consider separate staff assigned to work the drill rather than normal operations staff. Develop parameters and procedures to identify drill conditions so that they are not confused with actual real-time conditions. Always say "this is a drill" before and after every drill communication. Identify documentation used in the drill as "drill documentation". Identify the drill controllers at each company now. The drill controllers can stop the drill at any time if necessary. Maximize the use of power system simulators. Do not overload communication channels with drill communications. Identify specific phone numbers that will be used during the drill. Should use the "normal staff" to conduct the drill. It is difficult but necessary. Use of the training staff is one possibility. Each individual utility should access their capabilities in determining the extent of testing they will perform. Do not bite off more than you can chew. 5. Are there any comments of the drill guide or the post-drill evaluation form? Companies should have a clear definition of what success is and how to measure it. NERC should distribute the final ASAP. Will NERC [SCS] specify the time frame of the drill? There is a concern that some utilities may be responding to drill requests all day long. This information is needed as soon as possible as some are beginning training soon. Was NERC aware that April 9th is a real Y2K sensitive date? Answer: Yes, April 9th is the 99th day of 1999. Page one identifies a paper by Joe Wilson. Where can the paper be obtained? Answer: Gene Gorzelnik is attempting to post the paper on the nerc web site. Note: the Joe Wilson paper described in the last bulleted item is listed on page 10 of the Drill Development Guide: "System Restoration Guidelines: How to Set-Up, Conduct, and Evaluate a Drill," Operator Training/Working Group/Joseph D. Wilson, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, Vol. 11, No. 3, August 1996, pp. 1619- 1629.

-- Anonymous, March 19, 1999

Adrienne, the "Drill Strategies" document, to be used as part of a discussion "break out" session at an industry conference which was held in Feb. of this year, has certainly made the rounds on the internet since it was first discussed on this forum beginning on Feb. 10.

There are a lot of varying comments, reactions, and explanations on this topic in past threads here. Two I am aware of are at:

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000U6R

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000WL7

There are probably other threads which have comments about the drill strategies. If you do a site search for "drill strategies" you may find more than the two I've posted. (The SEARCH function is at the top of the page for the "New Questions").

Hope this helps you!

-- Anonymous, March 19, 1999