Utilities expect few Y2K risks

If the nation's power grid goes down, Western Resources says, it could be back on-line in 24 hours.

By Hurst Laviana
The Wichita Eagle

Local utility representatives fielded pointed questions about their ability to provide services after Jan. 1 at a forum that drew more than 200 people to Wichita State University on Tuesday.

The questions, posed at a meeting of the Wichita Year 2000 Forum, reflected a general unease about the reliability of sewer, water and electric services.

 Will the sewers in Wichita back up if the electricity goes out, one woman wanted to know. "If you don't have electricity you won't have water," Jerry Blain of the Wichita Water Department explained. "You're only going to get to flush the toilet once." The sewers will be empty.

 What about a worst-case scenario? What if the nation's entire power grid goes down?

"I'd say in a worst-case scenario, you're probably looking at 24 hours" before Western Resources has all power plants back in operation, said Clyde Hill, a representative from that company.

 And what if some utilities are only 98 or 99 percent ready? "I've heard it'll blow up the whole shebang? ... . Is that right?" one man wanted to know.

The gas, water, electricity and telephone company representatives downplayed the odds of any major problems occurring in January 2000.

"We're in the reliability business, and we plan to be that way on Jan 1," said Cindy Johnson, Southwestern Bell's representative. "I can assure you the telephone system will work."

The Y2K problem stems from the fact that many computers and computer chips track years using two digits instead of four. On Jan. 1, 2000, some computers will lose track of the year.

Most of those attending the forum at the Wichita State University Hughes Metropolitan Complex were concerned primarily with electricity.

Hill told the group most of Western Resources' equipment is not date-sensitive. Equipment that is will be Y2K-ready long before Jan. 1, he said.

January is a low-demand month for electrical suppliers, Hill said, and Western Resources probably will be using only about 40 percent of its generating capacity.

If the national power grid should collapse, Hill said, Western Resources would disconnect from the grid and enact it's "black start plan." That would involve restarting each of its power plants from scratch. Power could be restored to customers in Hutchinson and Wichita within four to six hours, he said, and the rest of the system could be online in a day.

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Ray

-- Anonymous, March 24, 1999