I have been reading this forum for some time now.. Not that I understand all I have been reading but I try. This weekend, I am attending a local y2k seminar. There is going to be a representative from our power company (First Energy) and I was wondering if someone might have some good questions to ask him. Have been hearing on local radio stations that our state government says that Ohio is ready for y2k but never hear any more than that. This is going to be a 3 part seminar and I plan on going to them all. It is not in my community but one close by. Any help would be greatly appreciated. A concerned citizen. Thanks for your time.

-- Anonymous, April 21, 1999

Answers

Here are some questions I would like to ask:

"Have you found any Y2K problems that would have been bad had they not been fixed."

"Why didn't you plan to have this project done by this time last year, so that there would be less concern now?"

"Can you assure me that we will have the same likelyhood of having power at my house and my job during the year 2000 as I have now?"

If they say no, then ask "Why not?" and "Are you doing anything to remove this unusual level of risk?"

"If my parents in the nursing home die because of a lack of power, will you be the responsible party in court, or is it still my responsibility to make preparations for my own family?"

-- Anonymous, April 22, 1999

Please provide some actual information on what you have uncovered with your assessment and remdiation efforts. For example: 1. What specific problems have you discovered? 2. How many of the problems that you have discovered have been repaired/corrected? 3. Have you missed any of the dates you had planned in your remediation schedule? By how much? How will you recover? 4. What, if any, are your company's contingency plans for January 1, 2000?

By the manner/tone/candor as well as the specifics that you receive in response to these questions you should take away some degree of comfort/anxiety.

-- Anonymous, April 22, 1999

Ask if vendor letters of compliance were accepted as qualifying a device as Ready or Compliant, OR if independent tests were performed to corroborate.

Ask what criteria are used to determine if a device is mission-critical. For peace of mind, you might also ask for the definition and some examples of non-critical items.

Also ask if they participate in the EPRI Year 2000 program.

-- Anonymous, April 23, 1999

At this late date, one of the questions Iwould ask would be "What contingency plans, if any, are in place?" "What percentage of Y2K resources are being spent on contingency?" What is your vendor cut- off date for Y2K compliance?" "Are your back-office and billing systems considered Mission-Critical? If so, are they compliant?"

Hope this helps

-- Anonymous, April 25, 1999