Utilities mount joint Y2K simulation

STEVE MERTL

VANCOUVER (CP) - There was a plane crash, then some bomb threats, then someone planted a computer virus. Then the phones went dead. It wasnt the opening chapter of a Tom Clancy techno-thriller but the first minutes of an elaborate emergency exercise by British Columbias major utilities centred on the Year 2000 threat. The three-hour simulation Wednesday was perhaps the first joint Y2K exercise in Canada by big power, phone and gas companies in one province. It was designed to test communications among the interdependent utilities in a catastrophic emergency such as computer problems triggered by the so-called millennium bug. The participating companies - B.C. Hydro, BCT.Telus, B.C. Gas, Westcoast Energy and Centra Gas of Vancouver Island - all have their own Y2K plans in place. The simulation, like a military war game, tested their capacity to work together, said John Reid, president of B.C. Gas. "We treat this as part of our normal emergency-preparedness routine, which we check out on an annual basis," he said. "This year were particularly focused on Y2K as a means of checking out that process." The Y2K bug causes older computers and their software to read the year 2000 as 1900, causing them to crash or make mistakes. Governments and businesses have been racing to test their systems and ferret out glitches. Most utilities have already run key computer systems on Year 2000 dates - called rollover tests - to see what would happen. "I think weve all internally done a lot in terms of checking out our own Y2K compliance," said Reid. "But now working together on an integrated-system supply-chain view is very beneficial." Wednesdays simulation, which didnt affect any real services, tested how well the utilities might respond to a worst-case scenario. Emergency response teams huddled in war rooms at B.C. Hydro and B.C. Gas headquarters where clocks were reset to pretend it was just after midnight, Jan. 1, 2000. They reacted to a detailed script of small and large calamities thrown at them by role-playing employees in another room. A plane, perhaps seized by the Y2K bug, goes down in Burns Bog, near Vancouver, cutting gas and power lines. Meanwhile, someone phones in a bomb threat at B.C. Place Stadium and Hydro employees discover a bomb at a suburban power plant. The teams computer specialists cope with a Y2K virus planted by a doomsday fanatic. "Around the millennium, there are a lot of people that are dooming and glooming," said Ray Nadeau, B.C. Gas emergency planning co-ordinator. The test included responses to non-Y2K outages that might happen over the New Year, said Seiki Harada, Hydros Year 2000 co-ordinator. "Because of the timing though, people may mistakenly assume a Year 2000 problem," he said. "The exercise gave us a great opportunity to practise our response to these types of misconceptions." The precise time of each incident is logged and the troublemakers record how well the troubleshooters react. Data from the exercise will be used to tweak the utilities contingency plans. The initial conclusion after the simulation was that while the plans proved adequate, they could stand improvement in areas such as more staff, less duplication of recording incoming information and clarifying everyones role in advance. The linchpin is the phone system, or systems. The exercise tested the utilities ability to switch from conventional land-line, cellular, paging and even satellite telephone systems in the event one or more went down. "Each one of those uses different technology," said Will Lin, Y2K program co-ordinator for BCT.Telus. "The risk of something the same happening to all of them is very, very low." The joint simulation offered lessons for more than just the Y2K threat, said Dexada Jorgenson, the phone companys manager of business continuity. "Actually a lot of the planning that weve done because of the risks inherent in our geographical makeup is proving out to be valuable for other risks, including the Year 2000," she said. "This is just another risk that has a date with it."

-- Norm (nwo@hotmail.com), May 21, 1999

Answers

Yes Norm some people get it.

BUT it should be pointed out that Vancouver is going to get a level 9+ earthquake tomorow or in a hundred years but it is comming, that they know for sure. Some of Vancouver is built on a river delta. Those areas will cease to exist. Y2K is just a little drill for the big event.

I grew up being told my island will fall into the sea.

Y2K is a piece of cake

There thats polly for you *VBG*

-- Brian (imager@home.com), May 21, 1999.

This brings out a subtle issue that is of concern to our local power company - sabbotage. When I had a personal interview on y2k implications to ag with our power company rep., that was among her issues. With all the other potentials to worry about, it had never really crossed my mind. We have so many dams that serve both power generation and flood control purposes.

-- marsh (siskfarm@snowcrest.net), May 21, 1999.

Good - now why is the US only doing "optional" telephone drills using preset people giving "pre-programmed" reports to other people answering the phone giving "pre-programmed" answers.

Now, either Canada is honestly doing their job testing integration and "between systems" functions, and the US is believing the administration that "bumps in the roads" will be trivial, or Canada is wasting its money.

By the way, how many US uitlities have fininshed, Norm? Could it be that US utilities are (in general) further behind, and CAN'T run an integrated test yet with anybody else - because no two adjacent utilities are both remediated?

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), May 21, 1999.

"The test included responses to non-Y2K outages that might happen over the New Year."

Seems like they tested everything except integrated power generation and distribution. Is that possible without disruptions?

-- regular (zzz@z.z), May 21, 1999.

I just *love* Norm's posts. Reminds me so much of something going on at our house now that spring is in the air. We have 2 cats that really enjoy going out in the woods and hunting. They bring back these chewed up dead thingys and purrrrr so proudly. Look at what I found, they say! Look at what I found!

-- Gordon (gpconnolly@aol.com), May 21, 1999.

Gordon,

All three of mine do that, year round. I tell them what good babys they are, and slip it in the trash when they aren't looking. I concider it to be a thank you note.

-- CT (ct@no.yr), May 21, 1999.