Paging Rick Cowles and All Lurking Journalists. Please Investigate.

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Subject: Bloomberg News Report

Utilities Say They're Y2K Ready, Though Blackouts Expected

(Copy and past this thread into your browser. Go there. Please respond--like--tomorrow!)

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0011fE

-- Anonymous, July 01, 1999

Answers

(grumble grumble; another thing to add to my list of "things to do")

I'll try to follow up tomorrow, but a lot of people took off for the long weekend today. Sidenote: I can't imagine a business-saavy guy like Cam Daley saying something like this for publication. My guess is that he may have been seriously misquoted (like that's never happened to me before).

The only reason I haven't posted this article in the euy2k.com newsroom is because there's not a verifiable reference to it. All I've seen is references to the daily Bloomberg Report (very credible, if true...), and I don't subscribe to Bloomberg.

Here's a HOT LINK to the report and discussion on the TB2000 forum.

-- Anonymous, July 01, 1999


The below URL links directly to the original Bloomberg story.

Would someone please make it a hotlink? Thanks!

http://www.aol.com/mynews/business/story.adp/cat=020102&id=19990630080 19182

Waiting for you to check this one out, Rick. Thanks!

-- Anonymous, July 02, 1999


Sorry. There's something wrong with the above "cut and paste" process.

However, if you go to that URL, then access the search engine and search on "blackout," the story will appear.

Sorry for the three ring circus. The story is real

-- Anonymous, July 02, 1999


I am wondering why some of you are posting that Kosky has not stated "weeks" without power. A state representative in Georgia has confirmed that Kosky has indeed made that statement. Here is the link:

I have to assume that this was posted and discussed on this EU forum, but in case you missed it...

-- Anonymous, July 02, 1999


OK, so I suck at html. Are you up for some cutting and pasting?

Original Link: http://home.ica.net/~njarc/Docs/ckpower499.html North Link: http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/detail_.cfm/4836

-- Anonymous, July 02, 1999



While we wait to see what Mr. Cowles has to say about his erstwhile colleague, perhaps you might enjoy a bit a humor inspired by this article, from the c.s.y2k forum:

Utilities Say They're Y2K Ready, Though Blackouts Expected

Finally, a solid definition of "ready".

"Ready" means "won't work".

"Utilities 100% Y2K Ready, But Blackouts Likely"

"Banks 100% Ready, But Don't Try to Withdraw Your Money"

"Defense Department Ready, But Anthrax Attack Considered Likely"

"Nuclear Plants Ready, But "Contingency Plan" Calls for Martial Law"

"Russia is Now 100% Ready, But Computers Expected to Fail"

"China is Ready, But Asks "What Am Y2K?""

"Washington, D.C. is Ready, But Has Run Out of Money with 17% Done"

"Ignorance is Strength, Freedom is Slavery"

--Tim May

(ROTFL!)

-- Anonymous, July 02, 1999


This Bloomberg News article is indeed legit. To access it, take the URL originally given above and add 19182 at the end. That will take you directly to the story itself, not just to the AOL search engine. ("Confused" was right: putting "blackout" into the AOL search engine for news articles will also bring this story up, along with several dozen more. That's how I found it.)

I'm also surprised that Mr. Daley would say anything this strong for publication, though in one respect there is really nothing new here: distraction because of deregulation, plus overreliance on vendor compliance statements (and type testing), might equal some serious problems. Might. Who knows?

Anyway, it certainly does not sound as though Mr. Daley was in any way "misquoted": there are several quotations here from him, and they are logically consistent with one another. Besides, even NERC has warned against too much reliance upon vendor statements and type testing, as has Mr. Cowles.

-- Anonymous, July 02, 1999


Thanks for the reference, folks. It now qualifies for the newsroom. ;-) Now, all I gotta do is get a minute to do an update to the newsroom...I should be able to do that about April 14, 2001.

P.S. to Don: I concur with your assessment of the article.

-- Anonymous, July 02, 1999


confused,

My schedule is crushed beyond belief for the next two weeks- *but*, if I get the chance, I'll try to look into this Tuesday (when I stumble semi-coherently back into work after no doubt sleeping all weekend- I sure got off to a good start today! :)

It wouldn't surprise me if the quote is valid; various people have generally considered this a reasonable possibility. Only in the last several months have many even in the industry been willing to come forward optimistically. A year ago, there was *great* concern about the possibility of blackouts ("long term and extended blackouts," as "industry experts" told a journalist who wrote for a PC magazine last September). I'm not so sure all of the people who believed that way have changed their minds, even though many in the industry have.

What's also interesting to me is Gorzelnik's quote that ``There will be a huge backlash if a utility reports it's Y2K ready, and it turns out that it wasn't.'' Well, if there are no "showstoppers" to be found (ie, plants should work even if no Y2K remediation is done), what does that mean? Does it mean billing systems weren't ready? Doesn't sound like it. There seems to be a contradiction there (although I could be wrong).

Anyway, I've written it down on my list of "Things to Do" (which now rivals "War and Peace" :). I'll pass on whatever I find...

-- Anonymous, July 02, 1999


Hey, where's Dan and Cl and Engineer? Don't they want to debunk this guy's statements? Seems he does not share their view. Also seems he would qualify as an expert even in their eyes.

I will grant you that there is motive present for him to push a negative scenario, but based on all that I've heard hear and read elsewhere, this guy's not inclined to that type of BS. Seems to me he's considered to be a straight shooter.

What about it guys? Three weeks sound plausible to you? Got solar?

-- Anonymous, July 03, 1999



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