This is a first time to write to a forum of this type but i have been following some of the threads here. I have the opportunity to meet the czar himself, Koskinen, here in St. Louis, Mo. on July 29 at a public meeting and really would like to have a few powerful questions about electric companies and their compliancy that would require him to answer in more than just run around. Could I possibly get some help from you that know the industry much better than I do?

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

Answers

Just as a start, I would like to ask what he meant when he said about the Pentagon test:

``What we're seeing is the ultimate in testing,'' said John Koskinen, chairman of President Clinton's Year 2000 commission.

....even though the test only involved a low-volume duplicate system of 44 out of 1000 systems. When does he anticipate the other 96% of systems will be tested... or won't they be tested at all?

I would like to ask why the National Guard is prepared to respond to requests for service during the "transition period" which BEGINS SEPTEMBER 1ST.

And if there is a perceived need to have the Nat. Guard ready by Sept. 1st, why aren't there strong and consistent messages that individuals and communities need to be prepared for more than a 2 - 3 day storm.

I would like to ask about newly proposed bill here in California that would allow the Gov. to declare a State of Emergency PRIOR to any crisis, and would also allow the department to pool the state's 10,000 computer technicians and assign them to Y2K projects in any state agency (a geek DRAFT). Does K. see the need for similar bills in other states? And if so, how will the states deal with the possible errors introduced by programmers ordered to work on systems they are not familar with, possibly far from home?

Well, that's a start. I'm sure others can come up with much better questions... like on the state of utilities (esp. nuclear plants).

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

You should probably attend to protocol first, and ask if he should be addressed as Czar John, similar to, for example, Czar Nicholas II.

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

Gail, I personally don't think any kind of question will "require" a straightforward response from anyone in a position such as Mr. Koskinen. All politicians and political appointees are well trained in circumvention or giving an answer that really doesn't address the intent of the question, if that better serves their purpose.

However, there is one question I would be interested in knowing the answer to. I'd like to know the name of the "retired general" who has been appointed to head the Y2K Information Control Center (ICC) to which the NERC/DOE Emergency Operations Center will report.

It would be nice if we knew the implementation date the ICC is expected to be operational, too, since all infrastructure segments either have already arranged, or are arranging, direct communication centers to input to the ICC, along wiith emergency procedures for such communication.

The ICC is referenced in several NERC reports. For more info begin at page 272 of the NERC Security Coordinators Meeting agenda at:

ftp://ftp.nerc.com/pub/sys/all_updl/docs/oc/sc-9907a.pdf

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

Gail . . . . best of luck. The "czar" just appeared in Austin on July 10, along with a sizable panel of local utilities and business/gov. folk. His main message was that all was well at the national level but they are "concerned" with the lack of local preparedness. He gave lip service to the cause, but we all know if there was a true desire to turn up the volume it could easily be achieved. He will look you and any camera straight in the eye and stare you down while maintaining a glazed and impenetrable look. He will present a "happy" film/video (our tax dollars at work!) that shows how well all the major industries are doing while simulaneously telling you he is concerned about the apparent apathy of the masses and small businesses. He was lambasted during the Q&A session for putting the country to sleep with such media rhetoric which is the primary cause for the apathy and lack of public preparedness. . When the hard questions came his way he'd either say the information being quoted was "simply not true" or sidestep the issue. Very slippery. All in all, I'd say that perhaps he did more harm than good for our community. The media was taken to task for misrepresenting concerned citizens as vigilantes and mentally challenged outcasts. The paper and T.V. stations did not adequately announce the event so there were perhaps only 200 -250 people there for an event which featured a national whitehouse representative and a huge turnout of local reps. The mayor was there momentarily, but left immediately to take his son to camp! Many citizens were very angry at being underrepresented due to the apathetic response of the media before the event, and felt the panel was preaching to the choir of informed insiders rather than to those who truelly needed the message. I think it would have been more constructive to plan smaller, separate panels on an ongoing basis. In other words have a local utitlity panel, then water/wastewater, communications, etc. to create distinct and more thorough public conversation sessions.. A very unsatisfying experience in all, leaving many feeling even more alienated than before. There was no new information disseminated at the meeting. The semantics of the term "Y2K ready" that is showing up now in reports, and being used apparently interchangebly with the more definitive term "compliant" is still a lingering question. What does "ready" REALLY mean? Also the question of outside audits for those companies and governement agencies claiming compliance came up and was sidestepped without adequate answers. So maybe your group will do better, or. . . . perhaps it's an excercise in futility to try to achieve any real clarity.

J. Calhoun

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

Go and catch a falling star,
Get with child a mandrake root,
Tell me where all past years are,
Or who cleft the Devil's foot.
Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
Or to keep off envy's stinging,
And find
What wind
Serves to advance an honest mind.

(John Donne, 1633)

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

I always get a chuckle when people think they will get revealing responses if they just ask the "right questions." Political figures make a living at verbal poker.

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

Thank you so much for the questions and even some of the odd answers I received they helped tremendously.

-- Anonymous, July 15, 1999