No URL's necessary. But what is the general description. Is this just another bogus "communication drill"?

By the way, after thunderstorms on Sunday afternoon, the power company in or around Detroit (Detroit Edison) had undue difficulty in returning power to several hundred thousand Michiganders. No known or suspected y2k connection, but the public utility commission is set to examine the company's general incompetence in providing power. It appears that the company has possibly ignored line maintenance and tree trimming. General incompetence. Does this mean the IT department is incompetent? No. Is IT managed by the same upper management? Presumably.

-- Puddintame (achillesg@hotmail.com), August 04, 1999

Answers

Make that (Detroit Edison?)

-- Puddintame (achillesg@hotmail.com), August 04, 1999.

Pud,

Why would any profit-seeking organization admit failure when they have been given permission by the government to fix on failure with no liablity for negative consequences?

The only discussion we will be hearing about test failures are the ones that they can definitely fix with minimal expense, and at that time they will proudly tell us the problem has already been resolved.

The failures that they aren't willing to resolve will be dealt with by using a "workaround" approach, and supposedly by having all of their highly skilled personnel on standby to do things manually. This is like taking a high school kid today who has been using a calculator his entire life and asking him to do complex division in his head. Well, he may eventually produce the correct answer, but there will be an awful lot of cold, hungry people waiting for him to figure it out!

These power companies are not going to risk the time and money to start messing around with embedded chips and the possibility of causing failures, because then they will be liable.

I'd be willing to bet that this so-called drill is just another exercise to make sure that key personnel are standing in the proper place at the proper time, perhaps able to communicate by radio.

The real test won't happen until January, and then we will all very much regret that we did not find a way to make sure it would work.

These choices have been made due to concerns about money, and if we continue to allow it, money is going to destroy us all.

Why do we never seem to learn?

-- @ (@@@.@), August 04, 1999.

FROM NERC:

"The September 9, 1999 drill is expected to be a dress rehearsal for rollover from December 31, 1999 to January 1, 2000. This drill may include reducing planned outages, modified committment of resources, redispatch of generation and transmission loading, cooperation with electric market participants, and staffing of all critical facilities. The goal would be to simulate system conditions and operating plans for the Y2K transition as closely as possible without increasing risks to personnel and equipment safety or system operating security."

NERC: ftp://www.nerc.com/pub/sys/all_updl/docs/y2k/drills.pdf

-- Cheryl (Transplant@Oregon.com), August 04, 1999.

I don't get it. Why are they doing these tests on the same day that 9/9/99 problems arise?

-- toots (tootles@yumville.net), August 05, 1999.

Because 9/9/99 problems have been pretty much sloughed off as non- existent and a straw man. (basically because 090999 does NOT equal 999999.)

Chuck

If there are any failures the unsophisticated (read MEDIA) can accept the 999999 as an explanation while the power jocks start an early FOF effort.

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), August 05, 1999.

The industry will conduct a second Y2k drill on September 89, 1999 to rehearse Y2k administrative procedures, communications, and contingency response plans.

Testimony of Michehl Gent, President of North American Reliability Council (NERC) (August 4, 1999)

-- Lane Core Jr. (elcore@sgi.net), August 05, 1999.