I *knew* there was a reason that I subscribed Energyland.net to a news service (if you haven't checked it out, hit the front page of Energyland.net). From NewsEdge today:

Pacific Gas and Electric Company Declares Mission-Critical Systems Y2K Ready

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE) via NewsEdge Corporation -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced today all its mission-critical systems are 100 percent Year 2000-ready.

"We have now completed a long process of rigorous review and testing and have determined that all of our mission-critical systems are Year 2000-ready, " said George Orlov, Pacific Gas and Electric Company's vice president and chief information officer. "We fully expect our mission-critical systems to function properly on January 1, 2000."

Since 1996, the company has worked diligently to inventory, assess, remediate and test its mission-critical in-house software applications, vendor software, embedded systems and computer hardware. The utility expects to spend nearly $100 million on its Year 2000 program. The company's Year 2000 program has involved a team of more than 200 employees and has called on the expertise of hundreds more.

Mission-critical systems that have been reviewed and are now Year 2000-ready include those that enable the delivery of gas and electricity, monitor distribution and transmission systems, provide outage information, ensure safety at power plants, and support business operations and customer service.

Earlier this year, Pacific Gas and Electric Company filed Year 2000 readiness statements with the North American Electric Reliability Council and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company is part of an integrated generation and transmission grid which supplies power to California. While the company's mission-critical systems are ready, electric and gas supplies are also contingent on other agencies that deliver energy to the grid.

"Contingency planning has been central to our business for almost 100 years," Orlov added. "As we count down to the Year 2000, we will continue to fine-tune our plans in preparation for the transition so we will be ready to deal promptly with any outage that might occur for any reason -- whether it is Y2K-related or not."

For more information on Pacific Gas and Electric Company's Year 2000 readiness efforts, please visit the company's website at www.pge.com.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the utility unit of PG&E Corporation, is one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric and gas utilities, serving about 13 million people in Northern and Central California. The company's 70,000-square-mile service area stretches from Eureka in the north to Bakersfield in the south, and from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Sierra Nevada in the east.

For more information about Pacific Gas and Electric Company please visit their web site, www.pge.com.

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CONTACT: Pacific Gas and Electric Company | News Department, 415/973-5930

This is a news service of NewsEdge Corporation )1999. This content is for your personal use only, subject to Terms and Conditions. No redistribution allowed.

(TOUNGE-IN-CHEEK MODE = ON)

I thought everyone was done in June?

(TOUNGE-IN-CHEEK MODE = OFF)

-- Anonymous, September 24, 1999

Answers

Cmon Rick this is PGE the same guys that falsified documentation provided during an investigation of the big "power outage" a few years back.

They outright lied then, why should I believe them now?

Or any of these other happy, happy joy joy companies.

Damn, I'm starting to sound bitter. This whole thing sucks.

Thanks for the post.b

-- Anonymous, September 25, 1999

Recently, ComEd in Chicago also proudly refers to working hard "Since 1996..." in their announcement of "100% readiness for y2k." But Com Ed is even harder to believe because of their claiming some state of readiness for their embedded "critical" systems, when even their current billing systems are not functioning correctly.

-- Anonymous, September 25, 1999