http://www.inlandempireonline.com/news/news11.shtml

Norco sees bug-free Y2K start

By Michael McBride

The Press-Enterprise

NORCO It's a good bet that Norco's utilities and services will not be disrupted by the computer-based Y2K bug, representatives said this week at a community meeting.

Jim Mendoza of Southern California Edison said the worldwide Y2K bug, the result of a computer programming problem that might trick machines into thinking the year 2000 is 1900, will cost $6 billion, all told, to correct -- $1 billion of which will be in the United States. The worldwide problem also probably will generate $3 trillionin lawsuits, he said, adding that information was 1 year old.

Still, Mendoza said, his utility's major worry is not a computer problem, but "unlawful revelry" on New Year's Eve.

"There will always be people who shoot off guns," he said. "And often, they shoot at our substations."

Mendoza said people should worry more about earthquakes than Y2K problems.

"But if you stockpile stuff for Y2K, you'll be doing a good thing because you'll be ready for the next earthquake," he said.

Speakers came Thursday to the Norco City Hall meeting from electric, gas and phone companies, a bank, an ambulance service, the Riverside County Department of Information Technology, and Assemblyman Rod Pacheco's office.

There were more from Norco -- the city manager, animal control, the fire department, public works and a sheriff's sergeant (the city has a law enforcement contract with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department). Ron Lander, chairman of the city's Police and Fire Safety Commission -- and the owner of a security firm -- was the moderator.

In fact, the 14 speakers outnumbered the 13 people in the audience during most of the two-hour session. But it will be made available on Norco's Government Channel 53 through the holiday season at times not yet scheduled.

"Y2K is not a computer problem," Lander said. "It's a people problem."

He said Sunday's television movie about Y2K would cause the spread of "rumors and misinformation" that could alarm people.

Sheriff's Sgt. Mark De Rosia said his department's intelligence people anticipate no major violence in Norco during the New Year's Day weekend.

The sergeant said 11 officers will be stationed during the weekend in Norco.

"Our major purpose will mostly be to assist if there are utility problems," he said.

Fire Chief Chuck Skaggs said the Corona Fire Department's dispatch center -- which also dispatches Norco's Fire Department -- is in "good shape." Skaggs said care givers for people dependent on life-support systems should let the department know about their locations considerably before the New Year's Day weekend. The department has a portable electrical generator.

"Don't store excessive amounts of gasoline in your garage or house," the chief said. "If you feel you must store gasoline over the New Year (holiday period) put it in your vehicle. And, by that, I mean in the gas tank."

Fred Lynch, Corona's emergency services coordinator, said Friday he has been assured by all Corona city department heads that the city is Y2K compliant.

"We've either replaced computers or certified that they are compliant," Lynch said. "It's been certified that all computers and servers are not going to fail."

Norco being Norco, many of Thursday's meeting audience questions had to do with horses. Some in the audience said they should be provided 55-gallon drums to store water for their horses just in case. Animal Control Supervisor Charles Hemmings said he would help all he could.

Norco resident Lou Oliva chastised city government, saying it had not prepared a comprehensive Y2K plan.

City Manager Jerry Johnson said Friday Norco "has run its computer system as if it were the year 2000, and it's OK."

Johnson said Norco will open an emergency center at 10 p.m. Dec. 31 and would shut it down when he felt "comfortable" it would be no longer needed.

Michael McBride can be reached by e-mail at mmcbride@pe.com or by phone at (909) 737-1366.

Published 11/20/1999

My comments are as follows:

"...will cost $6 billion, all told, to correct -- $1 billion of which will be in the United States." Mr. Mendoza is not very well informed about the costs involved.

"Y2K is not a computer problem," Lander said. "It's a people problem." Right, Y2K doesn't kill people, people kill people.

"There will always be people who shoot off guns..." And there will always be ill-informed people who shoot off their mouths.

"...the 14 speakers outnumbered the 13 people in the audience..." Typical SoCal community involvement.

"Fred Lynch, Corona's emergency services coordinator, said Friday he has been assured by all Corona city department heads that the city is Y2K compliant." Are you willing to offer a written guarantee? Are you willing to bet your life on it?

"Norco resident Lou Oliva chastised city government, saying it had not prepared a comprehensive Y2K plan." Way to go Lou!

"City Manager Jerry Johnson said Friday Norco has run its computer system as if it were the year 2000, and it's OK." I'm disgusted now...aloha.

-- Uncle Bob (UNCLB0B@Tminus41&counting.down), November 20, 1999

Answers

Uncle Bob,

So the worldwide $100 BILLION number that had been generally accepted is way too high now, right? How can the U.S. be spending only 1 bil. when GM alone has spent $650 million? What a f%cking jerk. No wonder the public is complacent. Only 13 persons showed up at the meeting? No wonder. The GI's can't waste their time on such dribble, and the rest of the world is in a coma. Sad......

-- cavscout (pathetic@public.officials), November 20, 1999.

Is this what Mendoza means by "unlawful revelry?"

(Fair Use: For Educational/Research Purposes Only)

November 12, 1999

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON CO (SCE_PB) Quarterly Report (SEC form 10-Q)

Many of SCE's existing computer systems were originally programmed to represent any date by using six digits (e.g., 12/31/99) rather than eight digits (e.g., 12/31/1999). Accordingly, such programs, if not appropriately addressed, could fail or create erroneous results when attempting to process information containing dates after December 31, 1999. This situation has been referred to generally as the Year 2000 Issue.

SCE has a comprehensive program in place to address potential Year 2000 impacts. Edison International provides overall coordination of this effort. SCE divides Year 2000 activities into five phases: inventory, impact assessment, remediation, testing and implementation. SCE met its goal to have 100% of its critical systems Year 2000-ready by July 1, 1999. A critical system is defined as those applications and systems, including embedded processor technology, which if not appropriately remediated, may have a significant impact on customers, the health and safety of the public and/or personnel, the revenue stream, or regulatory compliance. A system, application or physical asset is deemed to be Year 2000-ready if it is determined by SCE to be suitable for continued use through 2028 (or through the last year of the anticipated life of the asset, whichever occurs first), even though it may not be fully Year 2000-compliant. A system, application, or physical asset is deemed to be Year 2000-compliant if it accurately processes date/time data, such as calculating, comparing, and sequencing from, into, and between the 20th and 21st centuries, 1999 and 2000, and leap-year calculations.

SCE has structured the scope of the program to focus on three principal categories: mainframe computing, distributed computing and physical assets (also known as embedded processors). The mainframe and distributed computing assets consist of computer application systems (software). Physical assets include information technology infrastructure (hardware, operating system software) and embedded processor technology in generation, transmission, distribution, and facilities components.

Included among the critical applications that are Year 2000-ready are the financial, customer information and billing, material management, and human resource systems. Work has also been completed on critical physical assets in the areas of information technology infrastructure, and embedded processor technology in generation, transmission, distribution and facilities assets. SCE filed a statement with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on June 28, 1999, stating that its Year 2000 readiness program has been completed for those systems within the scope of its operating license, NRC regulations and other critical systems required for continued operation of San Onofre Units 2 and 3.

Ongoing efforts continue to focus on non-critical systems and on guarding against reintroduction of components that are not Year 2000-ready into Year 2000-ready systems. SCE has adopted a technology production freeze beginning November 15, 1999, and extending through January 15, 2000. During this period, any changes to SCE's production environment will be tightly controlled. The freeze covers changes to physical assets with embedded processors and information technology infrastructure, and includes moves, adds and changes to communications equipment, computers and software applications.

The other essential component of the Year 2000 program is to identify and assess vendor products and business partners for Year 2000 readiness, as these external parties may have the potential to impact SCE's Year 2000 readiness. SCE has implemented a process to identify and contact vendors and business partners to determine their Year 2000 status. Evaluation of responses and other follow-up activities are substantially complete. SCE's general policy requires that all newly purchased products and services be Year 2000-ready or otherwise designed to allow SCE to determine whether such products and services present Year 2000 issues. SCE is also working to address Year 2000 issues related to all ISO and PX interfaces, as well as joint ownership facilities. SCE exchanges Year 2000-readiness information (including, but not limited to, test results and related data) with its affiliates and other external parties as part of its Year 2000-readiness efforts.

SCE's current estimate of its Year 2000 costs, including the costs of new hardware and software application modification, work on contingency planning efforts discussed below and continuing work on non-critical assets, is $69 million, about 38% of which is expected to be capital costs. SCE's Year 2000 costs expended through September 30, 1999, were $60 million. SCE expects current rate levels for providing electric service to be sufficient to provide funding for utility-related modifications.

Although SCE expects that its critical facilities, systems, information technology infrastructure and physical assets will remain fully Year 2000-ready, there can be no assurance that the facilities, systems, infrastructure and physical assets of other companies on which the systems and operations of SCE rely will be converted on a timely basis and will remain ready for 2000. SCE believes that prudent business practices call for development of contingency plans. These plans include provisions for monitoring, validating and managing the continued performance of SCE Year 2000-sensitive systems and assets during critical transition periods, development of work-arounds and expedited fix-on-failure strategies. Where appropriate, contingency plans include scheduling of key personnel, identification of alternate suppliers and securing adequate on-site supplies of critical materials. SCE plans to have more than 500 additional personnel, over and above normal holiday staffing, at key facilities for the Year 2000 rollover.

SCE has implemented a Year 2000 contingency planning process as a part of its Year 2000 remediation program. Each SCE department is required to assess the Year 2000 risks, including both internal and external risks and dependencies, associated with critical systems and assets, that are date aware or date sensitive. This includes assessment of Year 2000 risks for all indispensable or critical business processes and key facilities.

Where appropriate, the plans utilize or supplement the existing Corporate Emergency Response and Recovery Plan, and Information Technology disaster recovery plan, for identified Year 2000-related events. SCE's Year 2000 contingency plans are designed to coordinate and interface with the California ISO and the PX and to satisfy Western System Coordinating Council (WSCC) and North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) recommendations and Nuclear Energy Institute guidelines. SCE will continue to work with these industry groups, as well as the Electric Power Research Institute and other major interconnecting utilities, regarding its contingency plans. Initial development of these plans was completed in June 1999. SCE filed a report on its contingency plans, as required, with the CPUC on July 1, 1999. Contingency plans have been used in conducting SCE and electric industry drills and will continue to be used to conduct internal exercises during the fourth quarter of 1999. SCE expects that its contingency plans will continue to be revised and enhanced as 2000 approaches.

Although SCE's Year 2000 contingency plans use risk-based methods, the plans are being evaluated against the NERC/WSCC suggested "More Probable" and "Credible Worst Case Scenarios." SCE believes that the most reasonably likely worst case Year 2000 scenario would be small, localized interruptions of service which would be restored in a timeframe that is within normal service levels.

SCE does not expect the Year 2000 Issue to have a material adverse effect on its results of operation or financial position; however, if not effectively remediated, and despite the adoption of contingency plans, negative effects from Year 2000 issues, including those related to internal systems, vendors, business partners, the ISO, the PX or customers, could cause results to differ.

Uncle Bob, SCE's representative forgot to mention their 'bottom line' position...the last paragraph of their SEC filing...

-- Casey DeFranco (caseyd@silcom.com), November 20, 1999.