First off, I'd like to thank all of the readers who posted or e-mailed their best wishes and prayers to me and my family. We are grateful for each and every one of your kind thoughts. My time is gradually becoming more constrained, as the physical demands of caring for someone ill are eroding my mother's stamina and more help is needed. But like the wonderful people here, friends and family have been very supportive.

Now on to the point of this post. I received a couple of e-mails over the weekend from a life-long friend who lives in New Jersey, and I thought certain portions were very pertinent. She granted me permission to post them here. Here are the excerpts:

"Anyway, we got an electric bill from Conectiv yesterday. It was weird. It showed our last bill of $163.00. Then a payment of $326.00 and an adjustment of $169.00. Then it showed that our usage this time was 243 KWH's. We always have over 1000 KWH's usage because both houses are on the meter. "I called that company and they agreed something was wrong.

"Then the gas bill came. It showed a gas bill of $6500. Then an adjustment of that amount and the current bill of $60.50. "The next day I got our monthly car/house insurance bill, twice. The first time we ever got 2 separate but exact bills for our insurance. Did I tell you that a friend from work said that her mother also had a electric bill for $10. And the neighbor got a water bill for over $250,000.

That's from Jersey. I'm hearing similar complaints here in New York. My own gas company, NYSEG, just sent out an extra page with their latest bill. It's a complete record of our usage since December of 1998. This explanation was included in the header:

"Some of our customers have asked for a summary of their account history. So, we thought we'd provide this information to you, too."

Well, I happen to have all my bills and records of the last year (for everything) stored up, but I thought it was prudent of them to send the history along. The only thing they _didn't_ do was to tell customers they might want to KEEP this history instead of tossing it in the trash after the bill is paid. Kind of defeats the purpose, except for possibly due diligence. Then again, NYSEG never actually mentioned a "purpose" for printing out a whole new page for all their customers, when they haven't done it in the ten years we've had them as a provider. They didn't even say why "customers have asked" for it, either. Let me guess.....

By the way, I've read many times that the "first" thing businesses tackled when they began their Y2K projects were the billing and metering systems. Or is it just those pesky new upgrades that somehow haven't been tested thoroughly? That's it. It can't have anything at all to do with...that..that millennial date flaw.

Most readers probably do not need the warning, but I'll give it anyway. Pay close attention to your financial affairs, folks, and gear up your patience. Best wishes to you all.

-- Anonymous, November 29, 1999

Answers

Bonnie, Welcome back.

We know how hard it must be for you, but we do understand.

Your solid information is definitely missed by everyone.

Malcolm

-- Anonymous, November 29, 1999

thanks for the heads up, bonnie. my sister lives in new york state and i'll pass your warning on to her.

fortunately, i haven't noticed anything similar in michigan with my detroit edison and consumers energy bills. at least not *yet* :o)

it's good to see you back, even if it's only briefly. you and your family are in my thoughts.

-- Anonymous, November 29, 1999

Bonnie,

This is a good opportunity for me to thank you for your contributions to this and other forums over the past two years. Hope I get to meet you someday.

Bill Byars

-- Anonymous, November 30, 1999

Bonnie,

How good to see you back.

I do take issue with one thing you said.

By the way, I've read many times that the "first" thing businesses tackled when they began their Y2K projects were the billing and metering systems

Here in the Midwest, utilities have always said, "We are doing critical stuff first. We may have trouble billing you, but you will have electricity."

-- Anonymous, December 01, 1999