From Ontario Hydro's Y2K Site (http://www.ontariopowergeneration.com/year2000/default.asp)

Ontario Power Generation's Year 2000 readiness program - a top priority of the corporation - began in 1996 as part of Ontario Hydro's corporate program.

By the end of June 1999, all systems had been certified as Y2K ready and planned integration tests - to ensure that systems operate together - were successfuly completed at our hydroelectric and fossil generating stations. Integration tests at our nuclear sites, the first and only of its kind in North America, have been successfully conducted at the Bruce, Darlington and Pickering nuclear stations. Ontario Power Generation is working with the Independent Electricity Market Operator and Ontario Hydro Services Company to ensure that the transmission system, interconnections with other utilities and our generation facilities function without incident with the start of the new century. We are also working closely with our external suppliers, direct customers, municipal electric utilities, and independent power producers.

Ottawa Citizen article

OTTAWA CITIZEN (April 22, 1998). http://www.ottawacitizen.com/national/980422/1659985.html * * * * * * * Airlines, utilities and nuclear power regulators gave cold comfort yesterday to a Parliamentary committee demanding guarantees that Canadians will be spared major service disruptions during the early days of the new millennium. In fact, the best the vice-president of Ontario Hydro's Year 2000 Project could offer the standing committee on industry was an admission that "we have a lot of work to do." Ted Clark said only about 40 per cent of the utility's critical systems are Y2K compliant, with 618 days or about 20 months left to go before the turn of the century. He added that the utility is marshalling a small army of about 500 technicians to tackle the remaining 60 per cent. "Everyone wishes they had started sooner," Mr. Clark told the committee, after conceding that it's taken Ontario Hydro some 36 months to get this far. . . . And while Ontario Hydro is grilling its own suppliers to assess their preparedness, "in some cases," he said, "we've found compliance statements have not proved to be accurate." He told the MPs that about half of the herculean task facing utilities and virtually every other sector of the economy involves testing and retesting computer fixes already carried out. Similarly, the director of Canada's Atomic Energy Control Board, Kurt Asmis, said when it comes to software "the devil is in the details." . . . "You'll have to excuse me if I worry," said industry committee member Eugene Bellemare. "I still see a big shudder as hospitals, traffic lights, gas stations all don't work and it's 20 below. It would be a hell of a mess and you can't guarantee that won't happen." . . . . Mr. Bellemare said he is gravely concerned by the lack of solid assurance from industries that provide key services to Canadians, saying that the impact of the millennium bug on utilities and energy providers could leave pockets of the country freezing in the dark. He said fallout from what was once dismissed as an innocuous computer problem could make the ice storms that hammered eastern Ontario and Quebec last winter see

-- Anonymous, December 06, 1999

Answers

Rodger,

Well, darned if you didn't find facts that are more alarming than FactFinder's facts. Can you imagine? FactFinder, what do you make of this matter? The Canadians are looking like they are either more honest or less prepared than we thought, or both. Who woulda thunk it?

-- Anonymous, December 07, 1999

Hadn't visited this forum in a while and was browsing through the December threads when I saw this one.

What, actually, was the point of posting that Ottawa Citizen article? It is over 18 months old! Ontario Hydro is declaring that it has completed its Y2K programme - why are you dredging up articles from, relatively speaking, the Jurassic period of Y2K history?

Just wondering.

-- Anonymous, December 17, 1999

He just wanted to point with admiration to the miricle that has occured in the past few months.

I don't remember NERC *ever* speaking of such difficulties. They have *never* found any 'show stoppers'.

-- Anonymous, December 19, 1999