Thursday, April 30, 1998 | 10:37 a.m.
Members of the Public Utilities Commission know first hand how irritating it can be when high-tech operations go on the fritz.
Wednesday's teleconferenced meeting was delayed 45 minutes while technicians repaired audio glitches in the communications system that allows commissioners to conduct a meeting simultaneously in Carson City and Las Vegas.
Once things got going, commissioners voting from three different locations -- Judy Sheldrew in Carson City, Timothy Hay in Las Vegas and Lucy Stewart in San Diego -- agreed to open two dockets to gather information from the companies they regulate on the topic of how computer systems will be affected by the transition from the 20th century to the 21st.
Commissioners reconvened today for a vote to make the action official.
Today's vote opens separate files to gather information from gas, electric and water utilities in one and telecommunications carriers in the other, but the issue is basically the same: Will computer systems be affected when the calendar changes from Dec. 31, 1999 to Jan. 1, 2000? Some analysts predict computer systems will crash or lose data because they'll recognize the two zeroes as 1900 or will simply draw a blank when those numbers come up.
The economic damage worldwide could hit $119 billion if the so-called Y2K bug hits with full force, some experts say. Some of that estimate is based on companies' diversion of resources to fix problems before they happen. And part of the concern is that computer systems are so interconnected that even if one business' systems are Y2K compliant, other systems that supply critical data might not be.
"We've heard all sorts of stories about what could happen, from systems going down to planes falling out of the sky," Hay said after Wednesday's meeting. "What we're hoping is that this may be overblown hype."
Whether it's hype or not, the major utility companies serving the Las Vegas Valley are taking the Y2K threat seriously and already have teams in place to study how their systems could be affected. For most of them, it will be a matter of transferring the information from their studies to questionnaires planned by the PUC.
At the Las Vegas Water District, the primary water supplier for the entire valley, the plan to head off the computer bug began two years ago, long before Jim Ellisor, director of information systems, came on staff.
"We've broken it down into several parts," Ellisor explained. "One is software purchased from someone else. We've had maintenance agreements with vendors that include making sure the software works after the year 2000. We're confident they are on track and on schedule and are about 80 percent compliant."
Other segments include hardware -- the computer systems themselves; software programs written by Water District Staff; and embedded-chip technology that drives hundreds of systems.
"The software we've written is being checked with in-house work efforts," said Ellisor. "It's scheduled to be completed by December '98 and we're now a little ahead of schedule."
Reviewing the hardware is a matter of doing an inventory of computers on hand, upgrading systems from vendors or making plans to replace units that were scheduled to be phased out by the end of 1999.
The embedded-chip technology may be the most challenging to review. Those are the computerized systems with miniaturized circuit boards and integrated circuits and chips.
"Tracking down who made the chip or how it was made is a time-consuming, difficult process," Ellisor said. "Some of these things were manufactured 10 or 15 years ago. We're working with vendors to make sure they are compliant. But there's a certain amount of ambiguity there."
While some companies have said they may sue computer companies if their systems fail in the new millennium, Ellisor said litigation isn't being considered.
"Our goal at the Water District is to make sure the water system works," he said. "Suing is not going to make it work. For now, we thing we're pretty well covered."
Southwest Gas Corp., which supplies natural gas in the Las Vegas Valley, has been working on the Y2K issue since 1994 and addresses the matter in its annual report.
"By January 1995, computer systems requiring modification or replacement to be year 2000 compliant were identified," the report says. "Since that time, the company has focused on converting all business-critical systems. As of Dec. 31, 1997, nearly two-thirds of company computer systems were compliant, with anticipated completion of approximately 90 and 100 percent by the end of 1998 and 1999, respectively. The total incremental costs associated with the year 2000 programming effort are immaterial. The company has evaluated the impact to it of other companies' failure to comply and anticipates that the impact would be negligible."
Dudley Sondeno, senior vice president and chief knowledge and technology officer for Southwest Gas, said a task force has split the job of identifying systems into two parts -- information systems and embedded systems like those at the water district.
"The greatest task is identifying all the potential systems that could be affected by the millennium change," Sondeno said.
Tom Henley, director of media relations for Nevada Power Co., said a plan is in progress to identify and correct problems related to the Year 2000 issue.
"The company has begun converting its computer systems to be Year 2000 compliant," Henle said. "We believe that the impact the Year 2000 issue will have on our business applications will not be material. The company is still reviewing the issue for its electrical systems equipment."
Hay of the PUC said the goal of the thorough study is to make sure consumers aren't left without critical service when the calendar changes.
"There could be some unknown glitches," Hay said. "By taking a look at this early, we hope to find them before they become a problem."
Hay said the commission probably would formulate a three-page list of questions to which each utility would respond. That process, he said, would probably take about 60 days. Assuming that no major problems are found, Hay said the PUC's study could develop some confidence and awareness among consumers.
The utilities -- which are customers of each other -- also are finding ways to help each other.
"We're trading ideas ideas back and forth," said the Water District's Ellisor. "This is one of those kinds of projects where the more people who look at it, the better it is for all of us."
archive
