Sierra Pacific says it will be ready for year 2000

Thursday, Jan. 14, 1999 | 10:34 a.m.

While only 10 percent of its power, water and gas systems have been tested for possible millennium glitches, utility executives said they are on track to complete all testing and repair work by Nov. 19.

"We feel it is manageable," said Dexter Sale, Sierra Pacific's Y2K project leader. "It will take a lot of discipline, but we believe we'll complete it."

The utility's business computer systems have already been fixed. It is now working on imbedded computer chips, or those that run power generators, water treatment, transmission and distribution systems.

Sale said the utility has identified 2,500 imbedded chips, mostly in power plants. Most of those are not sensitive to date and will keep operating after 2000 arrives, he said.

Sales said the utility knows of 267 chips that will malfunction if not fixed. And it is trying to determine whether another 600 will work when the year changes.