INDEPENDENT NEWS

Electricity Industry Well Prepared For Y2k

Published: Mon 18 Oct 1999 07:31 PM
MEDIACOM-RELEASE-ELECTRICITY-INDUSTRY
ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY WELL PREPARED FOR Y2K
The Electricity Industry Y2K Focus Group today released a survey on the industry's preparations for the year 2000 as at the end of September which highlighted a strong state of preparedness.
"The electricity industry has treated the Y2K issue seriously for some time now, and it is very positive to see the bulk of respondents to the survey confirm that they are now ready in the area of systems supporting the generation and delivery of electricity", said Robert Scott, Chairman of the Electricity Industry Y2K Focus Group.
"While the industry anticipates business as usual for the millennium transition the survey indicates that contingency planning preparations are well advanced", he said.
There was wide industry participation in the survey, including all line, generator and retail power companies.
The survey findings in New Zealand have been similar to those in Australia, Canada and the U.S. In particular the survey shows that for power system technology there has been a very low (less than 3%) incidence of problems.
Most issues have been nuisance faults, such as incorrect date displays, rather than causing the equipment to malfunction. In many cases manual overrides or work-arounds already exist.
Electricity control equipment generally has a long economic life and much of this equipment in New Zealand is Electro-mechanical and therefore not susceptible to Y2K problems. It was installed well before microprocessors were introduced. All electricity control systems have been investigated very thoroughly assessed and where necessary tested - particularly modern electronic systems.
"The public can have real confidence in the results of this survey into the electricity industry's preparations for Y2K", concluded Mr Scott.
The complete survey can be downloaded from the Y2K Readiness Commission's Website www.y2k.govt.nz
MEDIA RELEASE FROM THE ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY Y2K FOCUS GROUP
-----------------------------------------------------------
ENDS....

Next in Business, Science, and Tech

General Practices Begin Issuing Clause 14 Notices In Relation To The NZNO Primary Practice Pay Equity Claim
By: Genpro
Global Screen Industry Unites For Streaming Platform Regulation And Intellectual Property Protections
By: SPADA
View as: DESKTOP | MOBILE © Scoop Media