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in Conectiv NOTE: Sussex Beat is a mix of news, analysis and commentary by Eric Magill, publisher of Sussex County Online.
A spokesperson for the Delaware Emergency Management Agency said on Monday, Dec. 20, 1999, that his organization is confident that Conectiv electric utility is Y2K ready. Joe Wessels, in response to a question about doubts expressed by the Public Service Commission's regarding Conectiv's Y2K preparedness last week, said DEMA officials have no reason to believe there will be any widespread power outages when the calendar changes to the Year 2000 at midnight, Jan. 1, 2000. "All of the information provided to us indicates that the electric industry has corrected any Y2K related problems to the extent that power will continue to be provided without interruption," said Wessels. "With respect to billing and non-essential services, there may be a problem there." The PSC expressed concerns about Conectiv's Y2K preparedness when Conectiv had problems with its billing system as it tried for the first time to issue bills for the Year 2000. Wessels said that electric utilities conducted a Y2K test on Sept. 9, 1999, in which all systems passed. He added that there have been some disruptions in other Y2K testing, such as a California wastewater treatment plant that dumped thousands of gallons of raw sewage and motor vehicle renewal notices in Massachusetts and North Carolina that showed the date as 1900 instead of 2000.
Joe Wessels, spokesperson for the Delaware Emergency Management Agency, said on Monday, Dec. 20, 1999, that the state of Delaware is currently 96% Y2K compliant with "mission critical" emergency systems. Wessels said those systems should be 98%-99% compliant by the middle of this week and 100% compliant by Dec. 31. In addition, Wessels said that DEMA headquarters will be staffed by 75 to 100 representatives from nearly 40 state, federal, municipal, emergency and county agencies around the clock beginning at 7 p.m. on New Year's Eve. The representatives will run 12-hour shifts through Jan. 3, 2000 or later if necessary. "We are expecting this to be a non-event," said Wessels, "but the reason we exist is to provide for the public's safety." Wessels said the group will monitor Y2K events around the world on large screen TVs and computers. He said the United States will have somewhat of an early look at potential Y2K problems as it becomes New Year's in different time zones around the world before New Year's arrives here. He said it was hard to pinpoint when any potential Y2K disruptions could occur because it may take some time for the design default to manifest itself since there are "billions of computer chips that are date-sensitive". He added that is is "likely that something will happen" but that DEMA doesn't expect any major problems. "Our primary concern is the health, safety and welfare of the public," said Wessels. "We're looking mostly at systems that would affect that ... heat, power, lighting, fire, police, ambulance ... and we have a high confidence level that these systems will operate as they are supposed to."
As the New Millenium approaches, Delaware Emergency Management Officials are trying to get a handle on the Y2K readiness and contingency plans of the state's school district. According to Joe Wessels, spokesperson for DEMA, none of the state's school districts have responded to requests for contingency plans from DEMA. In a last-minute effort to determine the Y2K preparedness of the state's school systems, Wessels said DEMA is sending out questionnaires this week asking school district to provide the Y2K status of the following systems:
"We feel confident we will be getting this information," said Wessels. "It's one more piece of the puzzle to help us deal with the Y2K issue ... if it becomes an issue."
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If you're looking for medical information on the Internet, a good place for basic information about medical topics is Drkoop.com, a site led by former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop. In addition to reference material on more than 60 conditions, the site also provides breaking medical news and a dozen medical forums broken down by topic. You can search the site by symptom or by illness or disease. Local News Index | News Index |
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