Press Release

    Hershey, PA (Dec. 9) – Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) Chairman John M. Quain today led a Year 2000 conference of utility and telecommunications regulatory officials from nine states, the District of Columbia, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and regional power pools. The one-day conference was held at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center.

    "Today’s conference was an important step in maintaining lines of communications among regulatory agencies to ensure that we minimize the impact of the Year 2000 on the power and telecommunications systems we share with neighboring states," Quain said. "We are committed to protecting the public from any disruption in utility service."

    The conference was initiated by the Pennsylvania PUC to advance discussions on how state and federal regulators can act cooperatively to safeguard critical shared infrastructure from potential Year 2000 computer malfunctions. The conference focused on issues surrounding the impact of the Year 2000 computer date-change on power and telecommunication networks in the mid-Atlantic and mid-West regions. The Year 2000 (or Y2K) refers to the inability of many computers worldwide to properly recognize dates after the year 1999, possibly disrupting business and government services.

    Quain outlined several of the day’s most important accomplishments as:

• A better understanding of the various approaches to meeting the Year 2000 challenge by state public utility commissions;
• A valuable forum to share perspectives on what regulators are being told about Y2K by public utilities;
• An opportunity to assure the public that regulators are taking steps proactively to ensure that public utility service will continue through the Year 2000.

    In addition to officials with Pennsylvania’s PUC, conference participants included state regulatory staff from Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, New York, Michigan and the District of Columbia. Representatives were also on hand from the Pennsylvania Electric Association, the Pennsylvania Gas Association, the Pennsylvania Telephone Association, and the Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association.

    The conference was jointly sponsored by the PUC and the Pennsylvania Governor’s Office of Administration. In addition to a videotaped keynote address by U.S. Senator Bob Bennett (R-Utah), chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem, the conference included panel discussions on different Year 2000 topics and a session to consider regional approaches to the Y2K challenge.

    Pennsylvania state government has been recognized frequently by Year 2000 experts and prominent publications as a national Year 2000 leader. Gov. Tom Ridge has set a deadline of December 31, 1998, for state agencies to complete Year 2000 repairs to their mainframe computers, which includes the full correction, testing and implementation of all hardware and software systems. State agencies are currently running 20 percent ahead of that aggressive timeline.

    Gov. Ridge has initiated a statewide public awareness campaign, known as "Pa2K," or Pennsylvania 2000, to help local governments, schools, businesses, and community groups successfully meet the Year 2000 deadline. Also, under a ruling from the PUC, all utilities in the state are required to complete their Year 2000 repairs by March 31, 1999.

    More information on the state's Year 2000 progress can be found on Pennsylvania's homepage at www.state.pa.us (see: "Office for Information Technology" under "PA State Agencies"), and at the Pa2K website providing Year 2000 outreach materials: www.Pa2K.org. Information on the PUC’s Year 2000 order can be found at http://puc.paonline.com.

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