Memphis paper reports TVA 82% done

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From http://www.gomemphis.com/capages/18y2knu.htm

TVA says it's 82% done swatting the millennium bug

By Tom Charlier

Without so much as the lights flickering, TVA power plants have begun turning their clocks ahead to the dreaded date of Jan. 1, 2000.

So far, the millennium bug hasn't bitten.

Tennessee Valley Authority officials are testing their generating plants for computer glitches that could strike the nation's largest producer of electricity when the calendar rolls over next year.

Two plants, the Gallatin coal-fired facility and Chickamauga Dam, already have temporarily rung in the Year 2000. And as early as next month, other generating facilities, including the Allen Fossil Plant in Memphis, will start undergoing the same kind of time switch.

The plant tests are among the final phases of TVA's $38 million program dealing with what is known as the Y2K, or Year 2000, problem. The agency says it's 82 percent finished dealing with the millennium bug, which can cause computers to run amok if they misinterpret 2000 as 1900. Many computer systems use a two-digit dating system that assumes 1 and 9 are the first two digits of the year.

``The bottom line is, we take the Y2K issue very seriously,'' said TVA spokesman Gil Francis. ``We've got a very proactive approach. . . . We're going to do everything to make sure we provide reliable and continuous power.''

TVA supplies power for nearly 8 million people in seven states, with its largest distributor being the Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division.

Much of the anxiety over the Y2K issue has centered on the vulnerability of electrical utilities. Last June, Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah), chairman of a Senate committee studying the problem, said he was ``genuinely concerned'' about the prospect of power shortages.

But last week, an electric-industry report said the millennium problem would cause ``only minimal impacts'' to the nation's power suppliers.

As both a federal agency and an operator of nuclear power plants, TVA is getting intense scrutiny of its millennium program.

Last month, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission released an audit of Y2K efforts at the TVA Watts Bar nuclear plant in East Tennessee. The audit found that TVA employed a comprehensive program that followed industry guidelines and had ``appropriate management support.''

However, another report issued last month by the federal Office of Management and Budget was less favorable. OMB, which is monitoring the Y2K progress of federal agencies, expressed concern that only 169 of TVA's 488 ``mission-critical'' systems were fully compliant with standards for millennium safeguards.

But TVA's Francis said the numbers cited by OMB don't tell the full story of the agency's progress. He said almost all the repairs and replacements have been made, though the reports documenting them have not.

Francis said 100 percent of TVA's mainframe computers, and all its software and hardware, are ready for Y2K. The agency's 11,000 personal computers are fully ready, as are all the telecommunications equipment and operations facilities, he said.

In assessing its system, TVA found that less than 3 percent of its transmission devices employ a time-date function that could go awry in 2000, Francis said. And many of the coal-fired plants use 1950s technology that isn't as dependent on computers, he said.

Francis said TVA is making needed fixes and searching for embedded chips that aren't millennium-proof. The agency, he said, will have nearly all its operations ready for 2000 by March, which is the goal for federal agencies set by the Clinton administration.

TVA is coordinating its Y2K efforts with electric-industry groups, including the Electric Power Research Institute and the North American Electric Reliability Council. It also is working closely with its retail distributors, including LG&W.

Howard Locke, strategic planning and quality management officer for the Memphis utility, said TVA seems to ``have a good handle'' on the millennium issue.

``The key thing to it is making sure you do good inventories and have a good understanding of what all needs to be addressed - and they've done that,'' Locke said.

In the tests at the Gallatin and Chickamauga plants, generating facilities last fall were restarted after all clocks were reset to naturally progress to Jan. 1, 2000. The tests were designed to make sure equipment with date-related functions operates properly when next year arrives.

``Everything worked fine,'' Francis said.

Similar testing is scheduled at other generating plants during maintenance outages scheduled this spring. TVA routinely takes boilers and turbines out of service during low-demand months, typically spring and fall, to make repairs and replace parts.

Before the units are brought back on line, they'll be put on millennium time.

Bob Anderson, engineering manager at the Allen facility in Memphis, said the 40-plus-year-old plant is not yet fully up to Y2K readiness. Embedded chips in the unit control systems are the problem, he said.

``We know that our existing system does not pass,'' Anderson said. If 2000 arrived now, ``it would fail, but I don't know exactly in what mode.''

The problem will be resolved with the installation of new equipment during the outage, he said. Each of Allen's three 290-megawatt units will be taken out of operation one at a time, with the work slated to last through the spring.

In addition to the repairs, plant officials are developing contingency plans to head off any other millennium problems, he said.

Anderson said there's no danger of Y2K causing an immediate shutdown. ``The way power plants are designed, they don't just shut down."

Francis said he's confident TVA will be ready for 2000.

``The question is, will there be any interruption of power on January 1st. The answer is, there shouldn't be.''

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And once again, we see an article in a major regional media (parent company is Scripps-Howard) which gives the average reader the impression that everything is going to be okay.

I can hear it now - a lot of my about to GI friends will hold off on starting preparations.

I'm writing my next letter to the editor tonight.

David

-- Anonymous, January 18, 1999

Answers

Don't you just love it when someone reports they're still searching for embedded systems with problems? ("Francis said TVA is making needed fixes and searching for embedded chips that aren't millennium-proof.")

If they're still searching, the obvious conclusion is that they haven't fixed what they haven't found yet. Too bad they don't say how much of the searching they have left to do.

-- Anonymous, January 18, 1999


This most recent report about TVA is good news and I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt. It is clear that TVA has an aggressive stance on remediation and testing.

I actually think it is good news that they continue with their assessment. I believe it represents humble honesty. They are not giving us a PR line that their assessment is 100% complete. What has worried me is that other utilities will do a partially done assessment and then fail when it is too late.

Furthermore, their approach is to run with clocks set ahead. Also, it looks like they are moving the clocks forward on embedded systems as well.

Moving clocks forward is a no nonsense approach (provided all clocks are brought forward). I feel TVA could be setting an example for the rest of the utilities. I wonder in their SCADA is also moved forward in time.

Does anyone know if all utilities are moving their clocks forward permanently?

-- Anonymous, January 18, 1999


Steve, thank you for speaking up about the positive aspects of this press release. Sometimes I get too mired in the loopholes in reports and don't acknowledge the things accomplished. TVA appears to have been doing a good job, according to both prior reports and this one. They are finished with the IT side of the project - 100%, which is more than a lot of other utilities can affirm. If the 82% done they mention is an average, and they split their project into IT and non-IT sections as most did, then they're 64% finished with the non-IT side, too. All in all, one of the more optimistic accomplishments at this point in time!

I did find it curious, however, that Francis' answer to "will there be any interruption of power on Jan. 1" did not include any reference to the usual caveat about problems outside a utility's own sphere of influence, namely partners and fuel (coal) supply. From TVA's own web site: "Working in partnership with 159 locally owned power distributors, TVA provides electricity to 7.3 million people." and "TVA operates 11 coal-fired plants, 29 hydroelectric dams, a pumped-storage plant, and three nuclear plants".

-- Anonymous, January 18, 1999


What was said:

"TVA power plants have begun turning their clocks ahead..."

Beginning is easy, you don't have to do anyting but make a small motion in the right direction...

"Two plants, the Gallatin coal-fired facility and Chickamauga Dam, already have temporarily rung in the Year 2000"

I doubt that they run "8 million people in seven states" off of these two plants...

"The plant tests are among the final phases of TVA's $38 million program..."

Only two plants and they are in the "final phases?"... How much of the $38 million has been spent?

"...last month ... OMB, which is monitoring the Y2K progress of federal agencies, expressed concern that only 169 of TVA's 488 ``mission-critical'' systems were fully compliant ..."

Let's see 168/488 = 34%. They are now at 82%. That's 82 - 34 = 48% in one month... hmmm... this is border-line miraculous!

Do you still feel the warm fuzzies? Do any questions come to mind?

"He said almost all the repairs and replacements have been made, though the reports documenting them have not."

How hard is it to change the document from 168 to 200 or so? Is OMB that ignorant? (could be but there is an open question here)

"...many of the coal-fired plants use 1950s technology that isn't as dependent on computers..."

How many? Alot? Are these two tested plants a part of this 1950s technology? Have any plants that use the newer technology been tested? What were the results?

-- Anonymous, January 20, 1999


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