Preparing Canada's power systems for transition to the year 2000 : Y2K readiness assessment results for Canadian electric utility companies : first quarter 1999

The effort made by Canadian electric utilities to minimize any power disruptions during the year 2000 (Y2K) transition is discussed and the state of readiness of the electric power industry with respect to the Y2K computer challenge is outlined. Canadian utilities started addressing Y2K issues several years ago, and today, reports show that every major electric utility in Canada is either on, or ahead of schedule to meet the industry established milestones for Y2K readiness. This report includes the assessment of all of Canada's large electric utilities, plus about 95 per cent of Canada's small distribution utilities. On average, the bulk electric utilities in Canada expect to be Y2K ready by mid-June 1999. This means that equipment and systems will operate properly for all dates including Y2K, or that there will be an operating strategy in place to mitigate the effects of any improper operations of equipment or systems. In terms of overall preparations for Y2K, Canada is ahead of the North American averages. Bulk electric utilities for non-nuclear generation are now 100 per cent complete in the inventory phase, 99 per cent complete in the assessment phase, and 91 per cent complete in the remediation/testing phase. For nuclear generation, completion rates are the same except for the remediation/testing phase which is 97 per cent complete. 1 tab., 21 figs