The North American Electric Reliability Council conducted its first Y2K
telecommunications capability exercise. As usual, they report the test
was successful; and at no time was any electric customer affected. Twenty-
two regional security coordinators (the electric industry's term for
"NOC") and 2,000 electric utility personnel participated.
Lessons Learned:
- There were some incorrect phone numbers among the emergency contacts
- Geographic coverage of some radios require relocation of antennas
- Personnel require training on the use of backup systems. Some had
only recently been installed, and little training occurred prior to
the drill
- Congestion on the backup systems indicated a need to establish and
practice traffic priorities
- Some backup transmissions were noisy
- A "small number" of backup systems did not work
- Severe weather in the Midwest hampered some activities
NetOps: When was the last time you tested your backup systems? Or a better
question, do you have a backup system for contacting other providers?