Government, industry work together on Year 2000 problem

A number of industry organizations are working to help ease the transition into the next millennium for their members.

In many cases, government is involved as well, with the aim of sharing information that can help companies find and fix their Year 2000 problems.

API task force

The American Petroleum Institute has formed a Year 2000 Task Force, composed of member companies.

"The purpose of the task force is to facilitate readiness across the industry by sharing information among companies," said Kendra L. Martin, API's manager of electronic commerce and information technology.

The task force has developed a database that enables companies to share their experiences and the solutions they have found.

"We've developed a Year 2000 testing database," said Martin. "We've created a repository for our members to submit information on testing they have done, whether its software, hardware, embedded systems, process controllers, or networks."

Companies add the results of their testing programs to the database, thus enabling other companies in the industry to verify their own testing plans or test results.

If a certain component, for example, has been found by numerous companies to be Year 2000 compliant, another company may choose not to spend the effort required to test it, or at least to minimize that effort. On the other hand, said Martin, "if a component is routinely failing Year 2000 tests, and your tests have indicated that it passes, you may want to retest it."

Martin says the purpose of the API task force has evolved since its inception.

"It started out as a way for companies to share with each other about their own programs. But, now, it's about taking what we've learnedellipseand providing guidance and support for smaller trading partnersellipseand also assessing and developing contingency plans.

The reason for the open sharing of information is simple.

"This is a noncompetitive issue," Martin explained. "There's no competitive advantage for one company to be ready and another not.

Other measures

A number of other industry organizations have undertaken programs to inform members of Year 2000 issues:

Gas Research Institute (GRI) is surveying its members to facilitate formulation of Year 2000 compliance strategies.
U.K. Health and Safety Executive is developing guidelines, with special attention given to small and medium-sized companies.
American Gas Association (AGA) is serving as an information clearinghouse for member companies and others on Year 2000 issues.
Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (Ingaa) conducted a survey on the Year 2000 compliance status of its member companies.

President's council

U.S. President Bill Clinton has formed a council of organizations to help assess industry's progress towards solving the Year 2000 problem and disseminating relevant information.

The President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion includes an energy working group. The group comprises organizations from all sectors of the oil and electric power industries-both within and outside the U.S.-plus governmental entities such as the Department of Energy and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Energy industry associations participating in the working group are: API, AGA, Ingaa, American Public Gas Association, Association of Oil Pipelines, Australian Institute of Petroleum, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, Distributed Power Coalition of America, Gas Industry Standards Board, Gas Processors Association, Gas Research Institute, IEA International Centre for Gas Technology Information, Independent Petroleum Association of America, Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, National Association of Convenience Stores, National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, National Petrochemical & Refiners Association, National Propane Gas Association, National Regulatory Research Institute, Natural Gas Council (NGC), Natural Gas Supply Association, Petroleum Marketers Association of America, Petroleum Technology Transfer Council, and U.K. Offshore Operators Association.

NGC is facilitating the gas side of the petroleum business, and API the oil side.

The council is conducting a survey of industry companies for the purpose of assessing readiness.

"We've been working with the numbers, although we're still receiving surveys," said Martin.

"What we're finding is pretty consistent with what we thought the results would be. "Large, integrated companies are in pretty good shape; smaller companies are further behind. They probably have less to work on, but they need to be working on it," she added.

The survey effort is not yet complete, she said, but "medium-sized companies may end up being the strong link in all of this." At OGJ presstime, the full results of the survey were expected to be posted on FERC's website shortly.

"Our intention is to update the survey quarterly through 1999," said Martin.

The survey

The energy working group's industry survey focuses on three key areas-business IT systems, embedded systems, and supply chain.

It is divided into two sections. The first section looks at what stage companies are in in their Year 2000 plans, from planning and inventory all the way through remediation and validation of fixes.

Martin elaborated: "How far along are they, and what areas are they working in?"

Then it asks for more specific information, says Martin, such as, "Are you aware of certain issues, and have you addressed them?" She gave an example: "Does your plan include addressing things such as: telecommunications; electric power and utility systems; safety, environmental, and health systems?"

A third area of focus is contingency planning.

"It's becoming one of those key areas because no responsible company is going to guarantee you that they are Year 2000 compliant, because of the types of testing and the variables involved," said Martin. This is true "not only because of your own systems," she said, "but because of your business partners'.

"If you're completely ready but don't have electric power, you're not going to be able to continue operstions.

"Because of the nature of our industry," she continued, "we do have regular contingency plans. If one pipeline shuts down, we have to trasnsfer to another.

"It's critical in addressing this that we have plans for what happens if we don't have electric power, or what if one of the pipelines is unable to operate."

This is important not only to deal with emergencies, she said, but also to handle inconveniences, so that companies' business continuity is ensured.

Cooperation

As is illustrated by these group efforts, industry and government leaders alike believe that cooperation is the key to solving the Year 2000 problem.

In her testimony before the House Subcommittee on Technology, FERC Chief Information Officer Kathleen Hirning said, "I believe that it is essential for the federal government, along with industry, to promote awareness of this problem through cooperation and communicationellipseCooperative communication is necessary in order to quantify the nature of the problem, ascertain the completion of development and testing solutions, and promote operational contingency plans in a timely manner to avoid any loss in power."

Group efforts such as the API task force and President's Council underscore the unprecedented degree of cooperation seen with regard to this issue.

"I've been just amazed," said Martin. "We are being the most open, the most coopertive we can be," said Martin, "clearly dealing with this as a noncompetitive issue. We've just accepted that we have a responsibility to the entire industry.

"As long as we're aware of where there might be problems, we can get through this."