Electric News Releases - 1999

April 30, 1999

Virginia Power's Y2k Readiness Is Ahead Of The Curve

RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia Power reported Friday that it is 96 percent ready and on target to be 100 percent ready for the computer date change at the turn of the century.

The announcement coincides with a report issued by the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) to the U.S. Department of Energy saying that the electric utility industry in the United States is more than 75 percent ready for the Year 2000 rollover. Virginia Power is a member of NERC.

"Virginia Power has a solid, comprehensive program to address Y2K issues," said William S. Mistr, vice president-Procurement and the head of the utility's Y2K team. "We are on schedule to have equipment and systems ready for the transition to year 2000, and we believe that Y2K-related power outages are highly unlikely."

Virginia Power began addressing Year 2000 issues as early as 1993 with key forecasting systems. A preliminary assessment on all corporate business systems was completed in 1996, followed by the formation of the Year 2000 Project Team in January 1997. The team currently involves more than 90 full-time employees. Virginia Power's Y2K costs are expected to be in the $30 million to $40 million range.

The computer date change, known as the Year 2000 or Y2K problem, is based on the fact that in early years computers stored dates using only the last two digits of a given year. In these programs, 71 means 1971 and 94 means 1994. Under this scenario, 00 would be considered 1900, not 2000, and this could cause some computers to function improperly.

The Y2K issue can affect any computer or equipment using preprogrammed computer chips that have provision for functions or calculations involving the date. Virginia Power's Y2K project plan includes a number of remediation methods, including retirement, replacement, renovation and re-engineering. The plan includes rigorous testing guidelines. The most critical and complex components and systems are tested first and most extensively.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently reported that Virginia Power's program to assure that nuclear safety and operations computer systems at North Anna Power Station are not susceptible to the Y2K problem is "well-structured, well organized, and well implemented." Virginia Power is implementing the same program at its other nuclear power station, Surry.

The NERC report, titled "Preparing the Electric Power Systems of North America for Transition to the Year 2000," was its third to the DOE. A copy of the news release can be found at www.nerc.com.

NERC is a Princeton, N.J., trade organization dedicated to promoting the reliability of the U.S. electric supply. Its members include more than 200 utilities. Last year, NERC was charged by the DOE to help coordinate Y2K readiness efforts for the electric utility industry.

Virginia Power is the principal subsidiary of Dominion Resources Inc., (NYSE: D), an international energy business with headquarters in Richmond.

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