|
|
|
December 29, 1999
Local police, utilities are prepared for Y2KDouble police force on dutyBy TONY ZIEBOL Journal Staff Writer NEW ULM -- To make sure 1999 concludes without incident, the New Ulm Police Department will be on extra alert New Year's Eve. From 5 p.m. on Dec. 31 until 3 a.m. on Jan. 1, twice the normal amount of police officers will be on duty, according to NUPD Chief Howard Zins. Eight police officers, four auxiliary police officers and six patrol vehicles will try to ensure that nothing gets out of hand. "Every officer will be on-call in case something comes up," Zins said. Zins will be in his office until after midnight as a precautionary measure. Meanwhile, officials at the New Ulm Public Utilities Commission continue to say that tests have been run and no power problems are expected for New Ulm residents at year end. Systematic checks have been run on the water system and the computer operating system has been replaced, to make sure all water systems will operate as needed. PUC officials are confident all utilities will remain in service, fuel reserves are adequate and readiness processes have been completed. New Ulm has another advantage for Y2K because of time zone differences. If systems fail on the east coast, New Ulm will have time to put plans into place to prevent problems here, PUC officials said. No additional employees will be working New Year's Eve at PUC facilities. As of June 30, NSP conducted 99 percent of its testing of more than 10,000 devices and applications to check for Y2K compliance, said NSP President Paul Anders, Jr. "Our ability to deliver natural gas to 475,000 customers in the six states we serve, uninterrupted by the Y2K computer glitch is solidly founded on four factors," he said. "We have more than enough supply to serve the expected demand on Jan. 1; date features are present in only a small percentage of equipment; gas systems operate 24 hours a day, with adequate plans for unexpected problems; and we have coordinated our efforts with our suppliers throughout the region." While checking equipment, main plant control systems, engineering applications, maintenance management and scheduling systems, and business systems were checked. "We have not found anything that would cause a disruption of the natural gas supply," said Director of Gas Engineering Mark Nelson. Officials at New Ulm Telecom have also been working to make sure Y2K arrives with no major problems and said none are expected. However, people are asked not to flood the phone lines immediately after the new century arrives. A system overload could result in interruption of services.
|