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National Guard Ready to Act on Eve of 2000

By Amy Rinard, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
7 October 1998

The following Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article cites a major utility company recommending citizens look into "alternative energy sources" in preparation for "likely" power failures due to the Y2k computer bug (http://www.onwis.com/archive/oct98/news/1007y2k.asp):

National Guard ready to act on eve of 2000

Madison -- The Wisconsin National Guard is prepared to be mobilized on Dec. 31, 1999, to deal with potential power failures, water system shutdowns and other problems that could occur as computers click over to the year 2000.

And an attorney for a major electric utility said the company is encouraging its customers to look into alternative energy sources, including home generators, in anticipation of power failures as a result of the problem.

Mari Nahn, an attorney with Madison-based Alliant Corp. -Wisconsin Power & Light Co., said power failures are likely, as are failures of municipal water systems.

Computer chips embedded in everything from pacemakers to coffee-makers have the potential to fail, and in many cases people don't even know they're there, Nahn said. In the utility industry, embedded chips are used everywhere, she added.

Leonard P. Levine, professor of computer science and electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee, said having troops on standby is "not unreasonable."

"Somewhere -- no one knows where -- something will fall apart. I truly believe that someone is going to die because of this problem. . . . I'm sure that one of these utilities is going to fail."