Pipeline & Gas Journal
December issue 1999:

Money Well Spent

The Silver Lining in Y2K...Improved Infrastructure, Customer Care

by Gary Gardner, Chief Information Officer, American Gas Association, Washington, D.C.

By the time 1999 rolls into history and the Year 2000 begins, natural gas utilities will have spent more than an estimated $1 billion collectively to ensure that their computerized systems and functions perform reliably. This substantial dedication of resources may seem at first glance to have been “money for nothing,” to paraphrase a best-selling rock song by Dire Straits.

But there is a silver lining in the Year 2000 issue for the local natural gas distribution companies that took the opportunity to enhance customer care, reliability or operating efficiency while addressing Y2K-related challenges.
Here are highlights of some of the Y2K-related benefits identified by several natural gas utilities.

Yankee Gas Services Co. launched in July 1999 a state-of-the-art customer information system designed to enhance customer service, improve efficiency and provide the tools needed for the company to grow in an increasingly competitive energy environment. The utility is Connecticut’s largest natural gas distribution company, with about 185,000 customers.

The new CIS system supports all of Yankee’s business processes including order processing, meter reading, billing, payment processing, credit and collections and accounting functions. It also handles third-party notifications and Yankee’s budget payment plan and energy assistance programs. And, in anticipation of future customer choice initiatives, the CIS will be able to handle unbundling of residential energy customers.
“This new system is strategically important to Yankee Gas and was an attractive feature to Northeast Utilities during merger talks,” said Charles E. Gooley, president and CEO of Yankee Energy System, Inc., parent of Yankee Gas Services Company, in announcing the system’s launch. 

The first of its kind in New England, the new CIS system was modeled after a system developed by Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) and adapted by IBM to serve Yankee’s specific customer service needs. A team of Yankee Gas employees worked side-by-side with a team from IBM for two years to prepare the system for implementation. The project included testing of all transactions that affect customers, such as the addition of new customers, turning on service, billing them a few months, letting them become delinquent, turning off their gas, sending a final bill and then paying the final bill. It also included running billing cycles for different types of customers (e.g. residential, commercial, industrial and firm transportation) and producing test billing statements for all Yankee customers.

In addition, Yankee installed a new supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system to monitor natural gas flows and pressures within gas mains.

On the West Coast, one of the most significant Y2K-related risks facing Portland, Or-based NW Natural was rendering timely bills to its industrial and large commercial customers. In response, the company developed a new billing system for these valued customers to replace a legacy system that was not Y2K-compliant.

During development of the new I&C system, NW Natural renovated code in the legacy billing system so that it could be operated into 2000, if necessary.  That contingency plan carried the company into mid-November, when the I&C replacement project was scheduled to be implemented. NW Natural also installed a new customer information system for residential and commercial customers.

In preparation for Year 2000, the distribution segment of the Columbia Energy Group made several upgrades to its IT hardware platform and enhancements to many of its application systems. However, the prevalent “silver lining” that the five Columbia LDCs encountered in their Y2K project was in the development and testing of Y2K contingency plans, company officials say. Like many other natural gas distributors, Columbia had introduced computer and automation technologies to systems that had previously operated manually and mechanically. While enhancing efficiency, such computerization prompted concerns about Y2K issues.
Y2K provided an opportunity for staff at Columbia’s natural gas distribution companies to understand, review, assess and refine existing operating and disaster recovery procedures. With the pace of today’s technology advances, such review and assessment is an ongoing aspect of operational readiness.

To further test the LDCs’ state of preparedness and readiness, Columbia conducted several mock drills, developed specifically to test its ability to conduct business using the identified workarounds. By participating in these drills, Columbia believes it successfully tested the effectiveness of its Y2K contingency plans and the capabilities of its personnel.
Contingency planning efforts also led to system upgrades. Consolidated Natural Gas added electric generators or improved existing generators so that the company can generate its own power if it is needed to run critical gas delivery systems. Generators can also provide power to CNG’s microwave telecommunications system, and CNG will have radios and satellite communication systems available as additional communications backups.
Improved communication with customers was another benefit of Year 2000 preparations, according to a number of LDCs. Philadelphia-based PECO Energy said Y2K provided an opportunity to reach out to key audiences and improve the company’s relationships with customers, elected officials and industry colleagues. PECO Energy Distribution completed its Y2K project more than six months ahead of schedule, enabling its employees to undertake projects within local communities. The company inspected more than 350 customer sites to perform assessments and other feedback on their equipment.

“Customer outreach was always an important aspect of this project,” said Bob Farrington, PECO Energy Embedded Technology Manager. P&GJ