The lights won't go out in Bermuda on New Year's Day 2000. At least that's what the Bermuda Electric Light Co. Ltd. (Belco) is hoping as it puts its plant through a rigorous Year 2000 compliance programme.

Last week I said I'd eat crow if Cable & Wireless can show why Logic shouldn't be allowed to provide telephone over the Internet services.

This week I'm promising to eat this article if Belco doesn't follow through with its plans to be compliant in time. From all accounts Belco is a well run company, so I'm trusting the company's statements on the subject.

"Belco is very confident of meeting Year 2000 compliance,'' the company stated in a release. "In fact, we plan to be 80 percent compliant in terms of delivering electricity to the customer's metre and 100 percent compliant with our computer applications by the end of 1998. The remaining 20 percent of our generation is planned to be compliant during the first half of 1999.'' Belco has put manager of information technology Ron Bergen in charge of its Year 2000 compliance programme. Mr. Bergen reports directly to Belco president and chief executive officer Garry Madeiros.

The status of the project is discussed every second week with Mr. Madeiros and the executive vice president. Senior management and board of directors receive updates every month.

Belco has established a typical five-step process followed by many companies: Awareness, assessment, renovation, testing, implementation.

Awareness and assessment includes an inventory of all computing hardware and software. The company also had to identify all embedded computer processors.

The potential impact of failure of these systems was evaluated. The two key areas identified were first, the ability to generate, transmit and distribute electricity to the customer, and second, to ensure administrative and financial operations continue to function. Team leaders have been appointed in each area.

Using the information the renovation, testing, and implementation phases are underway. The company's plans include the upgrading or replacement of all date dependent operations.

By mid-1997 Belco had already assessed key digital control systems at its 14 generating units. About 80 percent of the generation control monitoring systems have been upgraded. The units are now being tested during maintenance shutdowns.

This month the company plans on installing a new system to monitor and manage the delivery of electricity from the generating units to the customer's metre.

Belco has already tested the system to ensure it is compliant before installation. No trust here of manufacturer claims, and rightly so.

On the administrative and financial operations side, the company began upgrading its core applications and technology in 1996. Integration and testing should be completed early next year.

Belco believes its major risk will be from external service providers. The company is dependent on fuel, transport, materials and telecommunications.

"Belco is completely reliant on its suppliers, particularly fuel and spare parts,'' the company stated. "...Contingency plans will ensure that our fuel supplies are at the maximum and additional spare parts are on site prior to the end of the year 1999.'' The company believes its stores of fuel can last for three months if the supply is cut off. No supplier is making any guarantees.

In dire circumstances, the company's last resort is to reverse the clocks by one or more years on its generating units.

"This means we can choose our own timing for moving into the Year 2000 including doing it one unit at a time during low peak periods,'' Belco stated.

If you're still afraid the lights will go out you can contact Mr. Bergen by E-mail at y2kbelco y belco.bhl.bm or telephone 299-2820.

As a further follow to the telephone over the Internet issue, Tech Tattle notes a report published last week by technology consultancy Schema.

The report concentrated on the European market. The company predicts that international telephone services running over the Internet will force traditional telephone companies to slash charges by about 70 percent in Europe.

A surge of use in Europe will take over 21 percent of international call traffic, the company stated. Traditional long distance providers are in the process of moving -- quickly, or in some cases slowly -- to stall the flank attack.

AT&T, British Telecommunications and France Telecom are entering the market.

They in turn will attack the revenues of the Internet telephone companies.

"They (new companies) are going to have to offer an average of about 50 percent under the traditional telcos to gain growth and I expect it's going to be less and less profitable to be in the IP (Internet) telephone business,'' Schema consultant Robin Duke-Wooley told Reuters.

The Internet providers will then have to turn to providing E-mail and multimedia services to survive.