Action 2000 claims utilities are ahead of the game

NEWS The UK's core utilities are on track to beat the millennium bug, according to Don Cruickshank, head of Action 2000. Speaking at the National Infrastructure Forum (NIF), Cruickshank attempted to lay to rest fears that public services will break down on 1 January 2000. He said the country's vital services - gas, electricity, water and telecoms - will be able to enjoy business as usual. Cruickshank said: "We're a little bit more advanced than we thought we'd be. My judgement has been, for more than a year, that we could deliver business as normal for public services. And it looks as if we're going to be able to do it." The forum uses a graded 'traffic light' scale to measure compliance. A blue marking indicates no substantial risk of material disruption, amber means a company is on track to reach blue status, while those in the red still have a long way to go. As part of its report, the NIF focused on 20 electricity companies. While only 10 of those had submitted enough information for a full assessment, the figures showed 46 per cent of systems are in the blue, the majority are amber but two per cent are in the danger zone. The telecoms, water and sewage industries all claimed to have a 100 per cent amber status. Anne Lambert, director of operations at UK telecoms regulator, Oftel, said: "At the end of the first quarter of this year, all companies were in the amber stage. There were still risks but we have plans to rectify those." But Lambert said the industry cannot afford to be complacent. "It would be misleading of me to imply that things cannot go wrong. In real life they do. But telecoms companies already invest significantly in problem detection and rectification and in the contingency measures required. Contingency measures are going to be especially important for the millennium, given its unusual nature."