Blackstone Valley Electric, Eastern Edison, Newport Electric Prepared for Year 2000 Transition; Emergency Operations Center To Be Open.Business Editors and Energy Writers WEST BRIDGEWATER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 30, 1999 Eastern Utilities Associates (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :EUA EUA Examination under anesthesia, see there ) and its electric utility subsidiaries -- Eastern Edison Co. in Massachusetts and Blackstone Valley Electric (BVE BVE abbr. Black Vernacular English ) and Newport Electric in Rhode Island Rhode Island, island, United States Rhode Island, island, 15 mi (24 km) long and 5 mi (8 km) wide, S R.I., at the entrance to Narragansett Bay. It is the largest island in the state, with steep cliffs and excellent beaches. --are prepared for the transition to the year 2000. "We believe our systems are ready," says Robert G. Powderly, Executive Vice President. "However, we are prepared for contingencies as well. We've made plans to staff our emergency centers over New Year's Eve, with rapid response teams ready to deal with any problems and non-Y2K-related outages that may occur." EUA will be in direct communication with ISO-New England, which operates the electric generation and transmission grid in New England New England, name applied to the region comprising six states of the NE United States—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The region is thought to have been so named by Capt. , and through that organization with the North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. Electric Reliability Council to monitor events around the globe, starting when midnight hits the International Date Line. "We'll have our key substations staffed for manual control if needed," says Donald Dufault, Director of Transmission and Distribution. "Storms or highway accidents can damage utility poles and cause a power outage at any time," he adds. "These are normal occurrences, not related to the transition to the Year 2000. We'll have line trucks staffed and troubleshooters on duty to respond to any such situations that arise, with additional personnel on call to respond as needed as needed prn. See prn order. ." "There'll be more than the usual complement of Customer Service Representatives on duty to respond to customer inquiries, with additional staff standing by to respond to work if needed," says Harry Ruscetta, Director of Customer Service. Customers of BVE, Eastern Edison or Newport Electric should call toll-free 1-800-242-3850 to report any power outages. This number is staffed 24 hours a day, every day. EUA's public information personnel will be on duty New Year's Eve to respond quickly to inquiries from the news media, and will be on call throughout the weekend. "The key to preventing unnecessary problems," says EUA Information Services See Information Systems. Director William Norko, "is to treat the transition from 1999 to 2000 as a normal New Year's Eve." Blackstone Valley Electric provides electric service to nearly 90,000 customers in northern Rhode Island; Newport Electric, to 33,000 in south coastal Rhode Island; and Eastern Edison to 185,000 customers in southeastern Massachusetts. All are subsidiaries of Eastern Utilities Associates. |
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