The state Comptroller's office is now urging the state to form contingency plans. Around the nation, corporations are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on Y2K work. Smaller operations are lagging. Even if companies don't rely heavily on computers, Y2K can show in such places as burglar alarms, time clocks, telephone systems and heating units. In state hearings with both bank officials and state utility providers, industry representatives vowed they were doing all they could to make sure there were no Y2K glitches.
Officials point out that they have good reason to make sure their computers work.
If the power goes out, that means people will not be paying electric bills. If the banks fail, people won't be taking large loans on which to pay interest. The biggest phone problem may be from businesses that have private phone systems that were not checked for problems, Lee said. A total of 250 personal computers around the building were replaced with brand-new PCs with Pentium processors. The computers were linked with a brand-new network.