Solar electric companies around the country are reporting spikes in sales attributed partly to people feeling Y2K jitters. Some believe the bug will cause the nation's power grids to crash when clocks strike midnight on Jan. 1, leading to blackouts. We don't know which system will have problems. Hopefully, it's no system. Ms. Mueller said.
Power companies say they have the situation under control.
Utilities say a nationwide test of their systems April 9 revealed no serious problems. But only backup communication systems were tested, not generators or transmission lines. Some authorities expect any Y2K electrical problems to be minimal, comparable to the brief outages after storms. Wallace Reynolds, a spokesman for Arizona's Salt River Project, the nation's third-largest utility company, said customers will need nothing more than a flashlight and a candle. Still, some aren't reassured and that's where the alternatives come in.