These technological prodigies had the capacity to invent everything from the laser printer to the World Wide Web, but apparently they forgot that the number 2000 comes after 1999. Now computers are unable to distinguish whether the beginning of the next century is actually the restarting of this one. Prognosticators woefully predict that the confused circuitry will either malfunction or freeze up. No doubt, the extent of this problem is sizable, but the fallout may not be as apocalyptic as some might suggest. The idea of a massive, multi-state power failure is highly unlikely.
Most electricity is routed manually.
If an overload is detected on a line, the system automatically shuts down. Similar to the breakers and fuses that protect a home from catastrophe, these industrial safety mechanisms don't care what year it is. In the case of electric utility companies, date coding plays only a minor role in the production of electricity, but it is crucial to the metering of usage. This gives the power companies great incentive to solve the problem so that they can collect their money. Dire predictions concerning the airline and finance industries are also exaggerated.