John Koskinen, chairman of President Bill Clinton's Y2K Council, told a computer-industry forum last week that he is confident federal agencies will be ready in time. Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, which supply 30 percent of U.S. oil imports, are 12 to 18 months behind U.S. Y2K repair efforts. Infection of repaired U.S. computer systems from links to unfixed foreign ones is also worrisome. There is no national strategic plan to assure that crucial infrastructures will continue to function. Neither is there a national contingency plan in the event of widespread infrastructure failure.
States vary greatly in their preparation levels.
Failure of some parts of the electric utility system is likely, but the overall power grid is not expected to be compromised. Almost all telephone systems are expected to be ready. Planes will not fall out of the sky, but rationing of flights to some areas is possible. Banks and automated tellers are expected to be functioning and to have enough cash. Some countries on which the United States relies are behind in their preparations.