News Release
| Release Number: | 99-108 |
| Dated: | 12/15/1999 |
| Contact: | Matt Rabe, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore. – Hydroelectric generators at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dams throughout Oregon are Y2K-ready and should continue producing electricity without interruption after midnight Dec. 31, 1999, according to agency officials.
"I am confident our systems will continue operating after the clock strikes 12 on Dec. 31," said Year 2000 project manager and Deputy District Engineer Lt. Col. Kenneth A. Harshbarger.
"We believe we have identified and addressed all of the systems requiring repair or replacement, and fully expect to be capable of executing our missions – producing hydroelectric power, maintaining water management of the region's rivers, and providing unimpeded navigation – on Jan. 1, 2000," he added.
Every system – from communications to water control to electrical power generation – has been looked at during the past couple years and been given the green light, Harshbarger said.
Should the need arise, however, hydropower generation and water management can be controlled the old-fashioned way – manually, said Robert van der Borg, Y2K coordinator for the Corps industrial equipment.
"These systems aren’t tied to computer technology in the same way other systems are," he said. "Remember, some of these facilities were built long before computers were part of our everyday lives."
The Corps also is taking some precautionary steps to be ready for unexpected glitches.
"We will have some additional employees on duty that night to respond should anything go wrong," Harshbarger said.
Annually, the Corps of Engineers’ Portland District produces more than 25 million megawatts hours of hydroelectric power at 12 dams in Oregon, which are distributed throughout the West by the Bonneville Power Administration.