News Analysis

Fortnightly Magazine - January 1 1999
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Rising projections, with few expenditures to date, paint an uncertain picture.

"In almost all cases, companies will have material events and changes requiring updated year 2000 disclosure in each quarterly and annual report filed with us."

That was the general mandate suggested by the Securities and Exchange Commission last summer in its interpretive release on the disclosure requirements for the Y2K issue. In other words, the "Management Discussion and Analysis" section of Forms 10-K and 10-Q (annual and quarterly reports filed with the SEC by all publicly held companies) should include detailed and specific information. But have utilities responded as requested? And more importantly, what are they reporting?

The SEC release calls for the companies to address four categories of information in their MD&A: (1) their state of readiness, including information on both information technology as well as embedded systems issues; (2) the costs of addressing the Y2K issue; (3) risks involved, including a description of possible worst-case scenarios; and (4) their contingency plans to be implemented in the event of worst-case scenarios coming to fruition.

A survey of Forms 10-Q filed by electric utilities show different degrees of readiness and cost projections.

Spending Lags

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