APOCALYPSE SOON: A Y2K RUNDOWN.

• Author: KERVEN, ANNE
• Position: Government agencies and utilities ready for Y2K - Brief Article

You know you'll be watching. Jan. 1 starts mid-Pacific and works its way across the Far East, Europe, then over the East Coast and Midwest before it reaches Colorado.

And then what? Will it be business as usual?

Until New Years, it's anybody's guess. Speculation is redundant anymore. Those who operate in Colorado industry say there's little to fear but fear itself, a fear propelled by profiteers.

Others say anybody anticipating smooth sailing is deluded.

"There are so many chips and so many systems," said Amy Cecil, owner of Y2KGRUB in Trinidad. The company sells Y2K survival products and hosted some of the Y2K preparedness conventions in Denver. "A lot of businesses have adopted a see-what-breaks-then-fixit (perspective)," she said.

Today, Y2K alarmists focus more on incremental delayed reactions. The oil production industry, for example, is "riddled with computer chips," Cecil said.

But state and private authorities say they're ready.

* The Colorado Public Utilities Commission oversees large utilities like Public Service Co. of Colorado and US West, as well as the state's 26 independent telephone companies. Those companies "have to file reports to us on Y2K," and conducted trial runs, said PUC spokesperson Barbara Fernandez. "We're assured that everything will work on Jan. 1."

A potential problem: Multiple phone calls Jan. 1 could overload lines and produce a busy signal. Consumers may assume it's Y2K effects.

Then again, "We'd like to answer, 'Expect business as usual,' but we can't give guarantees for companies beyond our control," such as international phone firms, said Barry Hjort, executive vice president of the Colorado Telecommunications Association in Littleton and a member of the Governor's, Task Force on Y2K Preparedness. CTA's membership includes independent telephone companies. Aside from reporting to PUC on their own compliance, those members have to check vendors' switch software for compliance.

A caveat: Phones need electricity.

* Public Service reported its compliance status to PUC, but the state's 22 small power companies -- rural electric co-ops -- aren't under PUC's jurisdiction.

From everything she's seen, "They are very well prepared," said Mona Neeley, managing editor of the Colorado Rural Electric Association's industry publication. Electrical utilities report compliance to the Princeton, N.J.-based North American Electric Reliability Council, a utility consortium that oversees compliance efforts for the U.S...