The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Y2K bug eats London's electricity

Bug fix attempt backfires big-time

Increase your knowledge of the latest threats to your busines

A botched attempted to fix the millennium bug left over 2,000 Londoners without electricity last week. London Electricity was graded 'blue' by the government watchdog Action 2000, indicating no material risk of disruption. A spokesman said: "Our Powerkey meters don't recognise the date change. They would keep supplying electricity, but would not register any price changes." The new software was to be installed when customers re-charged the meters. Of the 8,000 fixes attempted, 2,000 did not work. London Electricity said that the majority were reconnected within 24 hours, and that no one had to wait longer than 48 hours for power to return. A further 400,000 Londoners must now wait for their millennium fix until the new bug has been exterminated. ®

See what The Register's experts have to say on application security

Don’t Miss

Win a Samsung C6625!

Reg Lucky Draw Windows Mobile handsets up for grabs

Palm_Pre_001_SMIs your cameraphone an oxymoron?

Pic Review iPhone 3G v iPhone 3GS v Palm Pre

Reg black vulture logoReg Mobile and Wireless newsletter is go! go! go!

Site news Email-tasm

Sign up, sign up for The Register IT security newsletter

Narrowcasting for the email classes