Hampton, NH – November 18, 1999: Customers of Unitil (AMEX:UTL) - Unitil/Concord Electric Company (CECo), Unitil/Exeter & Hampton Electric Company (E&H), and Unitil/Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company (FG&E) –can expect to "bring in the New Year" without a Y2K-related interruption to their electric or gas service.

Unitil’s Compliance and Contingency Programs

Unitil initiated its Y2K program in the spring of 1998. A team of cross-functional employees reviewed all hardware, software and network items. The team assessed each to determine Y2K compliance. If not compliant, the item was either reprogrammed or replaced. Then all the items were tested to assure they would transition seamlessly into the New Year.

Since June 30, 1999, Unitil’s mission critical systems used to deliver gas and electricity to customers have been ready for the date changes associated with the Year 2000.

Unitil has consulted with its key suppliers and vendors about their Y2K compliance. The key suppliers and agencies including the Independent System Operator of New England (ISO-NE) and the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) have indicated that systems are Y2K ready.

As an additional precaution, however, Unitil has developed contingency plans to address potential Y2K or Y2K-related issues that would disrupt energy service to customers. For the most part this has involved the review of established outage restoration procedures, such as the ones CECo, E&H and FG&E implemented recently for Hurricane Floyd.

Unitil will also maintain additional staff at its locations on New Year’s Eve, including operations, customer service, technology and media relations staff. The primary tasks for the evening are expected to be answering questions from customers and updating the radio, TV and newspaper personnel.

How should customers prepare for Y2K?

If customers have any concerns about Y2K-related problems, they should follow the same course of action as they do in anticipation of bad weather: check their supply of batteries and battery operated lights and radio, prepare a backup supply of water and other essentials, and assure they have the means to stay safe and warm for a short period.

Unitil is a public utility holding company with a combination electric and gas utility distribution operation in north central Massachusetts and electric utility distribution operations in several cities and towns in the seacoast and capital city areas of New Hampshire. Unitil is also engaged in energy planning, procurement, marketing and consulting activities through both its utility and non-utility subsidiaries. Its subsidiaries are Concord Electric Company, Exeter & Hampton Electric Company, Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company, Unitil Power Corp., Unitil Realty Corp., Unitil Resources, Inc., and Unitil Service Corp.

Contact
Stephanye Schuyler
schuyler@unitil.com