With less

than five months to go before the millennium,

Coweta-Fayette EMC CEO Micheal Whiteside says the company

is well prepared to deal with the problems the Y2K bug

might cause.

The EMC

chief said his company has tested the capabilities of

their computer systems several times and everything has

worked properly.

The final

test will be Sept.9, 9-9-99, which analysts also believe

could cause some problems. As the New Year draws closer,

Whiteside said the power company is receiving more and

more questions from anxious consumers.

"Our

main concern right now is what the public perception

is," he said.

Right now,

the perception is fear of the unknown. Whiteside recently

addressed a group at New Hope Baptist Church in

Fayetteville and said many of his audience are already

stockpiling food and water in anticipation of a power

outage.

"The

last couple of weeks in December are going to be

interesting. There could be a run on the banks with

people trying to get more cash," he added.

EMC has

spent $750,000 in making sure its system is Y2K

compatible and has moved the company's holiday from

Dec.31 to Jan. 3, in case anything happens.