If the millennium bug were a punting unit in football, the power industry would be Deion Sanders back to receive.

It's that sure of itself.

"I wouldn't say we're smug,"said Ed Mosey, a spokesman for the Bonneville Power Administration. "We're confident the power systems will be ready."

In the Northwest, much of the equipment that produces electricity and gets it to your home isn't as high-tech as you might think. And the power industry has been busy checking its systems to make sure they'll keep operating when the calendar turns over into a new millennium.

After testing thousands of pieces of equipment, crews have found the most important are immune to the so-called Y2K bug, which threatens to render some computers useless by confusing the year 2000 with the year 1900. The region's system of hydroelectric dams, for example, largely predates digital technology.

Even the nuclear power plant at Hanford was built with 1960s technology.

Bonneville, the federal power marketer that operates 75 percent of the high-voltage transmission lines in the region, said that system checks out, too.

The transmission system can be operated manually without computer automation if need be, officials said.

Bonneville also has instructed individual power stations to operate below their capacity on New Year's Eve. That way, they can pick up the slack should others shut down unexpectedly because of Y2K problems.

At Plant 2, the nuclear plant operated by Energy Northwest, managers have scheduled 15 to 20 extra workers to be on hand. If nothing else, they'll simply be there to manually reset some aging equipment to reflect the proper date.

Additionally, the usual team of 200 other workers will be on call in case the new year brings surprises.

"We're pretty confident we won't experience any problems," said spokesman John Britton.

Just as the rest of the world is relying on power to keep systems running Jan. 1, some power stations are relying on others. The PG&E Generating plant in Hermiston, for example, runs on natural gas and needs a steady supply of fuel to pump out its 474 average megawatts of juice, almost enough to serve half of Seattle.

"They have assured us we are ready,"plant manager Peter Rigney said of the facility's gas providers. "We're pretty comfortable."

Closer to home, utility managers say they also are ready. Their distribution systems also lack the technology the Y2K bug preys on, and substations can be operated manually if need be.

"Poles, wires and transformers don't know what day it is," said Benton REA Manager Chuck Dawsey. "It's pretty straightforward."

The REA and the Benton Public Utility District will have crews in the office on New Year's Eve to answer questions customers may have.

While some utilities will have extra crews on call, the Benton PUD will have extra help on duty, if for no other reason than to put customers at ease.

"We're in a position to respond to anything,"said Gary Long, the PUD's operations director.

The industry is more concerned about bad weather, tree branches falling on power lines and other freak events that could turn off the lights and cause a panic.

Otherwise, it's ready to stiff-arm Y2K and high-step it into the new year.

"The folks have practically become super-sensitized to this whole issue,"Mosey said. "We're anxious to get this behind us."