LAFAYETTE, La. -- With only a few months left before the new year and a just-released federal report calling the local utility unready for Y2K, Lafayette residents still say they're fully prepared for possible utility outages and computer-related problems.

'We are ready to go,' said David Goodwyn, founder of the Acadiana Y2K Awareness Group.

Goodwyn is confident even in the face of a September 7 report by the federal Department of Energy naming the Lafayette Utilities System as one of 12 electric utilities around the country not ready for the Year 2000.

The report assessed Y2K readiness around the country, but Goodwyn said citizens should not rely on federal officials and should actively investigate and participate in local emergency preparation plans.

'It?s imperative that if someone is concerned, they should call their local utility providers,? he said. ?Don?t rely on someone who is in (Washington) D.C. to tell you what?s going on in your community.'

Acadiana group members have been in regular communication with utility officials and other service providers for about a year, he said, and have found backup plans, manual controls and communications are in place. These steps have made Jan. 1 seem less ominous.

Goodwyn hasn't always felt so confident about his town's ability to cope with problems that the millennium bug might cause.

When he traveled to Chicago in June 1998 to attend his first Y2K convention, which included a cross section of Fortune 500 executives, foreign diplomats and members of Congress, his first reaction was fear. 'I got scared to death, to be honest,' he said.

But determination quickly replaced the anxiety. 'I decided I was going to go home and find out what was going on there and make an effort to get the word out, so we did,' he said.

A committee was formed within a few months and targeted Acadiana, a region consisting of eight parishes, or counties, around Lafayette. The group quickly involved churches to get a neighbor-to-neighbor movement going. Members gathered information from community officials about Y2K readiness and spread the word about how to prepare, Goodwyn said.