Michael W. Peters succeeds Raymond G. Kuhl as executive v.p. and g.m. at the new Michigan Electric Cooperative Association. Kuhl retired January 30. Peters was general counsel at the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives. MECA provides services to 14 co-ops.

MDU Resources Group, Inc. has elected Thomas S. Everist, a South Dakota businessman, to its board of directors.

Peter J. O'Shea, Jr. was named senior v.p. and general counsel at Consolidated Edison. O'Shea comes from ITT Corp., where he served as v.p.

Anyone on the East Coast can tell you a good snow story this winter. Like when I looked out my front window one morning and saw a four-wheel-drive utility vehicle get stuck in the middle of my street in downtown Washington. After spinning his wheels for a while, the driver got out and began walking toward Connecticut Avenue, a main DC thoroughfare.

The driver soon returned, carrying a fresh, steaming cafe latte from Starbucks in each gloved hand. He opened the door, climbed in, and gave one cup to his passenger.

The merger voltage (I) is rising on the electric grid, but it remains to be seen which will win out: current (E) policy or resistance (R) to it.

To what extent should regulation yield to market forces in setting wholesale electric prices? The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) posed this question when it sought comments on whether open transmission access would eliminate the need for anything like traditional rate regulation.

"obvious relationship" between prolonged lower-level radio frequency (RF) radiation exposure and increased disease in humans, according to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The CPUC's investigation into electromagnetic fields (EMF) and RF radiation at cellular radio telephone facilities found cellular power densities consistently below current industry exposure standards.

The North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) has authorized Duke Power Co. to implement a research and demonstration pilot project on residential geothermal heat-pump systems. The program is designed to overcome existing market barriers and will target new home builders with incentives of up to $3,500 per system to offset installation costs. According to Duke Power, program costs could be recovered from customers in future rate proceedings because participation will result in the installation of energy equipment that exceeds federal appliance efficiency standards.

The Utah Public Service Commission (PSC) has authorized Mountain Fuel Supply Co., an LDC, to increase rates by $3.7 million. The LDC will collect the revenue deficiency by assessing a fee of $12.00 per month for 12 months on new residential premises. The charge is designed to recover increased capital and operating costs due to new customer growth in the LDC's service territory. The new rule permits the LDC to record 20 percent of the credits as distribution nongas revenues, while passing the remaining 80 percent back to ratepayers through its fuel-cost adjustment clause.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) has approved a two-year capacity-release program for Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G), a natural gas local distribution company (LDC), as part of an ongoing effort to unbundle gas services. Other LDCs in the state have already incorporated capacity-release programs, but PSE&G argued that it was without surplus year-round pipeline capacity. The LDC said gas marketers should obtain their own capacity at lower rates through either long-term contracts with the pipelines or through capacity release from other parties.