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.

The Government of Mexico on November 8 revealed its new natural gas regulations at a special conference of industry executives in Mexico City. The new rules promote use of natural gas; create a competitive, market-driven gas industry; encourage private investment; enhance customer choice; and protect the environment. Private-sector transmission, distribution, and storage of gas were all previously controlled by the state.

Conference attendee Thomas A. Page (em chairman of San Diego Gas & Electric Co.

In a recent article ("The Efficient Utility: Labor, Capital, and Profit," Sept. 1, 1995), Taylor and Thompson attempt to measure the

economic efficiencies of 19 investor-owned utilities.

The authors use a method of efficiency measurement proposed by M.J. Farrell in a pioneering paper published nearly 40 years ago.

California regulators and the utilities they oversee have been talking a lot in recent years about competition. But just being able to "talk the talk" isn't enough (em utility companies and the regulators who monitor them have got to "walk the walk." And on that score, they've just barely begun to crawl. Despite all the marketing hype, the monopoly mindset is still very apparent among industry officials and regulators.Take California's energy industry, for example.

American Medical Association, and the California Medical Association have filed briefs with the California Supreme Court stating that they find no link between cancer and electromagnetic fields (EMF) from electric transmission lines: "The physics and cellular biology, combined, strongly indicate that it is not scientifically reasonable to believe that 60 Hz magnetic fields increase the incidence of cancer." The briefs were filed in a case involving San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), which is being sued by the Covalt family, who claim that EMF from power li

The California Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is an agreement between Southern California Edison Co. (SCE), the California Manufacturers' Association, the California Large Energy Consumers' Association, and the Independent Energy Producers. It tackles three major issues:s recovery of stranded assets

s market power

s market structure.

If the MOU is eventually endorsed, it might be a landmark in electric restructuring \(em and not only in California.

demand-side management (DSM).1

With broad-based support from utilities, consumer representatives, environmentalists, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and the California Energy Commission (CEC), some $1.8 billion has been spent since 1990 (and $

San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has filed comments to support the "majority proposal" by the California Public Utilities Commission on deregulating the electric utility industry, which calls for formation of a wholesale power pool.

SDG&E noted that while a key element of the proposal involved creating an independent system operator, the company would go further and set up a regional transmission company to own the grid.

A couple weeks ago, on a beautiful Sunday morning, I picked up my briefcase and wandered down to the Potomac river shoreline to catch up on my summer reading list. There, on the Virginia side, gazing across the river at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and Capitol dome, I gathered strength to tackle a foot-high mound of paper.