General Manager J. Peter Lark elected President of
Michigan Municipal Electric Association
Lansing Board of Water & Light General Manager J. Peter Lark was elected
President of the Michigan Municipal Electric Association at the group’s fall conference
in Marquette.
“I am honored that MMEA members have elected me to this esteemed office,” Lark
said. “I look forward to working with my MMEA colleagues as we advance the agenda of
Michigan’s public utilities.”
MMEA presidents are elected annually by the MMEA board of directors. The 40-member MMEA is Michigan’s trade group for municipally owned electric utilities.
Lark had served as the MMEA’s Vice President for the past year. In 2007, he
received the MMEA’s Public Service Award.
“To have someone of Peter Lark’s caliber serving as our president is truly a
privilege,” said MMEA Executive Director Jim Weeks. “His hands-on leadership has
been a great asset to our organization, most recently when he chaired our workgroup that
developed guidelines to protect vulnerable Michigan citizens from utility shut-offs.”
Lark became the BWL’s General Manager in 2007. That first year, Lark established
the BWL as a state leader in renewable energy and energy conservation. Within a month
of taking over the reins at the BWL, he announced an historic, 21-year agreement to buy
electricity generated from landfill gases. Thousands of Lansing-area homes are now
powered by this form of renewable energy. In 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency honored the BWL for the landfill gas-to-electricity project.
Late in 2008, the BWL powered up its first solar panel array – Michigan’s largest –
which now provides solar-generated electricity to its customers.
Previously, Lark was Chairman of the Michigan Public Service Commission. In
2006, he authored “Michigan’s 21st Century Energy Plan,” a blueprint for Michigan’s
energy future. In 2003, Lark served on the Electric System Working Group for the Joint
United States-Canada Energy Task Force to investigate the causes of the 2003 blackout.
