BUSINESS PERSONNEL: NEW PLANT MANAGER

Tom Watkins has been named plant manager of the New Madrid Power Plant, a 1,200-megawatt, coal-fired generation facility operated by Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. (AECI).

Watkins joined AECI in 1988 as a chief mine engineer at Thomas Hill Energy Center Mining Division at Clifton Hill, Mo. He remained there until 1998 when he moved to the New Madrid facility as yard operations superintendent. He was named acting manager at the New Madrid facility in January when former plant manager Duane Highley was promoted to director of power production.

AECI, headquartered at Springfield, provides wholesale power to six regional and 51 local electric cooperative systems in Missouri, Northeast Oklahoma and Southeast Iowa that serves more than 750,000 homes and businesses.