Some utilities install higher-voltage insulators so the line can be easily upgraded to carry more power.

In the future, utilities might install fuel cells on their own land or perhaps in customers' basements.

Some utilities install meters that literally run backward when renewable energy is being pushed into the electrical grid.

Independently, other utilities around the country are installing cells of an older design, in ever-growing tests that may lead to a mass market.

The board said it would also require utilities to install flags and other markers to better identify underground utility lines.

The utility is installing the lines as part of a $1.1 million project, scheduled for completion by June 1.

By the end of May, the utility had installed the thermostats in 9,000 households.

The participants must also agree to apply for all state energy-assistance programs and allow the utilities to install free energy-saving devices in their homes.

The utilities will install chargers for the cars at the volunteers' homes.

In a settlement of the suit, the utility received four replacement generators in 1987 but never installed them.