PacifiCorp picks old hand. (appointment of Frederick Buckman as president and chief executive officer)

Buckman, 47, a veteran of nuclear tiffs, corporate politics

When Frederick Buckman, Portland's newest president and chief executive, joins PacifiCorp Feb. 1, he should readily fall into step with the Northwest's lifestyle.

The burly 6-foot-4-inch Buckman posts a four handicap on the golf course and has frequently been spotted in shorts and sweats at running events co-sponsored by his former employer, Consumers Power Co. of Jackson, Mich. Consumers serves about 1.5 million electric customers and 1.4 million natural gas customers in southern Michigan west of Detroit.

PacifiCorp has about 1.3 million electric customers in seven Western states, and handles 380,000 telephone lines throughout the West, upper Midwest and Alaska.Revenue of the two corporations are also roughly …