Carl Linvill has been appointed to a four-year term on the Public Utilities Commission.
He replaces Richard McIntyre, who is joining the Jones Vargas law firm.
Linvill, 42, will earn $93,332 a year. He has been Gov. Kenny Guinn's energy and economic adviser and director of the State Office of Energy since 2001.
Before that, Linvill was senior economist at the PUC, in charge of electric resource planning and market power evaluation.
He has a doctorate in economics from the University of North Carolina.
"Carl has been an excellent adviser on energy issues during a difficult period for the industry," said Guinn.
At the same time, he thanked McIntyre for his service.