Sam Thompson appointed chairman of Nevada Public Utilities Commission

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- Gov. Jim Gibbons has appointed Sam Thompson to serve as chairman of the Nevada Public Utilities Commission.

The appointment was made Thursday.

Thompson has served as a commissioner on the commission since July, 2007. Thompson also serves on the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners Committee on Electricity and on the advisory board of the New Mexico State University Center for Public Utilities.

Before his appointment to the utilities commission, Thompson served as a commissioner on the Nevada Transportation Authority and on the Nevada Standing Committee on Judicial Ethics and Election Practices.