SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday announced the appointment of James F. Ellison, Jr., to the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.

Brian K. Moore, who was previously appointed to the commission, submitted a letter of resignation to Gov. Lujan Grisham stating that he did not meet the statutory educational qualifications for the appointment. Individuals submitted to the governor for appointment consideration applied through and were vetted by the PRC Nominating Committee, a process independent of the governor’s office and established by the 2022 constitutional amendment reforming the commission.

James F. Ellison Jr. has nearly three decades of experience in electric utility operations and power markets, currently serving as the principal grid analyst for the Grid Modernization Group at Sandia National Laboratories. He has also worked on the Energy Storage and Transmission Analysis Group and the National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Group at Sandia, studying power grids and the implementation of renewable energy and analyzing the impact of natural disasters on energy infrastructure. Ellison also previously served as managing director of Cimarron Power LLC. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Clemson University, two master’s degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a master’s degree from Stanford University.