Nevada’s primary electric utility is under new leadership.

Doug Cannon, who has worked as utility president since last February, has become NV Energy’s CEO following the retirement of former CEO Paul Caudill, who announced his retirement last year.

In an email, NV Energy spokeswoman Andrea Smith said Cannon became the utility’s CEO effective Jan. 1. The transition in leadership was not previously announced.

“Caudill and Cannon have worked closely on the transition over the last year and Caudill stayed on board until February 1 to wrap it up,” she wrote.

Caudill, who became the utility’s CEO in 2014, guided the utility company through several acrimonious public battles, including a revolt from rooftop solar owners in 2016 and a contentious 2018 ballot question that sought to undo the company’s monopoly on electric service by turning Nevada into a retail choice state. He also oversaw the company’s move to embrace more renewable energy, including oversight of a plan to shutter the company’s coal plants and an ambitious Integrated Resource Plan that will see construction of six new solar plants in the state.

Cannon, 42, was hired by Berkshire Hathaway Energy, the parent company of NV Energy, in 2012 and was the company’s lead attorney for the acquisition of NV Energy in 2013. He previously held top roles at the utility, including senior vice president and general counsel.

According to his biography, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in environmental geoscience from Weber State University, a master’s degree in environmental studies from the University of Colorado and a juris doctor from the University of Colorado School of Law.

Caudill and Cannon informed major customers and others of the leadership change in an email sent last month.

“The two of us have worked very closely together on this transition plan,” they wrote. “We are both proud of what the NV Energy team has been able to accomplish over the past five years, going back to 2013 and the Berkshire Hathaway Energy acquisition. We started by focusing on creating an industry-leading safety culture for the colleagues we work with daily and have made great strides.”