Bhubaneswar, Mar 28 (PTI) The state government on Friday appointed former chief secretary Pradeep Jena as chairperson of Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC).

The energy department in a notification said the appointment would be effective from the day Jena, a 1998-batch IAS officer, assumes office.

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The post of OERC chairperson has been vacant since November 2023 after SC Mohapatra, also a former chief secretary, resigned from the post after being appointed as chief adviser to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO).

Earlier, Jena served as secretary of the energy department for over six years.

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Jena served as a chief secretary from February 26, 2023, to June 30, 2024. Though the officer was slated to retire from service on December 31, 2023, he got a six-month extension because of general and assembly polls in the state in April-May 2024.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)