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SACRAMENTO (AP) — Gov. Gray Davis has appointed a former Edison International and Southern California Edison executive as the newest member of the Public Utilities Commission, the state agency that regulates Edison and other investor-owned utilities. 

Davis announced Tuesday he had named economist and former Edison president Michael R. Peevey to replace Richard Bilas at the PUC, a week after Bilas announced he was resigning to care for his ailing wife and because of policy frustrations. 

Davis appointees hold four of the five commission seats, which could help Davis promote his energy policies as the state attempts to settle a $10 billion power-buying debt and resolve its flawed attempt at deregulating its electricity market. The remaining GOP-appointed commissioner is Henry Duque. 

Consumer advocates blasted the decision, saying Peevey has conflicts of interest that could harm the state’s utility customers. 

“Mike Peevey is a former Edison executive. He used to head a company that consults for the private power companies that price gouged in California,” said Doug Heller of the Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. 

“His professional history is working for the industry that the PUC regulates and his professional relationships are with the people that he’ll be required to stand up against.” 

Peevey’s term begins Saturday and lasts six years. He also has been chief executive of TruePricing Inc., a technology company focused on helping large companies and government institutions track their energy costs. From 1995 to 2000, he was president of NewEnergy Inc., the nation’s largest energy service provider. He led Edison between 1990 and 1993. 

“His insight on the ever-changing electricity market will be invaluable to the commission as it makes decisions about California’s energy future,” Davis said in a statement. 

A legal settlement negotiated in secret by the Davis administration last year helped Edison avoid bankruptcy by maintaining record high electric rate hikes for the next several years and forgoing shareholder dividends. Before the settlement, Davis spent months lobbying the Legislature to buy Edison’s transmission lines to help the utility stay financially stable. 

After review by PUC counsel, Peevey will resign from any position and divest any holdings that might constitute a conflict of interest, the statement said. Peevey holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and is married to Assemblywoman Carol Liu, D-La Canada Flintridge. 

Davis also announced Tuesday the appointment of John L. Geesman as a member of the Independent System Operator governing board. The ISO manages the state’s power grid, and has come under fire from critics for working too closely with lawmakers when making energy decisions. 

Since 1985, Geesman has been the Managing Director of Fixed Income Banking for RBC Dain Rauscher Incorporated in San Francisco. Since 2000, he has served as chair of the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, also as a Davis appointee. 

Geesman also is former president of the board of directors for San Francisco-based consumer advocacy group The Utility Reform Network and a member of the Sierra Club. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a juris doctorate degree from Boalt Hall, University of California, Berkeley. 

Associated Press Writer Karen Gaudette contributed to this report.