Thad was originally appointed to the Public Service Commission of Utah in 2012 and was appointed Commission Chair in 2015. He was reappointed in 2021 by Governor Spencer J. Cox. Since his appointment as Chair the PSC has gone paperless and redesigned its internet presence, streamlined numerous administrative rules and processes, modernized its administration of Utah’s Universal Service Fund and Relay program, made substantive updates to Utah’s PURPA requirements, implemented a new rate structure for customer generation, initiated investigations into grid modernization and advanced rate design, and established rules for a community renewable energy program.

In addition to his duties at the PSC, Thad provides public service on the Body of State Regulators for the Western Energy Imbalance Market. He is also a member of the Advisory Council to the Center for Public Utilities at New Mexico State University, the Committee on Telecommunications of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, and the Joint Federal-State Task Force on Electric Transmission. He has done volunteer work with USAID to provide workshops to international regulators on topics including cross border electricity trading, flexibility of coal generation facilities, and natural gas infrastructure regulation.

Before his appointment to the PSC Thad served as Deputy Executive Director of the Utah Department of Commerce, Director of the Division of Consumer Protection, administrative law judge, and associate general counsel to the Utah Legislature. He was a member of the steering committee for the Governor’s Office 2011 Business Regulation Review, a project that resulted in over 300 changes to streamline state government. Before attending law school Thad was a public school teacher in Texas and Arkansas.

David was appointed to the Public Service Commission of Utah by Governor Gary Herbert on January 1, 2013 and was reappointed to a second six-year term on March 1, 2019. At the time of his initial appointment, he had been serving as the Commission’s legal counsel since 2010.

David participates in a number of national and regional organizations related to public utility regulation and policy. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). He serves on the NARUC Electricity Committee and on the Member Representatives Committee of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). He also serves as Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of the Northern Tier Transmission Group (NTTG). Formerly, David was Vice-Chair of the Western Interconnection Regional Advisory Body (WIRAB) and represented state governments on the Member Advisory Committee of the Western Electric Coordinating Council (WECC).

Prior to moving to Utah, David practiced law in California for 22 years during which he represented energy and telecommunications utilities in administrative hearings and managed the Legal Division of a gas and electric public utility. He began his law practice as a member of the United States Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps. David also founded a financial services business in the banking sector, serving clients in the western United States.

David’s community activities have included service on the boards of the San Diego Urban League, the Poway Center for the Performing Arts Foundation, the San Diego Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the San Diego Chapter of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society. He also spent three years in full-time, volunteer church service. David received his undergraduate and law degrees from Brigham Young University.