Mumbai, Mar 5 (PTI) Retired bureaucrat Sanjay Kumar has been appointed the new chairman of the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC), an official said on Friday.

Former Maharashtra chief secretary Sanjay Kumar

The former IAS officer’s appointment to the post was cleared by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray late on Thursday, he said.

Kumar, who retired on February 28 as chief secretary of the state, will serve as MERC chairman for five years, the official said.

Veteran bureaucrat Sitaram Kunte has succeeded Kumar as the top officer of the state bureaucracy.