CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Office of Energy has its new director.
Governor Jim Justice announced Thursday that Nick Preservati has been hired as the new director of the agency which is under the West Virginia Department of Economic Development.
The West Virginia Office of Energy is responsible for the formulation and implementation of fossil, renewable and energy efficiency initiatives.
Justice said Preservati has over 25 years of experience in the energy industry as an executive, general counsel and litigator. He most recently served as the co-chair of Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC’s Energy & Environmental Practice Group.
His legal career began in Chicago, where Preservati worked for the Am Law 200 firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson. He then served as Regional Counsel for American Electric Power before starting his own boutique law firm in Charleston, West Virginia. He served as a managing member and general counsel for energy companies like CNP Properties, LLC, Met Resources, LLC and Onyx Energy, LLC.
Preservati obtained his Master of Science Degree in Energy Policy and Climate in 2021 from the Johns Hopkins University summa cum laude. In 1997, he received his Juris Doctorate Degree from the Loyola University School of Law – Chicago, and his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1994.