Experimental evidence is presented indicating that a nonthermal electron energy distribution occurs in a collapsing gas shellZpinch at the time of pinch. It is estimated that these results can be explained if less than 10% of the current is associated with an energetic (∼4 keV) electron beam. Interpreting the spectroscopic diagnostics consistently with the nonthermal electron energy distribution indicates that the temperature of the plasma ‘‘hot spots’’ could be as low as ∼400 eV instead of the 1 keV obtained by assuming a thermal distribution.