For years, the only time most people thought about their utility was when the lights went out.
Not anymore. From data centers to grid modernization to rising bills, utilities are now part of the daily conversation in Trenton and around the kitchen table.
This Thursday, leaders from three of the state’s biggest utilities and one of its most prominent building trades unions will talk about what that means.
The panel, at the inaugural BINJE’s Best: Top Utility and Infrastructure Leaders Awards at Jumping Brook Country Club in Neptune, will be moderated by BINJE Editor Tom Bergeron and will feature:
- Kim Hanemann, President and Chief Operating Officer, PSEG;
- Doug Mokoid, President, JCP&L and FirstEnergy New Jersey;
- Pat Migliaccio, SVP and Chief Operating Officer, New Jersey Natural Gas;
- Greg Lalevee, Business Manager, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825.
BINJE is hosting the event, which runs from 8 to 11:30 a.m., in partnership with the New Jersey Utilities Association. Tickets are available here.
The morning is made possible by a strong lineup of sponsors from across the industry.
Premier Partners include: New Jersey Natural Gas, ELEC825/Operating Engineers Local 825, JCP&L and Jumping Brook Country Club.
Strategic Partners include: Montana Construction, Moxie Strategies, PSEG, Atlantic City Electric, South Jersey Industries and PS&S.
The panel brings together the companies that run the grid and the workers who build it, at a time when both are being asked to do more.
The utilities alone are spending at a record pace. PSE&G expects to invest about $4.2 billion in its system this year, according to PSEG. JCP&L has proposed a five-year, $6.9 billion capital plan. NJNG keeps adding customers, now about 595,000, while testing new ways to cut emissions.
All that work has to be built by someone.
The conversation is expected to cover:
- The new skills the construction industry and the trades will need as utilities take on new projects and initiatives, and how workers can prepare;
- The challenges and opportunities that come with utilities moving from the background to the center of the conversation for politicians and consumers alike;
- What will have been accomplished a year from now, and what will be closer to reality.
All four panelists are among this year’s honorees.
The panel is one of two featured conversations on the program. Ben Hertz-Shargel, President of the N.J. Board of Public Utilities, will also join Bergeron for a fireside chat on rate reform, affordability and the state’s “all of the above” approach to energy.
The event will honor the 56 individuals on BINJE’s Best inaugural Top Utility and Infrastructure Leaders list, which spans utility and energy executives, policymakers and advocates, strategists and counsel, and the builders and labor leaders who do the work in the field.
Mike Renna, the retired CEO of South Jersey Industries, has been named Utility Person of the Year.
Eight companies will receive nine awards:
- Top Utility Provider: PSE&G;
- Going Above and Beyond Award: PSE&G;
- Outstanding Innovation in Energy Distribution: South Jersey Industries;
- Green Energy Innovation Award: Atlantic City Electric;
- Promoting Excellence in Utility Operations: JCP&L;
- Workforce Development Program of the Year: New Jersey American Water;
- Energy Efficiency Leadership Award: New Jersey Natural Gas;
- Sustainable Energy Project of the Year: Hackensack Meridian Health;
- Sustainable Water Management Award: Veolia North America.
