Tim Lydon, the newly named chief counsel for Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill, said energy companies will be expected to do “their part” in helping to combat the recent surge in energy prices and that residents should not be expected to pick up the tab for issue caused by the “mismanagement” of grid operator PJM.
Speaking Tuesday night at Politico’s ‘Transition of Power: What’s Next for New Jersey’ event at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers in New Brunswick, Lydon said Sherrill’s pledge to declare an energy state of emergency on Day One remains a focus.
Lydon said it’s important for the state to add to its energy generation, citing solar, battery storage, nuclear and the modernization of natural gas facilities as potential areas of interest.
And Lydon said it is not a task the administration will do on its own.
“The governor-elect talked about bringing the utilities to the table and doing their part and that’s important,” he said.
Lydon also indicated that the administration feels solutions should not include a rate hike.
“The governor-elect believes very strongly that this is not a cost that the residents of the state should bear,” he said.
Lydon was joined by newly named Chief Operating Officer Kellie Doucette and Chief of Staff Alex Ball in a fireside chat discussion led by Politico New Jersey Reporter Madison Fernandez.
They collectively offered glimpses of how the Sherrill administration feels on key issues and questions:
Will it work with Trump? Depends.
Will it raise taxes? No.
Will it consider mid-decade redistricting? Anything is possible.
Will child safety on the internet be a key priority? Absolutely.
Will it weigh on a current bill to gut oversight of government? Not on the pending legislation, but Sherrill stands firmly behind oversight initiatives.
Of course, acting on energy on Day One was a key theme during Sherrill’s campaign.
Lydon made it clear that the administration feels the root cause of rising prices is the mismanagement of PJM, which runs the regional grid that provides energy in parts of 13 states and Washington, D.C.
“We have to act because of PJM’s mismanagement and also the Trump administration’s removal of the tax credits to get the power we need clean alternative energy into the grid,” he said.
Lydon said Sherrill’s recently announced action teams, including one on energy, is bringing together key leaders and that they already are having “very substantive discussions.”
He was not specific on the contents of these discussions, or how the administration would bring new energy generation but not charge ratepayers to do so. Instead, he repeated another campaign-constant theme: Working together.
“That’s ultimately a partnership,” he said.
Lydon said the administration will do its part to remove barriers to action.
“One of the components of the state of emergency will be cutting red tape, addressing permitting delays so we can get that power connected into the grid as quickly as possible,” he said.
Doing so quickly will be a key, former Governor Christine Todd Whitman said.
Speaking on a different panel, one that included Whitman and former Gov. Jon Corzine, Whitman said it’s important for Sherrill to follow through on the energy pledges she made during the campaign.
Whitman, also a former president of the Board of Public Utilities, said Sherrill cannot act alone.
“She needs to sit down with the utilities; she needs to sit down with the Board of Public Utilities and figure out how she can get this done,” she said.
Whitman said it’s important that there is support for her first big initiative. She also said it’s important that the governor-elect be transparent about the steps that will be taken.
“I believe that she’ll be fine if she’s as transparent as she has been all through this election – if she just talks to the people in New Jersey and tells them, ‘What she’s doing and how she’s doing it and why she’s doing it and the way she’s doing it,’” she said.
