Utility rates, rate reform and where New Jersey’s next power plants will come from are among the biggest business issues in the state. On Nov. 5, the man who plays a key role in how the state views all of them will talk about where things stand.
Ben Hertz-Shargel, President of the N.J. Board of Public Utilities, will join BINJE Editor Tom Bergeron for a fireside chat at the inaugural BINJE’s Best: Top Utility and Infrastructure Leaders Awards at Jumping Brook Country Club in Neptune.
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 are Jumping Brook Country Club.
Strategic Partners include: Montana Construction, Moxie Strategies, PSEG, Atlantic City Electric, South Jersey Industries and PS&S.
Hertz-Shargel has had a busy start since he was nominated to take over the board this summer. He came to the job from the private sector, and he’s now leading the board through some of the most closely watched work in the state.
The conversation is expected to cover:
- His top priorities since taking office, and how his private-sector experience shapes the way he runs a state agency;
- The board’s utility business model reform effort, and where it might end up;
- How the board balances Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s focus on affordability with the realities of how utilities make money;
- What the “all of the above” approach to power generation really means for New Jersey, and how fast new sources could come online;
- How utilities and other stakeholders should work with the board going forward.
For a room full of utility executives, regulators, contractors and labor leaders, it’s a rare chance to hear directly from the regulator whose decisions shape their business, and their customers’ bills.
Hertz-Shargel is also among this year’s honorees.
The fireside chat is part of a morning that celebrates the people and companies behind New Jersey’s utility and infrastructure work.
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.
