The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) is a regulatory authority in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

"with authority to oversee the regulated utilities, which in turn provide critical services such as natural gas, electricity, water, telecommunications and cable television. The law requires the Board to ensure safe, adequate, and proper utility services at reasonable rates for customers." NJBPU regulates

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

, electricity, water, telecommunications and

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...

services. NJBPU's five-member Board addresses issues of consumer protection, energy reform, deregulation of energy and telecommunications services and the restructuring of utility rates to encourage

energy conservation Energy conservation is the effort to reduce wasteful energy consumption by using fewer energy services. This can be done by using energy more effectively (using less energy for continuous service) or changing one's behavior to use less service (f ...

and competitive pricing in the industry. NJBPU monitors utility service and responds to consumer complaints. The Board of Public Utilities administers incentive programs that support the development of

solar power in New Jersey New Jersey has over 4,100 MW of install solar power capacity as of mid-2022, which provides 6.7% of the state's electricity consumption. The's state's growth of solar power is aided by a renewable portfolio standard that requires that 22.5% of Ne ...

and offshore wind power in New Jersey.

History

NJBPU traces its roots back to 1910, with the formation of the Board of Public Utility Commissioners, which then covered gas, electricity, water and communications, as well as railroads and interstate commerce. In 1977, NJBPU was placed within the Department of Environmental Protection and Energy. In 1994, NJBPU was moved to its current position within the

New Jersey Department of the Treasury The mission of the New Jersey Department of the Treasury is to formulate and manage the state's budget, generate and collect revenues, disburse the appropriations used to operate New Jersey state government, manage the state's physical and financia ...

. , the President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities is Joseph L. Fiordaliso, who has served as a commissioner since 2006 and as Board President since January 2018. The other four commissioners are Robert M. Gordon (since April 2018), Mary-Anna Holden (since January 2012) and Dianne Solomon (since June 2013), and Zenon Christodoulou (since August 2022).Meet the Commissioners
New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Accessed February 2, 2022. Past commissioners include

Upendra J. Chivukula Upendra Chivukula (born October 8, 1950) is a Democratic politician who currently serves as a Commissioner on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities after serving more than 12 years in the New Jersey General Assembly, where he had been the De ...

(2014–2022),

Richard Mroz Richard (Rick) Mroz was the president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) from 2014 to 2018. He is the founder and managing director of Resolute Strategies, LLC and also Senior Director for Strategic & Regulatory Affairs at Archer ...

(2014–2018),

Nicholas Asselta Nicholas Asselta (born August 17, 1951) is an American Republican Party politician, who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2004 to 2008, where he represented the 1st Legislative District. In the Senate, Asselta was a member of the Budget and ...

(2008–2012),

Jeanne Fox Jeanne Fox is the former President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. She was originally appointed to the position in 2002 by former Gov. James McGreevey and was retained in the Cabinets of former Gov. Richard Codey and Gov. Jon Cor ...

(2002–2014), Robert M. Hanna (2011–2014), and Lee Solomon (2010–2011).

References

External links

Official website
Board of Public Utilities Public utilities commissions of the United States {{NewJersey-stub