NJ BPU President on Utility Rate Reduction and Wind Power

Joseph Fiordaliso, President, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and Steve Adubato discuss how the new federal tax law reduces the state’s utility rate and as a result, ratepayers may receive a reduction in their bills. Fiordaliso also explains that under Governor Murphy, the NJBPU will implement the Offshore Wind Economic Development Act, to help mitigate effects of climate change.

#206 3/24/18

 

 

 

 

Excerpt:

"State of Affairs is pleased to welcome Joe Fiordaliso, President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Congratulations, Mr. President. Thank you Steve. It's good to be with you. We should disclose that we have known each other for a couple of years. A few. There's an Essex County connection, you were born and raised where? Right on the other side of Penn Station here. Down Neck. In the Ironbound? Ironbound. Down Neck is the way it's referred to when I grew up? Yes. When you grew up? Yes. Describe the Board of Public Utilities. What is the main responsibility at the Board? The initial responsibility when it was created back in 1911 by then Governor Woodrow Wilson, and I didn't help him create it, I just... You did not? No no. Yeah. I just wanted to... What happened to his career after that? [laughter] I don't know what he did. I'm sorry! Go ahead. Go. We were trying to get him on a good career path, but it just didn't work... It just... it never worked out? Go ahead. And the primary responsibility was to provide reliable, safe, and reasonable, reasonably cost energy to the citizens in the state of New Jersey, and that's been our mission for well over 100 years. How much more complicated has that become with wind, solar, nuclear, natural gas? Yes. [laughter] Not to mention this thing called global warming? Yeah. How much more complicated is the job? Well the job is a lot more complicated because back in 1999, the State Legislature designated the Board of Public Utilities as the Clean Energy Office for the state of New Jersey, so in addition to our regulatory responsibilities, we also oversee all of the renewable energy projects in the state of New Jersey, and an awful lot originate from our agency, and so on. And now we're in the midst of really, a very exciting adventure, I believe. With the new administration? By the way... Yes. The President... President Fiordaliso came onto the Board in January of 2006, he's been a very long-standing member of that board, and now is President through several gubernatorial administrations. If you were to describe the Murphy energy policy, what would it be? Exciting, aggressive, and doable. Define aggressive. Aggressive in that he wants to make New Jersey the greenest state in the Union, and we can we can achieve that. As an example Steve, we... back in 2000-2001, we had six solar installations in the state of New Jersey, today we have an excess of a hundred thousand just..."