State Agency Sets Date for Hearing on PSE&G's Grid Upgrade Plan

by Tom Johnson, NJSpotlight.com

Here’s some potentially good news for customers of the state’s largest utility -- at least in the short term.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities likely will not make a decision until early next year on a proposal from Public Service Electric & Gas to spend $2.6 billion to make its electric and gas systems more resilient to extreme weather.

In an order issued late last week, but not made public until Monday, BPU Commissioner Joseph Fiordaliso scheduled public hearings on the proposal for this fall, but has set early January for evidentiary hearings. Fiordaliso is the officer in charge of case, which is conducted in a quasi-judicial proceeding, in which witnesses testify and are cross-examined by so-called interveners.

The settlement of what is shaping up to be a highly contentious case is not likely to happen before November’s election. It is too much of a politically charged issue, which few are likely to embrace because of its potential impact on utility customers in an election year.

Read more at NJSpotlight.com