A member of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities harshly criticized his own agency during a Wednesday board meeting, injecting more uncertainty into the state’s energy plans as regulators and lawmakers scramble to try to tackle rising electric prices and a potential power supply shortage.
Zenon Christodoulou slammed a plan to redo one of the state’s solar subsidy programs, but his most remarkable comments were pointed at his own colleagues.
He said that because of “the way decisions are made” at the BPU, it is hard to have confidence in the board’s decisions and questioned whether the board was helping New Jersey ratepayers.
His comments could create a larger political problem for Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration, which is already taking heat for rising power prices. All four members of the normally five-member board are Murphy appointees — half are Democrats, half Republicans — and the board is under increasing pressure to curb price increases and help come up with new power supplies. Christodoulou’s comments are certain to provide ammo for critics of the board’s current leadership.
