Gov. Mikie Sherrill speaks in early April outside PSEG’s Salem Nuclear Power Plant, where she signed a bill to remove the de facto moratorium on new nuclear power in New Jersey. — Photo by Tim Larsen / Governor’s Office
By Joshua Burd
Gov. Mikie Sherrill has picked Ben Hertz-Shargel to lead the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, a move that comes as the state looks to rein in rising energy costs and amid a growing focus on how new data centers and other development will impact the grid.
According to Sherrill’s office, Hertz-Shargel currently serves as global head of grid edge at Wood Mackenzie, where he advises energy, technology and financial firms on grid modernization, electrification, distributed energy resources and emerging energy technologies. He is also the former head of data science and demand management at Rhythm and vice president of advanced grid services and analytics at EnergyHub, where he designed and built core demand response optimization technology and served as a lead technical expert in stakeholder engagement before state public utility commissions.
Hertz-Shargel will draw on that experience with BPU after being nominated last week by Sherrill, who took office in late January with a major focus on energy affordability. Following Hertz-Shargel’s confirmation, the governor will name him president of the cabinet-level agency.
He’ll succeed Christine Guhl-Sadovy, who has served as president of BPU since September 2023 and will continue as a commissioner.
“I am thrilled to nominate Ben Hertz-Shargel to lead the Board of Public Utilities and drive our affordability agenda,” Sherrill said Friday. “Ben brings a rare combination of technical expertise, leadership experience and a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing our energy system.
“The Board of Public Utilities will play a central role in our efforts to lower energy costs for families, strengthen reliability, increase accountability and implement an all-of-the-above energy strategy that supports economic growth, and Ben is the right leader to oversee this critical work. I also want to thank President Christine Guhl-Sadovy for her leadership over the last several years, especially over the last six months. She has served New Jersey with dedication, distinction and a strong commitment to the public interest, and I am grateful for her continued service as a commissioner.”
The governor noted that her agenda focuses on lowering utility costs, rapidly expanding energy supply and addressing the underlying drivers of rising energy prices. That was evident in her first two executive orders, in which she declared a state of emergency on utility costs, froze rate increases and accelerated the development of new energy resources.
Hertz-Shargel, meantime, also serves as a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center, as an advisory committee member for the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Energy and Environment Program and in advisory roles with Pew Charitable Trusts on distributed energy resources policy.
He holds a bachelor’s in computer science from Northwestern University, a master’s in mathematics from New York University and a doctorate in mathematics from the University of California-Los Angeles.
“It is an honor to be nominated by Governor Sherrill to serve the people of New Jersey,” Hertz-Shargel said. “At a time when families and businesses are being crushed by rising utility costs over the past few years, New Jersey is charting a new path forward and, with Governor Sherrill’s leadership, is poised to lead the nation on smart, responsible energy policy. I look forward to working with Governor Sherrill, my fellow commissioners, utilities, consumer advocates, labor partners and communities across the state to deliver reliable utility service and advance energy policies that are affordable, accountable and responsive to the needs of New Jerseyans.”
