Former NJ Governor Florio keynotes NJSpotlight conference on state utility infrastructure after Superstorm Sandy

Panel #1: New Jersey’s Aging Water Infrastructure

New Jersey’s water infrastructure is falling apart. The state needs to spend more than $40 billion to fix a water distribution system that leaks at least 20 percent of the treated water it delivers to homeowners and businesses. Much of the money needs to be spent upgrading wastewater treatment plants, some of which dumped — after Sandy — hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage into state waters, a source of drinking water for millions.

Moderator
Tom Johnson, energy writer, cofounder NJ Spotlight

Panelists
Richard S. Dovey, President, Atlantic County Utilities Authority
Michele Siekerka, Assistant Commissioner Water Resource Management, NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP)
Robert E. Hughey, former Commissioner, NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP)
Stephen P. Schmitt, Vice President of Operations, New Jersey American Water

Panel #2: The Power Grid in The Aftermath Of Sandy

With 2.7 million people without power following Sandy, some for up to two weeks, what can be done to make the state’s electric system more resilient in the event of extreme storms? It’s not going to be cheap. A recent report from a blue-ribbon panel suggests the state needs to invest close to $9 billion to make the grid more reliable.

Moderator
Tom Johnson, energy writer, cofounder NJ Spotlight

Panelists
Sara Bluhm, Vice President Environment, Energy & Federal Affairs, New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA)
Stefanie Brand, Director, NJ Office of the Rate Counsel
Ralph LaRossa, President & Chief Operating Officer, Public Service Electric & Gas
Dr. Edward Salmon, Chairman, NJ Energy Coalition; former President, Board of Public Utilities
Dennis Wilson, President, Mid-Atlantic Solar Energy Industries Association

Part #3: Luncheon keynote speech
The Hon. James J. Florio, former Governor of New Jersey

Part #4, Distributed Generation: The Wave of the Future

New Jersey’s power grid — particularly in the northern part of the state — is among the most congested in the country, adding huge costs to consumers’ electric bills and precluding them from getting cheap business electricity. Developing new, more efficient power plants to serve local facilities — while continuing to deploy solar systems — is one way of dealing with the problem. This approach could also prevent outages at critical facilities, like hospitals and water treatment plants.

Moderator
Tom Johnson, energy writer, cofounder NJ Spotlight

Panelists
Gearoid Foley,New Jersey Director, Mid-Atlantic Clean Energy Application Center,U.S. Department of Energy
Pamela Frank, vice president, Gabel Associates, LLC
Bob Kudrick, Manager, Business Development for Combined Heat and Power, Clean Energy Ventures, a subsidiary of New Jersey Resources
Jeff Perry, Chief Development Officer, Veolia Energy North America
Stephen Poniatowicz, Senior VP and Chief Operating Officer, Marina Energy

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