NJ BPU: A Quiet Agency Makes Noise

The New York Times:

In New Jersey, you cannot go anywhere at home without bumping into something that is regulated by a relatively obscure agency called the Board of Public Utilities.

The five-member board is supposed to make sure your electric, water and natural gas rates are fair, for example, and it monitors the reliability of your telephone service.

But these days, the board has a more visible role. It is on the cusp of making one of the more significant decisions in its 95-year history: whether to approve a $17 billion merger of Exelon, a Chicago-based company, and Public Service Enterprise Group, the parent company of P.S.E.& G., creating the nation’s largest utility.