Governor Sherrill Nominates Ben Hertz-Shargel as Commissioner of the Board of Public Utilities, Will Name as President Upon Confirmation

June 5, 2026 | nj.gov

Governor Mikie Sherrill today (6/5) announced the nomination of Ben Hertz-Shargel to serve as Commissioner of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU). Upon confirmation, Hertz-Shargel will then be named President of the Board by Governor Sherrill. 

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. Previously, Hertz-Shargel served as Head of Data Science and Demand Management at Rhythm and as 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.

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NJ SEED: The governor’s nomination of Ben Hertz-Shargel to eventually become BPU President appears to be well grounded. He is an energy-systems expert and senior industry leader known for his work in grid modernization, distributed energy resources (DERs), and electricity-market reform. His credentials are especially suited to meet the energy challenges facing the state.