(October 17, 2008 – Newark, NJ) – Commenting on the current financial crisis and how government and the private sector should respond, Ralph Izzo, chairman, president and CEO of PSEG today said: “Energy is the public works project of our time.  Investments in clean energy will create jobs, clean our environment, and improve the competitiveness of our businesses. A clean energy transformation can be the equivalent of the New Deal and the Apollo project.” 

Izzo delivered remarks during a panel discussion at the New Jersey Clean Energy conference sponsored by the states Board of Public Utilities, held today in Jersey City. The event brought together more than 700 business leaders, clean energy experts and Wall Street investors to talk about and how the state can support the growth of the clean energy industry.

Izzo added: “Putting a price on carbon is the single most important step needed to encourage more investment in energy efficiency, wind, solar and nuclear rather than oil and gas.”  He called for the federal government to build on the action of northeastern states saying, “We will continue to push aggressively for a nationwide cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the board.”

Izzo argued that energy companies like PSE&G are in a unique position to help with investments that provide universal access to energy efficiency and renewables, just as they provide universal access to electricity and gas service. 

Izzo also asserted that new rules governing utilities are necessary. “We need a new regulatory compact to establish a more predictable environment for energy investments in our state, especially in this time of financial uncertainty. The process should provide more timely and predictable recovery of investments to encourage real dollars going into initiatives and technologies that will benefit the environment, save energy and help avoid future blackouts.”  This process is known as rate stabilization and is already used in several other states. 

Click here for the complete text of Izzo's speech.

Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) is a publicly traded diversified energy company with annual revenues of more than $12 billion, and three principal subsidiaries: PSEG Power, PSEG Energy Holdings, and Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G). PSEG Power, one of the largest independent power producers in the U.S. has three main subsidiaries: PSEG Fossil, PSEG Nuclear, and PSEG Energy Resources & Trade. PSEG Energy Holdings has two main unregulated energy-related businesses: PSEG Global and PSEG Resources. PSE&G, New Jersey’s oldest and largest regulated gas and electric delivery utility, serves nearly three-quarters of New Jersey’s population.