Richard Mroz has taken over as president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities at a critical juncture - as the state, the nation and the world explore a new course for clean, reliable and affordable energy.

"We are at a point - the industry, regulators, grid operators - where we are determining what kind of facilities will be developed and what kind of support government will provide," Mroz said during a New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Roundtable in Monroe on Dec. 9. "We have to do the right planning to find the right mix of resources."

Among the fuel sources in New Jersey are coal, petroleum, renewables, natural gas and nuclear.

Mroz, a lawyer and former New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors member, was named BPU president by Gov. Chris Christie on Oct. 6.

It is unclear what the future holds for energy, but for now Mroz said one of his priorities is to fill vacancies at the BPU as his agency's workload is increasing. "We need good, young people familiar with emerging technologies," he said. "We are looking for good people."

A special thank you to New Jersey Resources for sponsoring the event.