Alumna Who Leads the BPU Was Drawn to Public Service 

Christine Guhl-Sadovy knew she wanted a career helping others when she arrived at Rutgers to study psychology in 1998—but government work wasn’t on her radar.

That changed years later when she learned about an agency little known outside policy circles but tremendously influential in the lives of New Jersey residents. She said she told colleagues at the time that she wanted to work at the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) one day.

“People don’t believe this when I tell them,” Guhl-Sadovy said with a laugh.

The Class of 2002 alumna explored several paths after graduating from Rutgers College in New Brunswick. Guhl-Sadovy took graduate classes in animal science and conservation, worked part-time at The Bronx Zoo and the Philadelphia Zoo, and became a legal assistant while contemplating law school.

Her interest in environmental issues led her to a job at the national Sierra Club, where she worked on New Jersey’s clean energy plan — and first encountered the BPU.

Guhl-Sadovy now serves as BPU president, carrying forward the commitment to helping others that her years at Rutgers nurtured.

Advocacy Takes Shape

The BPU regulates New Jersey’s electric, gas, water and telecommunications utilities and oversees the state’s clean-energy programs, giving it broad influence over residents’ daily lives. Guhl-Sadovy said she was drawn early on to the agency’s underappreciated role as an economic regulator and the opportunity it offered to help shape decisions affecting reliability, affordability and clean energy across the state.

Before landing her dream position, Guhl-Sadovy served as legislative and political director for the Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey. Family planning funding in the state had been cut, and restoring it became her central focus.

The BPU hired Guhl-Sadovy in 2018 and she rose to chief of staff. She helped launch the community solar program, which invites residents to subscribe at no cost and receive at least a 15% discount on electricity bills. “It’s been a real big success story,” she said.

She joined the administration of Gov. Phil Murphy in November 2021 as cabinet secretary, gaining insight into how departments interact and make decisions. Guhl-Sadovy worked on pandemic regulations, staffing and telework policies. In May 2023, Murphy appointed her a BPU commissioner, and she was named the agency’s president four months later.

Charged Energy Challenges

Guhl-Sadovy now finds herself at the forefront of major challenges: soaring electricity costs, a rapid shift in energy demand and roadblocks to the long-term transition to clean energy. About twice a month, she speaks with reporters about these issues.

Guhl-Sadovy said New Jersey is facing an “unusually tight” supply-and-demand market, largely driven by the rapid growth of data centers, which “use a tremendous amount of electrical capacity” and can come online much faster than new electricity sources can be built. That mismatch, she explained, has contributed to high prices in the regional capacity market. Electricity supply prices are determined by auction through PJM Interconnection, LLC, the regional transmission organization that covers New Jersey and all or parts of 12 other states and Washington, D.C., leaving the BPU little control over supply charges. 

States, she added, have been reluctant to impose additional fees on data centers because the facilities are viewed as “a real economic development opportunity.”

The BPU is tasked with balancing infrastructure needs and ensuring residents can afford utilities, she said. Guhl-Sadovy pointed to increased funding and expansion of the Universal Service Fund, which provides energy assistance for low-income households, and the push to enroll more eligible customers. Currently, about 20% of eligible households are enrolled, Guhl-Sadovy said. The BPU has required utility providers to increase enrollment by 5% by the end of September 2026, followed by additional increases of 3% and 2% in the two years that follow, according to a BPU order.

Staying Grounded

Her job is unquestionably challenging, especially as a single mother. Guhl-Sadovy said her 11-year-old son keeps her grounded with his good humor, and her family’s support makes her role possible. Notes from residents raise her spirits too, including a handwritten letter addressed to her and Murphy from an elderly resident thanking them for helping him. “It was the reason that I’m in government, right?” she said.

Guhl-Sadovy said she returns to Rutgers periodically to catch a football or basketball game or to meet with staff of the Center for Ocean Observing Leadership (RU COOL), which provides critical research and modeling for offshore wind development. She is hopeful New Jersey and the nation will get back on track in embracing wind energy. “The increase in our electricity needs is very, very significant…We have to be looking at all generation resources,” she said.

Although she didn’t initially imagine working in government, Guhl-Sadovy comes from a family long engaged in serving the public. Her father, Bill Guhl, was the manager of Trenton, where she grew up, and later served as the Mercer County administrator. Her mom and sister were public school teachers, and other relatives have worked in local government, she said.

Friends tease her about how Jersey-proud she is—“I have New Jersey memorabilia all over my house,” she said—but that affection is tied to the privilege of serving the state she loves.

Her advice to Rutgers students is to consider careers in government: “If you want to help people, if you want to make a difference, if you want to have an impact… there are opportunities across government agencies that appeal to almost every person,” Guhl-Sadovy said. “The most rewarding experience that I think anyone could ever have is to work in government.”