Credit: (Amanda Brown)

Joseph Fiordaliso, the longtime Board of Public Utilities commissioner and president who oversaw the Murphy administration’s efforts to transition the state to clean energy, died Wednesday evening. He was 78.

As BPU president since the beginning of Gov. Phil Murphy’s first term in January 2018, Fiordaliso primarily led the push by New Jersey to switch to cleaner forms of energy production, including an ambitious goal to make the state the hub of an emerging offshore wind industry.

In a statement released early Thursday, Murphy called the former mayor of Livingston a trusted colleague and good friend.

“As President of the BPU since the beginning of my administration, Joe skillfully led our work to responsibly transition to a clean energy economy while always putting the needs of consumers first,’’ Murphy said. “He had an infectious personality and generous spirit.’’

Overhauling energy

During Fiordaliso’s time on the board, the agency saw the use of solar energy soar, with more than 180,000 installations on homes and businesses in the state and the overhaul of the state’s Energy Master Plan, a document that aims to phase out the use of fossil fuels.

The latter strategy is among the most controversial parts of the Murphy administration’s climate agenda, spurring criticism from business interests, consumers and labor groups. In the past few months, Fiordaliso repeatedly vowed the state had no intention of taking away residents’ gas stoves.

But Fiordaliso, who wore a signature offshore wind pin on his suit jacket, had the backing of much of the environmental community.

“Joe was a dedicated public servant who was working to move New Jersey forward on clean energy,’’ said Jeff Tittel, a longtime environmentalist. “He’s done more to move New Jersey forward than any other commissioner in the past.”

Born and raised in Newark’s Ironbound section, Fiordaliso retained a lifelong affection and concern for the welfare of lower-income communities. He often talked about how the main priority for the BPU is to keep customers’ utility bills affordable, a task that has become more difficult as the state has relied heavily on subsidies to pay for the transition to cleaner energy.

Big changes

In his time as commissioner, he saw the state’s commitment to solar energy soar to more than $500 million a year, approve an annual $300 million subsidy to keep the state’s three nuclear plants from closing, and pass subsidies to be paid by future ratepayers for three offshore wind projects.

After Superstorm Sandy, the board also has approved billions of dollars in spending by the state’s gas and electric utilities to bolster resilience against extreme storms, a prospect he noted will occur more frequently in coming years because of climate change.

The agency is now engaged in a proceeding to determine the future of New Jersey’s four gas utilities, which confront huge uncertainty with calls to phase out the use of natural gas and fossil fuels. New Jersey is also one of several states that has adopted a law to end the sale of gasoline-powered new cars in the state beginning in 2035.

Despite criticism from some that the state is moving too fast on the clean-energy transition, Fiordaliso remained a staunch advocate of the need for quick action on climate change, frequently invoking it as a moral obligation to his  and others’ grandchildren.

‘Visionary leadership’

“President Fiordaliso’s visionary leadership on offshore wind and historic commitment to move New Jersey toward a clean energy future will leave a lasting positive impact on the state of New Jersey and its residents,’’ said Janice Fuller, president Mid-Atlantic of Anbaric Development Partners, a transmission company.

Fiordaliso often battled with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the agency that regulates vital segments of the energy sector whose actions often were faulted by the BPU president as harmful to New Jersey ratepayers.

In recent years, relations with FERC and the PJM Interconnection, which runs the nation’s largest power grid, improved markedly. In May, FERC appointed Fiordaliso to the Joint Federal-State Task Force on Electric Transmission.

Before joining the BPU, Fiordaliso was a longtime aide to Sen. Richard Codey (D-Essex) during his years in the Legislature and during his tenure as governor. He also served as deputy chief of staff when Codey was governor. Codey appointed him to the BPU as a commissioner in 2005, and he was reappointed by Gov. Chris Christie twice.

He is survived by his wife Marilyn, his children, Dana and Joe, and six grandchildren. Funeral arrangements were not yet available.