Over a career of public service spanning 33 years, Fred Butler has established a highly recognized, respected and admired reputation as an industry expert and regulatory leader in the national and international communities. Mr. Butler most recently concluded an outstanding 11-year tenure as Commissioner on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities
, where he was responsible for the regulation of electric, natural gas, telecommunications, investor-owned water and cable television industries in the state.
During his time on the BPU, Mr. Butler was a highly active member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). He chaired the Water, International Relations and Ad Hoc Global Climate Change Committees and consecutively served as the Association’s Second Vice President, First Vice President and President. He served as Secretary-Treasurer and President of the Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, a board member of the National Regulatory Research Institute, and an advisory board member of the Michigan State University Institute of Public Utilities, the New Mexico State University Center for Public Utilities and the University of Florida's Public Utilities Research Center.
Additionally, Mr. Butler served as a representative on the Presidium of the Eastern European and Eurasian Regulatory Association (ERRA), and has consulted with energy ministries and regulatory bodies in Africa, Asia and Europe. He worked as NARUC's representative to the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation Energy Regulators' Forum and is one of NARUC's representatives to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Prior to being appointed to the NJ BPU in 1999 by Governor Whitman, Mr. Butler worked in various roles at the NJ General Assembly Democratic Office, including Executive Director. Before that he worked as Deputy Director for the NJ Commission on Capital Budgeting and Planning. Other previous positions include a Research Associate at the Eagleton Institute of Politics-Rutgers and Intermediate Grades Teacher in the Washington, D.C. Public Schools. Fluent in French, Spanish and Italian, Mr. Butler also has experience as an Instructor for the International Language Institute in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Butler received a Bachelor’s degree in Modern Languages and Political Science from Villanova University in 1968. He earned his Master’s degree in International Relations in 1973 from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
Mr. Butler and his wife of 41 years, Carol Soban Butler, currently reside in Belle Mead, NJ. They have one son, Ethan, a daughter-in-law Nanci Ginty Butler and one grandson, Owen Francis Butler, born in 2008.
Over a career of public service spanning 33 years, Fred Butler has established a highly recognized, respected and admired reputation as an industry expert and regulatory leader in the national and international communitie