State of New Jersey

STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Division of The Ratepayer Advocate
31 Clinton Street, 11th Fl
Newark, New Jersey 07101

Press Release

For Immediate Release
Friday, October 10, 2003

For Further Information
Contact: Tom Rosenthal
Tel: 973-648-2690

Ratepayer Advocate Seema M. Singh Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month
Dr. Luis Martinez-Fernandez of Rutgers Addresses Division Staff

  Newark, NJ – Ratepayer Advocate Seema M. Singh celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month at the Division of the Ratepayer Advocate today with a talk by a noted Hispanic/Latino scholar to the division’s staff of approximately 50 people.

  At the request of Governor James E. McGreevey, who asked his cabinet officers to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at their departments throughout state government, Ms. Singh invited Dr. Luis Martinez-Fernandez, the department chair of the Puerto Rican and Hispanic Caribbean Studies at Rutgers University, New Brunswick.

  Dr. Martinez-Fernandez also serves on the Governor’s Hispanic Advisory Council.  A distinguished author, lecturer, historian and educator, Dr. Martinez-Fernandez shared his insights on  “Hispanics/Latinos in the 21st Century: Challenges We Face and Obstacles We Confront.”

  “We at the Division of the Ratepayer Advocate have been committed to reaching out to the Hispanic Community and all the other communities of New Jersey to ensure that New Jersey is a hospitable and effective environment for all the families of the state,” said Ms. Singh.

  “Our mission is to ensure that ratepayers are afforded the safest, most reliable service, and reasonable rates possible for all essential services, including electric, natural gas, water/wastewater, and telecommunications.”

  Ms. Singh said, “We must also ensure that Spanish speaking ratepayers, the largest and fastest growing ethnic group in the state, are afforded understandable information about their essential services and advice on how to seek assistance when their essential services are affected by utility failures or economic problems.”

  The Division of the Ratepayer Advocate is an independent, autonomous state agency that represents the interests of utility consumers and serves as an active participant in every case where New Jersey utilities seek changes in their rates or services.  The Ratepayer Advocate also gives consumers a voice in setting long-range energy, water, and telecommunications policy that will affect the delivery of utility services well into the future.

  Additional information on this and other matters can be found at the Division of Ratepayer Advocate’s website at http://www.rpa.state.nj.us


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Copyright (c) State of New Jersey, 1996 - 2003
New Jersey Division Of The Ratepayer Advocate
31 Clinton Street 11th Fl.
Newark, NJ 07101