NEWARK, July 8 — Ralph Izzo, chairman and chief executive of Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), has publicly linked the rise in copper thefts from utility infrastructure to a broader push for security at data center construction sites across New Jersey. According to Izzo’s own statements, PSEG has partnered with data center developers to install surveillance equipment and improved lighting around construction zones. The measures are a direct response to a documented increase in thefts from utility poles and substations, Izzo has said.
He has called for tighter state-level scrap metal regulations. Izzo has been at PSEG’s helm since 2007.
The utility serves more than 2 million electric customers in New Jersey and is now involved in powering several new artificial intelligence data centers in the state. The CEO has made infrastructure resilience a hallmark of his tenure, and the security partnerships represent a practical extension of that focus. The record shows Izzo has been vocal about the need to protect critical infrastructure.
He has advocated for state legislation to tighten scrap metal regulations. The problem, he has noted, is not limited to data center sites; copper thefts from utility poles and substations have also risen, creating service disruptions and safety hazards.
On the timeline, Izzo’s push for legislative action predates the recent surge in data center construction. But the convergence of the two trends—rising theft and the build-out of high-value tech infrastructure—has sharpened the urgency. PSEG’s partnership model with developers is straightforward, according to sources familiar with the arrangements: the utility provides technical guidance on securing sites, while developers fund the physical upgrades.
The surveillance and lighting installations are intended to deter both petty theft and more organized operations targeting copper wiring and other metals. Izzo’s public remarks on the issue have been measured but pointed. He has framed the theft problem not as a nuisance but as a threat to reliability and public safety.
The scrap metal market, he has argued, needs stronger oversight at the state level to cut off the demand side of the equation. For New Jersey, the stakes are high.
The state is positioning itself as a hub for AI data centers, and PSEG’s ability to deliver reliable power to those facilities is central to that economic strategy. Izzo’s focus on security and resilience is therefore as much about business continuity as it is about law enforcement. What to watch next: whether the New Jersey legislature takes up Izzo’s proposed scrap metal reforms in the current session.
The outcome will signal how seriously state lawmakers view the connection between infrastructure theft and the security of the data center boom.
