Count the state chapter of AARP among those questioning the plan by Public Service Electric & Gas to spend close to $4 billion to modernize its electric power grid in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

In an unusual tiff between a PSE&G executive and the president of the AARP chapter in New Jersey, the two organizations traded exchanges this week accusing each other of misrepresenting aspects of the utility’s proposal to invest in $3.9 billion over 10 years to make its infrastructure more resilient in the wake of extreme weather.

The dispute underscores the tough choices facing state regulators and utilities, both of which are under pressure from the public to avert widespread outages, that can leave some customers without any power for more than a week. How to do so without increasing electric bills, already among the highest in the nation, is the dilemma facing state officials.

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