Murphy Announces Relief Plan Amid Massive NJ Electric Rate Hike

NEW JERSEY — Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday said the state plans to provide what he called "immediate and direct relief" to help New Jersey residents pay their electric bills following a massive rate increase that went into effect on June 1.

At a news conference, Murphy said that starting next month, the state Board of Public Utilities plans to deduct at least $100 from the electric bills of every New Jersey household. Middle and lower-income residents could see a larger deduction of up to $250, Murphy said.

In all, Murphy said the state plans to pour more than $430 million into energy cost relief.

"People of New Jersey are being battered by the high costs of energy," Murphy said, noting the new initiative will be a short-term solution. "This reflects our administration's broader and enduring commitment to make New Jersey more affordable for more families."

As a result of last year’s annual New Jersey Basic Generation Service (BGS) auction, customers of Atlantic City Electric, PSE&G, Jersey Central Power & Light and Rockland Energy are all bracing for between a 17.2 and 20.2 percent increase in their monthly bills this year. The BGS determines what the providers pay for power from outside of New Jersey.

This brings the total hike close to 30 percent higher per month for some customers as compared to 2023.

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Brian Lipman, director of the New Jersey Rate Council, said the average customer will see their bill increase by more than $20 every month. The price increase will "have a substantial impact on New Jersey families and businesses, especially those least able to afford it," he said.

The Pennsylvania Jersey Maryland (PJM) Interconnection operates the power grid used by New Jersey and 12 other states, along with the District of Columbia.

Murphy acknowledged there are multiple factors that are driving up the cost of energy in New Jersey, but said there was one major "culprit."

"That culprit is the Pennsylvania Jersey Maryland Interconnection," he said. "PJM has failed to plan for increased energy capacity and is trying to pass the buck onto the people of New Jersey."

New Jersey Republican Assemblyman Michael Torrissi was quick to slam Murphy’s announcement, calling it an "election-year stunt to paper over skyrocketing electricity costs that Democrat policies helped create."

“This is smoke and mirrors,” said Torrissi (R-Atlantic), a member of the Republican Assembly Energy Affordability Task Force formed by GOP Leader John DiMaio last month. “The only reason they have money to hand out is because they’ve been quietly stuffing utility bills with hidden charges for years. Now, right before an election, they want credit for giving a little of it back.”

In a statement sent to Patch, the New Jersey Utilities Association, which represents 13 major utilities in the state, said it was a "strong supporter" of initiatives that drive down the cost of electricity to customers, including the one-time utility bill credits announced by Murphy.

"The NJUA looks forward to working with the Governor’s office and all key stakeholders to expand energy affordability as we move into the peak summer months," the association said. "New Jersey continues to benefit from the strong working relationship between our state government and the utilities, as we address the rate hikes driven by higher supply costs stemming from the increasingly high demand on the grid."

Last month, Murphy also unveiled a series of executive actions ahead of the hike that he said would help New Jersey residents manage electric costs.

The announcement came two weeks after the BPU said it would require New Jersey’s four electric utility companies to come up with plans to mitigate overall bill impacts to residential customers during high usage summer months.

The state also asked the utility companies to defer rate increases until later in the year during lower-usage months, as well as identify other opportunities to stabilize rates and provide cost-saving opportunities wherever possible.

Murphy's office said the filings were received by May 7.

RELATED: Major NJ Utility Hike Announcement Hailed As A Political Gimmick, GOP Leader Says

On Monday, the Senate approved a resolution by a vote of 25-12 that calls for the BPU to look into the regional pricing system responsible for the higher monthly bills. New Jersey Senate Democrats said SJR-154 also calls for "any needed reforms to bring down consumer costs."

Senate Democrat John Burzichelli, co-author of the resolution, said he believes a closer look needs to be given to what is going on behind the scenes:

“The energy auction that deserves much of the blame for the spike in utility bills is clearly broken and needs to be fixed," he said. "The current system is deeply flawed and susceptible to manipulation. We need to investigate the specific causes to determine what types of reforms are needed to prevent this from happening again and to ensure that customer affordability is made the priority.”