NJ Lawmakers Scramble To Stop Utility Increase

NEW JERSEY - The meteoric rise of utility bills across the Garden State this month have left lawmakers scrambling to find a solution.

And they haven’t been agreed on a path forward on either side of the aisle.

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 all are 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.

Now, some legislators are calling out the very agency that is meant to monitor these services, saying the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) should also be subject to questioning.

This all comes after the Senate approved Senate Resolution 154 (SJR-154) on Monday by a vote of 25-12 that calls for the BPU to look into the regional pricing system responsible for the higher monthly bills. The New Jersey Senate Democrats say SJR-154 also calls for "any needed reforms to bring down consumer costs."

Senate Democrat John Burzichelli (D-Gloucester/Salem/Cumberland), co-author of the resolution with Linda Greenstein (D-Middlesex/Mercer), 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. 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.”

The New Jersey Senate Republican Office believes enough is still not being done. Conservatives across the aisle argue that a group of their suggested amendments that would have helped families reduce energy costs in the immediate aftermath of those rate hikes that took effect on June 1 were also voted down by Democrats on Monday.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has attributed these larger costs to a rise in demand and a stressed power grid.

In response to these findings, Senate Republican Leader Anthony M. Bucco (R-Morris) proposed an amendment to Senate Joint Resolution 154 (SJR-154) in which he calls for the expansion of a scope when it comes to looking into what is truly responsible. Bucco argues that the BPU should not be absent from being evaluated as a major source of the problem:

“During the Select Committee hearing on rising energy costs, we heard numerous stakeholders and experts who clearly said the policies coming out of Trenton are contributing to our energy shortage and subsequent skyrocketing energy bills,” said Sen. Bucco. “I am asking that we entrust the Select Committee on rising energy costs—the body that was created to get to the bottom of our energy crisis—to be the institution to investigate and expand the proposed investigation to include PJM, the BPU, and any other institution that could have contributed to this crisis.”

PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM) is the regional entity responsible for coordinating the flow of electricity and ensuring its reliable and cost-effective distribution in New Jersey, several other states, and the District of Columbia.

Senator Joe Pennacchio (R-26) also had an amendment struck down on Monday, one that would eliminate the Societal Benefits Charge and Sales Tax fees on electricity bills, directly lowering costs for consumers.

“This bill reinforces this narrative that we’ve been hearing this afternoon that energy demands are growing exponentially forever. At the same time, the state’s energy master has made creation of that energy harder and harder. Consumers are hurting. To alleviate some of that pain, I would like to introduce an amendment that would place a summer moratorium on the sales tax and societal benefits charges on our utility bills.”

The average customer will see their bill increase by more than $20 every month, according to Brian Lipman, director of the New Jersey

Click here to view resources offered by the BPU to assist with the rising utility costs.