Bloomfield Mayor: Electric Hikes Are ‘Failure To Stand Against Greed’

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Bloomfield Mayor Jenny Mundell has joined the ranks of legislators that are criticizing an upcoming electric rate hike for New Jersey residents and businesses.

The state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) recently announced that electricity costs will increase for many New Jersey residents and small businesses in June. The agency pointed to rising demand and a stressed power grid as reasons for the hike. Read More: NJ Electric Rates Going Up Again In June (Here’s How Much)

For the average residential customer (650 kilowatt hours a month), the increases are as follows:

• Atlantic City Electric: A 17.23 percent increase, or $28.02 per month
• JCP&L: A 20.20 percent increase, or $22.67 per month
• PSE&G: A 17.24 percent increase, or $26.87 per month
• Rockland Electric: An 18.18 percent increase, or $25.48 per month

Earlier this week, Bloomfield’s mayor sent a letter to the BPU, saying that she is speaking on behalf of “thousands of overburdened ratepayers.”

“The coming rate increase is a complete and total failure on the part of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to stand against corporate greed and utility companies prioritizing their own bottom line at the expense of middle-class families,” Mundell said.

“A 20 percent increase for ratepayers would be stunning in any fiscal environment, but it is even more incomprehensible in these extremely turbulent financial times,” Mundell continued. “As a mayor and elected official with more than 53,000 lives in my care, I simply cannot fathom the mismanagement and lack of transparency and accountability that has led to allowing something like this to happen.”

“The people I represent deserve better than being forced to fatten the bottom line for utility companies all too willing to jack up prices for the same level of service,” she added. “A systemic failure like this should never be allowed to occur again.”

Read Mundell’s full letter here.

Mundell – a Democrat – isn’t the only politician who has been criticizing the upcoming rate hikes.

Some Republicans in the state Legislature have blamed their Democratic counterparts for the upcoming increases, alleging that their “commitment to green energy has led to the abandonment of nuclear and natural gas, with no reliable alternatives.”

On the flip side of the coin, several environmental groups have supported the state’s clean energy goals – while also advocating for “strong ratepayer protections against excessive costs.”

• See Related: NJ To Require All-Electric Cars, 100% Clean Energy By 2035
• See Related: NJ Cancels Latest Round Of Offshore Wind Farm Leasing, Citing Trump

This article contains reporting by Michelle Rotuno-Johnson, Patch staff

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site. Don’t forget to visit the Patch Bloomfield Facebook page.