'Immediate Action' Needed On Rising Energy Bills In South Jersey, Van Drew Says

SOUTH JERSEY — Rep. Jeff Van Drew is continuing calls for action on rising energy bills for South Jersey families and said he met with representatives from Exelon and Atlantic City Electric (ACE) to discuss future steps.

"Right now, there is an urgent crisis for families across South Jersey struggling to make ends meet, and I made it crystal clear to Exelon and ACE that we need swift, tangible action to properly address it," said Van Drew. "Our meeting resulted in several actionable steps that they have committed to exploring and I made it clear that I will hold them accountable every step of the way until these issues are solved."

It was this past summer when Van Drew began investigating reports of higher than normal electric bills in the South Jersey region. Some said their bills had even quadrupled - with no explanation.

Van Drew's meeting comes when ACE is seeking a rate hike of 8 percent, which the company said will provide upgrades to their services and includes customer support efforts.

"Rate adjustments help ensure the lights stay on when a customer needs them, that energy service is delivered safely and that we can be a resource for our communities," said Phil Vavala, Atlantic City Electric region president. “We know our customers across South Jersey are facing the impacts of inflation and the challenges driven by rising energy demand. Our focus remains on our customers, meeting their growing energy needs while balancing costs and providing tools that help save customers energy and money."

This announcement was blasted by local lawmakers, who called for the Board of Public Utilities to reject the increase.

"Already, too many ratepayers cannot afford to pay their electric bills. An 8 percent rate increase will only push more ratepayers to their financial limits while disproportionately impacting those living on fixed or retirement incomes struggling to remain in their current housing," NJ's 9th Legislative District - Sen. Carmen Amato, Asm. Brian Rumpf and Asm. Greg Myhre - wrote in a letter.

"I laid out several of my high-priority demands such as refunding customers who were unfairly billed, suspending shut-off notices for customers with good payment history, and placing a moratorium on all future rate increases until their billing practices and smart meter accuracy are fully addressed," Van Drew said of his recent meeting. "Constituents have been left in the dark, with no way to get their voices heard or their issues resolved. That is why I also demanded the creation of an internal task force, the expansion of public forums, and a larger team of dedicated caseworkers to handle customer concerns directly."

Van Drew said that if these steps were not followed, he was "not afraid to escalate it further."

"Working with President Trump to bring federal attention to this crisis is not an empty threat," he said. "If they do not deliver, we will come back at them harder than ever."