Woodbridge Hosts Meeting Thursday On Reducing Utility Costs

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Woodbridge Township will host a free public information session from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday about how homeowners can keep their utility costs down. The event will be held at the Maple Tree Senior Center (109 Morrisey Avenue in Avenel) and is targeted towards Woodbridge seniors, but anyone can attend.

Representatives from utility companies will be there, including PSE&G, Elizabethtown Gas and Middlesex Water.

Christine Guhl-Sadovy, president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities — which sets utility rates — and Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez (D-19th Dist.) and Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac will also be there.

The event is meant to inform seniors and homeowners about how they can learn about utility assistance and other cost-saving programs that are available to reduce utility bills. New Jersey’s Winter Termination Program, which protects eligible customers from electric, gas and water utility shut-offs during the winter months, ends this Saturday, March 15.

Also, electricity rates in New Jersey will go up June 1: Atlantic City Electric, PSE&G, JCP&L and Rockland Energy all expect rates to increase between 17.2 and 20.2 percent as of June 1. The latest increase comes from the results of New Jersey's annual Basic Generation Service (BGS) auction, which sets the price companies pay for electricity generated outside the state.

The BPU said rising demand and a stressed power grid were reasons for the cost increase.

For the average residential customer, assuming the use of 650 kilowatt hours a month, the increases are as follows starting June 1:

• 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

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.

Woodbridge Mayor McCormac warned electric and water rates "will peak" in the spring and summer.

"Our senior citizens, many of whom are on a fixed income, will be impacted," he warned.

NJ Electric Rates Going Up Again In June: See How Much (February)