NJ electric bills are set to rise

TOM JOHNSON, ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT WRITER | FEBRUARY 9, 2024

Original post on NJ Spotlight News

Electric bills will rise again this June as a result of an auction overseen by state officials to acquire the power customers need to keep the lights on in their homes and businesses. 

The auction, the 22nd run by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, resulted in monthly price increases ranging from $4.71, or 3.6%, for the typical residential customer of Rockland Electric to $8.22, or 6.2%, for Public Service Electric & Gas customers. The monthly bills will jump 4.8%, or $7.34, for Atlantic City Electric customers and $8.34, or 8.6%, for customers of Jersey Central Power & Light. 

The rate increase takes effect June 1, the latest increase in utility bills driven by a variety of factors, including the state’s efforts to electrify the transportation sector, modernize the electric grid and transition to cleaner ways of producing electricity, such as solar energy. 

In this instance, the increase for residential and small commercial customers is largely attributed to the two-decade-old system BPU uses to purchase electricity for customers who choose not to switch suppliers from their traditional electric utility. 

Each year, the auction aims to buy electricity for the year beginning in June and melds that price with the two prior years to come up with the cost for the new monthly bill. This year’s price was below the previous year’s but is 26% higher than the amount purchased in 2022. In last year’s auction, prices rose from 3.3% to 6.9%. 

‘’Overall, the auction was successful,’’ said BPU President Christine Guhl-Sadovy, who described the price increase as moderate. “We are very satisfied.’’ 

For larger commercial customers, bills also will rise, largely due to increased costs for providing capacity and more renewable energy in their generation mix. Capacity deals with ensuring there is enough electricity to maintain reliability of the power grid. In January, the state also boosted the percentage of electricity in the mix from 21% to 35%. 

Director of the Division of Rate Counsel Brian Lipman, who has long been worried about rising energy bills for utility customers, described the latest $8 a month increase as more than moderate.  

“Ratepayers are not an unlimited bank,’’ Lipman said. “This is going to take away from money they can spend elsewhere.’’ 

Lipman noted these increases occur the same week JCP&L, the state’s second-largest utility with more than 1 million customers, reached agreement with BPU staff and his office on a base increase of $4 per month. 

“We need to be careful in how we make these decisions and how we spend [ratepayers] money,’’ he said.