GOP continues utilities offensive as Dems look to pass relief bills

Republican lawmakers are continuing their offensive on utility rates this week with a task force charged with forming recommendations to combat the state’s soon-to-rise energy costs.  

New Jerseyans are bracing for a rise in utility rates that could cost them an extra $20 per month, and state officials, energy providers, and experts are pointing fingers every which way. 

Democrats and other state officials place much of the blame on PJM Interconnection, the energy grid firm that operates in New Jersey and 12 other states. Republicans and PJM, meanwhile, say Democratic lawmakers and the Board of Public Utilities—the state’s energy regulatory board—are to blame.

PJM has said it has warned about a tightening supply/demand balance for two years, but stakeholders didn’t heed the warnings until prices rose in the most recent energy capacity auction, the results of which will take effect next month.

Assembly Republican Leader John DiMaio announced the creation of the task force Monday morning. The task force, composed of Assemblymembers Alex Sauickie, Paul Kanitra, Christian Barranco, Michael Torriss, and Dawn Fantasia, will look for short- and long-term solutions to increasing energy rates.

“In the face of clear evidence and expert testimony, Democrats are still pushing more bureaucracy instead of relief,” DiMaio said in a release. “We must do better.”

All 80 Assembly seats are up for election this fall—energy affordability could prove to be a decisive factor when voters head to the polls in November.

Assembly Democrats advanced a series of bills on Monday that they say will provide relief to New Jersey ratepayers. The Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee advanced eight bills and resolutions Monday morning: the slate of legislation would require BPU members to meet certain experience and training thresholds; force regulators to study the effects data centers have on energy use, as well as the feasibility of small nuclear reactors in the state; and require regulators to investigate PJM. 

“New Jerseyans are being asked to pay more and more for the same services they rely on daily,” said Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo (D-Hamilton), the chair of the committee. “By advancing these bills, we are saying that enough is enough. We are working to lower costs now and to ensure that in the years ahead, residents can count on a fair deal.”

Republicans on the committee said the bills won’t do enough to help lessen the load on ratepayers. For example, GOP assemblymen voted against the resolution calling on regulators to investigate PJM, saying the legislation has a “blind commitment” to carbon-free energy, a commitment they say is partly to blame for the impending increase in prices.

“This resolution doubles down on the very policy choices that have been pursued for the past seven years, which have brought the people of this state to their current level of anxiety and outrage over the present and future cost of energy,” Republicans wrote in a statement about that bill.