Gov. Phil Murphy signed a pair of bills on Friday that he says will hold the state’s energy grid operator accountable as the state’s residents grapple with rising energy costs.
New Jerseyans were hit with a 20% increase in energy prices in June and are expected to face a smaller bump upwards next year. The spike in costs has become a potent political issue, with Republicans using it as a top attack against Democrats as they look to retake the governorship.
Democrats have largely blamed PJM Interconnection, an organization that operates the energy grid in parts of 13 states, including all of New Jersey. They say the firm has failed to efficiently add new energy sources to the grid, leading to a stagnation in production while new plants wait to come online. Republicans, meanwhile, say Murphy and legislative Democrats harmed energy production in the state by focusing too much on clean energy.
“These bills complement our long-term plan of action to hold PJM responsible for hardworking New Jerseyans’ skyrocketing electricity bills and a lack of new energy generation,” Murphy said in a release. “We are committed to creating a system that is fairer and more transparent for customers and the states that represent them — a necessary change from the opaque practices that have, for too long, defined PJM.”
The first bill signed on Friday, Senate Joint Resolution 154, directs the BPU to investigate PJM’s pricing model. The second bill, A5463, requires the state’s public utilities to disclose any votes at PJM meetings and explain how each vote furthers New Jersey’s goals of “prioritizing the affordability, reliability, and sustainability” in the energy system. The Legislature approved each bill on June 30, the last day before summer break.
“While electric bills skyrocket, PJM’s decision-makers have been setting our regional power grid policy in secret,” state Sen. Raj Mukherji (D-Jersey City) said. “That ends today. With the enactment of the grid transparency law, consequential votes and decisions impacting what 65 million ratepayers pay and the timeline for approving clean energy projects in the pipeline will become public record. This is about sunlight, accountability, and putting consumers at the center of our energy policy.”
PJM spokesperson Jeff Shields said the legislation does not help solve the rising costs.
“We understand the political motive to shift blame for high electricity bills, but the fact remains: PJM operates as a not-for-profit that plans the power grid and administers federally regulated wholesale electricity markets,” he said. “Pointing fingers will not solve the supply-and-demand realities driving higher prices for consumers in New Jersey, including challenges that stem from failed policies. Our focus remains on working toward real solutions, because New Jerseyans deserve nothing less.”
The two bills signed today are part of a broader package Democrats released in May, when the price spikes were still looming. In July, Murphy signed another pair of bills from the bundle, including one directing the BPU to study the impact of newly constructed data centers on energy demand in the region.
The package is just one way Democrats have sought to stifle the issue this summer. In June, Murphy announced the state would invest $430 million into reducing utility bills this year; he promised at least $100 per household, and up to $250 for low-income households. Republicans called that program an election-year gimmick.
Before he officially won the GOP nomination for governor, former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli attacked Murphy on energy prices in a television ad. The Republican, who seeks to replace the term-limited Murphy, said he would “clean house” at the Board of Public Utilities, the state’s energy regulatory board.
And Assembly Republican Leader John DiMaio, who is looking to add to his caucus when all 80 seats come up for grabs this November, formed a special task force that he said would search for short- and long-term solutions to rising energy costs.
Earlier this week, the BPU officially approved the plan to give residents a $100 credit for energy bills. Assemblyman Alex Sauickie (R-Jackson), a member of the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee and the aforementioned energy affordability task force, said Democrats doomed the state with green-energy efforts and are blocking the way to reform.
“State Democrats are raising costs, again, and voting down any real shot at sustainable relief,” he said in a release. “I want residents to remember that when they go to cast their votes this November.”
A Fairleigh Dickinson University poll found New Jerseyans are split on who they think is at fault for the increase in costs. A plurality of New Jerseyans, 26%, said they blame the state’s utility companies, like PSE&G, even though they have no control over the rates. A majority of Republicans blame Murphy or the Democratic-led Legislature; a sizable chunk of Democrats, 22%, blame the Trump-run federal government.
“The bottom line is that people in New Jersey don’t really know why their electric bills are going up, so they’re blaming whoever they don’t like,” Dan Cassino, the poll’s executive director, said in the polling memo. “Republicans blame Democrats in state government; Democrats blame Trump and what they see as greedy companies.”
The post Murphy signs bills addressing power grid operator as energy cost woes continue appeared first on New Jersey Globe.