The Democratic-controlled Assembly has advanced a series of bills on affordability, addressing imminent increases in utility bill rates and and the issue of affordable housing.
On May 22 the Assembly dealt with two principal issues related to new utility bill rates that become effective June 1.
One bill requires the Division of Community Affairs, along with other applicable agencies and nonprofit organizations, to establish a user-friendly online consolidated application for residential utility assistance programs.
The other bill requires state agencies to review utility assistance programs to see where income thresholds for residential customers might be increased.
In addition, the Assembly moved legislation to expedite installation of solar energy systems, to require certain experience and training of appointed members of the Board of Public Utilities, to require public electricity utilities to report on their votes at meetings of the regional grid administrator, PJM Interconnection, and to require the BPU to study in the next year the effect of electricity usage by data centers on electricity rates.
The rate increases that sparked the flurry of activity in the Legislature are estimated to range from 17% to 20% and go into effect a little more than a week from when the bills were advanced. Bills meant to help with these increases must still pass the Senate and be signed by the governor.
In April the BPU took the step of requiring the four electricity distribution utilities in the state to submit plans for postponing the June 1 rate hikes until after the high-usage summer season is over. Those plans were to be submitted by May 7.
BPU President Christine Guhl-Sadovy briefed Gov. Phil Murphy on the utilities’ submissions, but they have not been made public.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has said that the rate increases are due to a serious imbalance between soaring demand for electricity and lagging supply. That imbalance showed in the ninefold hike in rates during the July 2024 PJM wholesale electricity capacity auction. The fact that rates would rise significantly June 1 was known once the results of that auction were known.
New Jersey has the added problem of being a net importer of energy. The generators within the state only produce about 75% of the electricity the state consumes. Adding further to the problem is the fact that energy policy in the state has allowed the retirement of fossil fuel generators before alternative sources of energy were ready to replace them.
The Assembly also addressed the issue of housing affordability. The broad package of advanced legislation included establishing a limit for rent increases for certain dwelling sites, along with giving state funding preferences to municipalities that enhance opportunities for developing affordable housing.
One bill establishes standards for identifying an “unconscionable rent increase,” which some mobile home residents in Cape May County say they are facing.
Legislation also attempts to set limits on residential rental application fees, as well as to require new quarterly reporting from municipalities to DCA concerning affordable housing units.
The burst of legislation has a great deal to do with the November elections, in which the entire 80-seat Assembly is up for grabs. Democrats have held on to control of both houses of the Legislature for more than two decades, and they see affordability issues as a significant vulnerability for them in 2025.
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
