The state Board of Public Utilities has issued a request for information seeking to better understand if new nuclear power generation could help New Jersey reach its goals for affordable clean energy while also helping meet the state’s need for increased power supply.
The May 5 request, addressed to “all interested parties and members of the public,” grows out of the effort to update the New Jersey energy master plan in an environment where supply prices for electricity are soaring due in part to an imbalance between rapidly rising demand and lagging electricity generation.
According to a BPU press release, the request seeks to “bolster role of nuclear energy in advancing affordability and reliability needs.” It comes with electricity rates for supply set to rise by 17% to 20% on June 1.
The request represents an effort by New Jersey to explore the possibility of expanding nuclear power generation in the state, which now has three active nuclear power plants, all in Salem County. Nuclear power generation currently supplies roughly 40% of the state’s electricity.
The BPU request asks responding parties to address several questions. Among them is an appraisal of how nuclear power can generate electricity while still helping the state meet its goals for eliminating greenhouse gas emissions, how quickly and effectively nuclear power can address the soaring demand created by data centers running artificial intelligence software, and what the potential is for the use of small nuclear reactors.
The state is also interested in appraisals of environmental challenges created by a larger commitment to nuclear power.
State Sen. Michael Testa (R-1) released a statement in which he called the action by the BPU “long-overdue,” adding that he was “deeply concerned that it took eight years to reach this point.”
Testa said inaction by Gov. Phil Murphy and the BPU concerning an expansion of nuclear energy in New Jersey “has come at a cost,” that cost being the recent and continuing rise in electricity rates.
Nuclear power was once seen as the answer to the country’s energy needs. That changed following the accident at Three Mile Island in 1979, the Chernobyl meltdown in 1986 and the accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi in 2011. The public’s perception of nuclear power shifted, and investment in new plants dried up.
Since the 1980s most survey results concerning the potential use of nuclear power showed most Americans opposed. A Pew survey following the Fukushima incident found fewer than 40% of Americans still willing to support the use of nuclear power. Polls by Gallup and Pew in 2016 showed the same reluctance.
Adding to the fear of accidents, environmental groups have lobbied against nuclear power, citing fears of groundwater contamination and the problems of disposal of nuclear plant waste. Such groups pushed for the closure of the Oyster Creek plant in Ocean County, which occurred in 2018. The facility was a 1.9-megawatt boiling water reactor that began operation in 1969.
The BPU is also asking for guidance on whether the state should provide financing or incentives for new nuclear generation facilities. If so, the request asks how ratepayers can be protected.
The draft of the state’s 2024 energy master plan, released in March 2025, explicitly states that nuclear power will be needed to help New Jersey reduce its reliance on imported energy and gas generation.
The issue of ratepayer burdens for power use have become a major issue in the imminent June primaries and the November general election.
In addition to the BPU’s action, a bill that moved forward in the state Assembly May 5 would, if passed, mandate a study of the potential role of small nuclear reactors for increased power generation.
The BPU’s request sets June 23 as the deadline for responses.
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
