The state will be distributing $430 million to ratepayers to ease the burden of rising electricity rates, Gov. Phil Murphy has announced.
All ratepayers will get $100 toward their utility bills, with qualifying low- and moderate-income households receiving an additional $150, for a total of $250, the governor said in making the announcement June 5.
“We’re taking this step today because the fact is the people of New Jersey are being battered by the rising cost of energy, and by the way, this is not unique to New Jersey,” Murphy, flanked by about a dozen Democratic members of the Legislature and the president of the Board of Public Utilities, said at a press conference in Newark.
No details on how the payments to ratepayers will work were provided. The BPU is expected to approve the $430 million package at its June 18 meeting.
The state will take the funds for this program from the Clean Energy Fund, the state share of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and the Solar Alternative Compliance Program, all funding sources meant for other purposes.
Following Murphy’s announcement, Atlantic City Electric released a statement saying that it too will be going before the BPU for approval to give all ratepayers a deferred credit on bills for July and August. The credit would be additional to the state funding.
The deferred credit, whose amount was not specified, will have to be repaid interest-free over a period of six months after the conclusion of the high-usage summer season.
The utility also stated that it will suspend service disconnections for nonpayment for eligible customers from July through September, waive fees for already disconnected customers who are seeking to restore service during that period, and offer longer repayment terms, up to 24 months, for residential customers.
The announcements by the governor and ACE come in light of steep increases in electricity rates that kicked into effect June 1 and of an election year in which the governor’s chair and all 80 seats in the Assembly, in which Democrats now hold a 52-28 advantage, are up for grabs.
Democrats who spoke at the Newark news conference included Senate President Nick Scuteri and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin; they were at pains to say that the problems causing the rate hikes were not properly the province of the Legislature.
“Like so many states across the country, we recognized early on that the rates would not be sustainable, more importantly, that they just certainly weren’t fair. That’s why we went to work,” Coughlin said.
Both Murphy and Scuteri placed blame at the feet of multistate grid operator PJM Interconnection, with Murphy repeating his call for an investigation into possible market manipulation.
Everyone agreed that the state funding being announced was only a short-term solution to a problem that needed longer-term and more sustainable solutions in terms of an increased supply of electrical capacity for New Jersey. Everyone also said this was a high priority for the Legislature.
Murphy called the rising cost of electricity “top of mind” and said the state had to step in because PJM “failed to plan for energy demand,” a situation he called “shameful.”
Criticism of the Murphy administration and its announcement came swiftly.
Senate Republican leader Anthony Bucco (R-25) said, “Today’s announcement from the governor is just another Band-Aid. This is not relief, it’s a cover-up. Trenton Democrats are once again trying to deflect the consequences of their own failed energy policies.”
Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2) said, “New Jerseyans deserve real, long-lasting relief instead of a temporary solution.”
The New Jersey Business & Industry Association said immediately after the announcement that the organization welcomed help for ratepayers, but added, “What we did not hear today from our leadership was the undeniable role New Jersey’s energy policy decisions have played in the energy price increases we face today.”
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
