Two clean energy advocacy organizations have released a new report outlining actions that the report says would reduce electricity costs in New Jersey by 21% next year and further clean energy goals.
The report, by Synapse Energy Economics, says the immediate interventions recommended by the analysis would save New Jersey households $467 a year by 2030.
It also projects that a lack of action by state policymakers will result in an increase of $70 per month in energy costs over the same period.
The report was commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Evergreen Collaborative and released at a Trenton press conference Thursday, Nov. 13. Synapse Energy Economics, founded in 1996 and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, describes itself as “a research and consulting firm focused on the intersection of energy, economics, and the environment.”
The environmental groups were supported at the press conference by state Sen. Andrew Zwicker (D-Somerset), who said, “We know these policies can deliver meaningful savings that families are counting on, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate and the incoming governor to use every tool at our disposal to get cheap, clean power on the grid and fight rising costs.”
The four steps the report lists for immediate action are:
- Build and connect more clean energy to the electricity grid through reforms that will clear the backlog at grid operator PJM Interconnection.
- Require large data centers wishing to operate in the state to supply their own clean power to avoid adding costs to household bills. The acronym used is BYOG, Bring Your Own Generation.
- Lower the state-guaranteed return on investment at monopoly utilities. Currently New Jersey investor-owned utilities have an authorized return on equity that is a built-in profit margin: The utilities are allowed to collect a preset return on equity for capital expenditures.
- Adopt EV charging and building electrification programs to ease the burden on the grid.
The analysis projected the four steps would result in a statewide savings of $14.3 billion over the four years to 2030.
Evergreen Collaborative’s vice president, Justin Balik, said, “By deploying cheap, clean energy, holding PJM accountable and reining in utilities, New Jersey can start cutting costs for families and deliver real progress in tackling the affordability crisis.”
Kyle Mason of the Regional Plan Association, an organization working on the energy crisis and social justice issues in the tristate area of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, said, “New Jersey ratepayers today are shouldering increasingly higher costs for an energy system that is outdated, unsustainable and subject to fluctuations in rates beyond the state’s control.” He argued that the reforms outlined in the Synapse report would help Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill deliver on her campaign promises to tackle the energy crisis.
The three major contributors to the energy price crisis, according to the presentations and the report, are profit-motivated utilities, a fossil-fuel-friendly grid operator, PJM, and power-hungry data centers.
David Amanfu of the Natural Resources Defense Council painted a picture where a lack of state action would produce increasing risks of blackouts, more air pollution and a continued rapid increase in consumer prices.
The speakers at the press conference said it was imperative that New Jersey “double down” on its clean energy goals and take action of energy prices. They see the Synapse report as outlining concrete steps that can deliver relief while also laying the groundwork for lasting reform.
Readers interested in the full 37-page report can find it here.
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
