$100 Utility Bill Credit Approved In NJ

By Nikita Biryukov | New Jersey Monitor

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on Wednesday approved $100 utility bill credits meant to defray the impact of surging electricity prices.

In a unanimous vote, the regulator’s three board members approved credits that will reduce residential monthly electricity bills by $50 in September and in October, part of state officials’ latest bid to curb energy costs amid summer heat and soaring rates.

“This should be helpful for people, but in no way solves the problem. I hope this helps some people get over the hump. This is a very difficult time,” said Commissioner Zenon Christodoulou.

All residential ratepayers are eligible for the credits, regardless of their income.

Electricity rates have surged nationwide, driven upward in part by artificial intelligence data centers’ mammoth energy demand, while New Jersey’s plans for new renewable generation — chiefly in the form of offshore wind — have largely failed to provide relief.

Wholesale electricity prices rose by roughly 20% in June and are due to rise as much as 5% when the results of a recent price-setting capacity auction take effect in June 2026. Regulators have said they expect prices to rise even further in a capacity auction planned for next July.

The credits will be funded by funds from the solar alternative compliance payment, which is paid by electricity suppliers that are unable to meet the state’s renewables standard, and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which generates funds by auctioning tradeable emissions allowances to fossil fuel plants.

Solar funds, tallied at $263 million Wednesday, would be used before money from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which totaled $123 million Wednesday, Board of Public Utilities staff said.

The credits are part of a plan Gov. Phil Murphy and other state Democrats announced days after higher prices took effect in early June.

That month, the board approved a plan to defer $60 total from electricity bills in July and August, when high temperatures and air conditioning drive power use to a peak. Ratepayers are responsible for repaying those deferred balances, which do not accrue interest or other carrying costs, over the following six months.

“We want to make sure we’re doing everything we can, and we’ll continue to do everything we can with the resources that we have to reduce costs for ratepayers,” said Board of Public Utilities President Christine Guhl-Sadovy.

At the same time, the board approved other programs that extended $175 in bill credits to low-income ratepayers. Those credits are to be applied in equal installments over seven months, from August to February 2026. That benefit was paid last year as a single $175 credit to August utility bills.

Democrats have blamed PJM Interconnection, the grid operator for New Jersey and 12 other states, for recent rate increases, arguing it has been too slow to connect chiefly renewable projects to its grid.

Republicans have blamed Murphy’s renewables-heavy energy goals and the administration’s focus on offshore wind, which has failed to stand up any new generation.

The state’s offshore wind projects appear dead in the water amid opposition from the Trump administration, which has paused or rescinded leases and permits for such projects, and lingering supply chain issues stemming from the pandemic.

The board on Wednesday approved an order terminating a contract with Atlantic Shores for a 1,509-megawatt wind farm off the coast of Atlantic City.

The developer requested that cancellation in June, citing federal uncertainty and the Trump administration’s withdrawal of a Clean Air Act permit needed for construction. The project’s first 762 megawatts of generation were due to come online in September 2027, with the remaining generation expected to start by April 2028.

Atlantic Shores sought to rebid that project, but the utilities board closed its fourth round of offshore wind solicitations without awarding any projects, citing uncertainty at the federal level.

Regulators acknowledged plans for wind generation would have to wait at least a few years. On Wednesday, the board approved an order delaying required in-service dates for offshore wind transmission infrastructure by two-and-a-half years.

Officials said the delay is meant to ease cost pressures by delaying transmission infrastructure investments, which ratepayers fund through their utility bills, without any electricity to bring to shore.

“Obviously, some federal uncertainty has created a situation where we need to make sure we’re acting in a way that we always do — on the best interest of ratepayers,” Guhl-Sadovy said. “This, along with some of the other actions today, are in response to some of those federal decisions around clean energy.”

Those projects, now required to be in service by January 2033, are meant to bring electricity from offshore wind turbines to the coast and prepare the grid for that power.

The order did little to shake environmental groups’ commitment to wind energy.

“Offshore wind is critical to our clean energy portfolio and to protecting our health, environment, and economy. Every delay forces our residents—especially low-income families and communities of color—to breathe dirty air and bear the brunt of climate change. We’ve been knocked down, but we’ll keep getting back up,” said Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters.

New Jersey Monitor is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. New Jersey Monitor maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Terrence McDonald for questions: info@newjerseymonitor.com. Follow New Jersey Monitor on Facebook and Twitter.

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