Assemblyman Alex Sauickie said electric customers should anticipate very high electric bills this winter following another election-year ratepayer relief scheme approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on Wednesday.
Residential electric customers will receive a $50 credit on their bills in September and October, which is also when they will start paying back the $30 credit they received in July and August.
“Electric bills have tripled because of state Democrats’ failed leadership and policies, and now they want to buy votes with $160 of temporary credits. What’s worse is while ratepayers would normally pay less in the winter for their electricity, bills will be shockingly high because customers will be forced to pay it all back,” Sauickie (R-Ocean) said. “This isn’t a rebate, it’s a bribe.”
Electric rates increased by as much as 20% starting in June just as the state’s first heat wave arrived. The higher demand, coupled with less energy supply after Gov. Phil Murphy and state Democrats shut down the Oyster Creek nuclear plant and five major coal and natural gas facilities, led to unbelievably expensive electric bills.
“Democrats are having a hard time convincing the people of New Jersey that, although they are responsible for cutting 20% of dependable energy supply, somehow the grid operator or President Trump is responsible for their higher bills,” Sauickie said. “Unfortunately, instead of solutions, we get a gimmick that will come back to bite customers at a time when they are least expecting it.”
PSE&G informed its electric customers this week it will add $10 per month to bills from September through February 2026 to recoup the cost of the summer bill credits.
Sauickie, who serves on the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee as well as the Assembly Republican Energy Affordability Task Force, has proposed permanently removing certain charges, like the $180 annual smart meter opt-out fee and the sales tax on electricity and natural gas usage. Legislative Democrats have blocked attempts to pass these cost-saving measures.
“The Democrat majorities in both the Senate and General Assembly have rubber-stamped Murphy’s costly green energy agenda every step of the way. And now after eight years in complete control, their stalled solar panel fields, dead offshore wind experiment, and ideological electric mandates are coming to a head. Still, the best they can do is hatch a program that will increase winter electric bills,” Sauickie said. “State Democrats are raising costs, again, and voting down any real shot at sustainable relief. I want residents to remember that when they go to cast their votes this November.”
