During the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee meeting on Wednesday, utility representatives, legislators, regulators and others explained how laws requiring utility companies to invest in infrastructure that supports Gov. Phil Murphy’s aggressive clean energy agenda are driving up bills for customers. 

Representing Ocean County, Assemblyman Brian Rumpf testified that excessive energy costs have a disparate impact on his legislative district, because it has the largest population of seniors in the state.

“It’s easy to cast blame on our electric companies and our gas companies, because that’s who we know. That’s who sends us our bill in the mail. The problem is far deeper,” Rumpf said. “Few also understand the administration’s energy master plan, and that I would submit is where the problem lies. Solar and wind constitute 8% of New Jersey’s power currently and the governor has set a goal of 35% by 2025. The bottom line is that my constituents and yours cannot afford to continue down the Murphy administration’s yellow brick road. I implore this committee and the legislative body to scrap the governor’s plan, encourage investment in nuclear and natural gas, clean energy and help reduce the costs of energy for all New Jerseyans.”

Murphy’s 2020 Energy Master Plan aims to phase out gas-powered vehicles, limit new homeowners’ access to affordable natural gas, and require builders to meet new standards – the costs of which will be passed onto consumers. The goal is to achieve 100% “clean energy” by 2035, which will be partly achieved through offshore wind development. 

In 2022, natural gas and nuclear energy fueled more than 90% of the total electricity produced in the state. About 73% of New Jersey households rely on natural gas as their primary heating fuel, 16% use electricity for space heating, and about 9% use petroleum products.

“The Don Quixote-esque quest for green energy and pushing it before its ready for prime time and doing that with all the taxpayer subsidies is the root cause of why we are facing all these ratepayer increases,” Assemblyman Paul Kanitra (R-Ocean) said.

In 2023, Murphy signed Democrat-sponsored legislation allowing offshore wind developer, Orsted, to retain federal tax credits that were supposed to help offset consumers’ power bills. Months after the bill was signed into law, Orsted backed out of the projects and sailed off with $75 million.

“New Jersey needs to strike a balance between affordable and renewable, because in the world of engineering those two are diametrically opposed. We need to face facts and do some really smart legislation if we are going to fix this problem,” Assemblyman Christian Barranco (R-Morris) said. 

Assemblyman Mike Torrissi (R-Burlington) introduced legislation (S596/A692) requiring public utilities to send detailed notices to customers outlining rate settlement agreements to ensure they have input in the rate-setting process before the BPU votes. 

“It’s clear that the majority party’s energy policies are driving costs up rather than making energy more affordable. We can integrate green resources without draining our constituents’ bank accounts,” he said.