06-05-2025
New Jersey lawmakers continue battle against higher energy bills
TRENTON, N.J. (PIX11) — The saga of cutting down on New Jersey's energy costs continues.
In a lengthy 2 and a half hour meeting of the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee, lawmakers discussed a list of Democrat-authored bills aimed at solving New Jersey's long-term energy cost problems.
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Almost all of the bills discussed in committee on Monday have to do in some form with the State Board of Public Utilities, or BPU, and the role it plays in energy bill prices.
The BPU's job is to regulate and oversee utilities. Earlier this year, the BPU approved a 17 to 20 percent energy rate hike effective June 1st, citing increased energy demand.
One bill discussed Monday would prohibit the BPU from approving electric rate increases without a full review.
Another would require the BPU to study the effects data centers have on utility rates; these, among other bills.
'Listen, they work very hard,' said Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo (D – ATU Committee Chair). Do they need more staff? Are they operating properly? We need to look into our state departments that are out there. The board is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate, so they are under the auspices, just like New Jersey's Economic Development Authority. We have an investment entity that's out there, we need to keep our eyes on them.'
More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State
Republicans say that while they're on board with some of the bills presented Monday, none of them address how New Jersey can save people money on their energy bills right now.
'We've got high bills right now, we've got bills going up 20 percent in June. This affects every constituent across the State. It's not regionalized, it's not one legislative district, the whole State is being impacted by this,' said Assemblyman Alex Sauickie (R-NJ 12th District). 'We have bills right now that would eliminate sales tax on gas and electricity. That would save a percent on the bill. So if the bill's going up 20 percent, we can offset it by 7 percent with that one bill alone.'
Environmental organizations, like the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club, are happy to at least see lawmakers on both sides of the aisle chipping away at the issue.
'There are many different points of view,' said Anjuli Ramos, director of the Sierra Club's NJ chapter. 'I would argue the facts and the facts are not opinions, but I am really thankful that the legislature at large is actually quite putting a lot of energy and time into this.'
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