New Jersey increases transmission oversight in ‘affordability’ push

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill signed three new laws aimed at holding down electricity bills, and they mostly affect how utilities plan and pay for the grid rather than anything homeowners need to do. One law puts new state review on "supplementary" transmission projects, the local upgrades utilities build outside the regional grid operator's planning process. These projects totaled $14.7 billion in New Jersey from 2008 to 2025, or 79% of transmission costs charged to ratepayers, and now utilities will need state approval before building them. Another law requires the state's utilities to join PJM, the regional grid operator, which strips them of an extra 0.5% profit margin they'd been earning for joining voluntarily. For PSE&G, the state's largest utility, that could mean about $40 million a year less in income.

A third law sets up special billing rules for large data centers, requiring them to guarantee payment for most of the power they request over a long term and to help fund energy efficiency and clean power rather than passing those costs to regular customers. Alongside the new laws, Sherrill announced bill credits: $25 for all residential ratepayers through the Residential Universal Bill Credit program, plus an extra $150 for lower- and moderate-income households through the Residential Energy Assistance Payment program. Utilities involved include Rockland Electric, Atlantic City Electric, Jersey Central Power & Light and PSE&G.

For homeowners in New Jersey served by these utilities, the practical upshot is a one-time credit on your bill and a broader effort to keep rising costs, especially from data centers and aging infrastructure, from landing on residential customers.