New Jersey’s electric generation sector is already among the cleanest in the nation, so it makes no sense to subject electricity ratepayers to the increased costs that could come with forcing New Jersey into a regional cap-and-trade program.
Today, Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have done just that. A-4701/S-3059 would have required New Jersey to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
NJBIA commended Christie’s decision.
“This legislation was unnecessary and, if it had been enacted, could have led to higher energy costs for businesses and consumers,” said Sara Bluhm, NJBIA vice president for Environment & Energy.
“New Jersey did not need to rejoin RGGI because we are already a leader in our own right in curbing emissions and producing clean power,” Bluhm added.
New Jersey is already helping lower PJM’s carbon dioxide emissions by building new baseload Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) plants, which produce two to three times less CO2 emissions than old coal-fired power plants in the PJM power grid, Bluhm said.
