With the Murphy administration continuing to target 100% clean energy by 2035, despite major setbacks to the offshore wind industry in New Jersey, NJBIA is urging policymakers to allow for more in-state natural gas generation in the immediate and nuclear energy in the longer term.
“As we have been saying for years, we need to be realistic and not ideological when it comes to our energy policy in New Jersey,” said NJBIA Deputy Chief Government Affairs Officer Ray Cantor.
“We simply cannot push all-electrification policies that drive up the use of electricity while simultaneously continuing to adopt policies that shut down generation of clean natural gas and discourage the development of clean natural gas facilities.
“New Jersey needs to reverse course immediately not only to avoid future pain from our energy bills, but also to meet the growing energy demands that will come with more data centers and other technologies.”
Utility providers in New Jersey annually purchase electricity supply through auctions. The winning prices for New Jersey’s 24th annual electricity auction for Basic Generation Service (BGS) increased for all four regulated Electric Distribution Companies (EDCs) in the state.
Starting June 1, the average monthly bill increase for New Jersey residents will be between 17.23% and 20.20%, depending on the service territory.
PJM Interconnection, the grid operator for New Jersey and 12 other states and the District of Columbia, has come under criticism by Gov. Phil Murphy and others for the way basic generation service costs are structured, as well as auction rules that exclude generation capacity from being sold.
Cantor said, “those criticisms are not without some merit,” but “they are not the major thrust behind these dramatic energy price increases.”
“The bottom line is we’re a state that doesn’t produce enough energy to keep our own lights on and we are advancing policies to eliminate sources that provide much of our electricity,” Cantor said. “That’s not a winning combination when it comes to the balance of supply and demand.
“And it will only get worse because, as of now, there are no realistic plans in place to increase our in-state generation, while we all know that demand will continue to increase.”
Further, Cantor said, the current state emission standard for natural gas generation is 1,000 lbs CO2/MWh – which is slightly below the existing PJM carbon emission standard.
“Thus, we can build new, clean natural gas electric generation without impacting the amount of carbon that is currently being emitted,” Cantor said.
Cantor also encouraged New Jersey to prioritize nuclear power and small modular reactors. The Murphy administration’s Energy Master Plan does support existing include nuclear power, although it has not called for new nuclear plants.
“Our federal government also needs to simplify the process to quicken the generation of nuclear power,” Cantor said.
