New Jersey Electricity Rates
Understanding New Jersey electricity rates is essential for residents navigating rising energy costs. With the deregulated market in the Garden State, consumers face shifting rates influenced by market auctions, supply constraints, and evolving energy infrastructure.
Recent Rate Increases
Starting June 1, 2025, residential customers across major providers, including PSE&G, JCP&L, Atlantic City Electric, and Rockland Electric, are seeing sharp increases in their electricity bills. The Basic Generation Service (BGS) auction, which sets supply rates, resulted in price hikes ranging from 17.2% to 20.2%, translating to an additional $22 to $28 per month for households using around 650 kWh.
What's Driving These Rates?
Several factors are fueling the surge in New Jersey electricity rates:
Pent-up demand from data centers, electrification, and AI infrastructure is outpacing available generation.
Delays in integrating new capacity, especially clean energy, due to interconnection bottlenecks.
Record-high capacity auction prices in the PJM region have spiked supply costs.
What’s Being Done?
In response, Governor Murphy and the Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) have taken action:
Directed utilities to submit mitigation plans such as rate deferment, suspending reconnection fees, and expanding winter payment protections through peak summer months.
Expanded assistance programs like the Residential Energy Assistance Payment (REAP), Universal Service Fund, and Community Solar Energy Program, offering credits, reduced bills, and solar discounts.
Advocated for accelerated interconnection and market reforms at the PJM level to curb systemic cost pressures.
How You Can Save
To manage New Jersey electricity rates more effectively:
Shop smart using the utility’s “Price to Compare” (PTC)—typically 8 to 13¢ per kWh depending on provider—and compare third-party offers through NJ Power Switch or similar platforms.
Implement energy-efficiency upgrades, such as sealing drafts or maintaining HVAC systems.
Consider solar power, bolstered by New Jersey’s strong incentives net metering, solar rebates (SuSI), and federal tax credits that can significantly offset rising rates over time.
In 2025, New Jersey electricity rates will climb steeply, higher for the same usage, due to systemic supply-demand mismatches and soaring wholesale costs. Yet, with informed decisions, access to assistance, and smart conservation, residents can better withstand and even counteract the impact of these increases.
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