The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
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LBI NJ, New Jersey’s offshore wind sector is facing new turbulence as Leading Light Wind has requested a pause on its offshore wind farm project off the coast of Long Beach Island. The company is asking the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities for an extension through late December to address supply chain issues, particularly the lack of a manufacturer for the turbine blades required for the project.
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Ocean City NJ, The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, in conjunction with the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium, today announced that the state’s Research & Monitoring Initiative (RMI) is issuing a request for proposals that will make $4.75 million available for research projects focused on furthering ecologically responsible offshore wind development.
Continue reading New Jersey Doubles Down on Offshore Wind Development
Fuel Merchants Association, Propane Gas Association and New Jersey State Association of Pipe Trades Denounce Governor Murphy’s Outrageously Expensive Building Electrification Mandate
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Trenton NJ, Eric DeGesero, on behalf of the Fuel Merchants Association of New Jersey and the New Jersey Propane Gas Association, and Mike Maloney on behalf of the New Jersey State Association of Pipe Trades, denounced Governor Murphy’s hypocrisy surrounding his outrageously expensive building electrification mandate — which is set to be approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on July 26th.
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Trenton NJ, Affordable Energy for New Jersey (AENJ), the state’s leading voice for transparency in energy policy for rate and taxpayers, today applauded the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) for transparency in addressing concerns regarding pace, cost and predicted energy demand of electrification by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) in the state.
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Atlantic City NJ, Senator Anthony M. Bucco said Governor Phil Murphy should heed the advice of the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel to pump the brakes on wind farm expansions amid mounting costs for developers that will likely translate into higher energy bills for families and businesses.
Continue reading Wind Farm Expansion Not the Answer for New Jersey’s Energy Needs
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Hackensack NJ, Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco thanks PSE&G for reimbursing New Jersey customers for spoiled food and medication who went without power for over 72 hours after Tropical Storm Isaias. The move, which PSE&G announced earlier this afternoon, will provide residential customers up to $250 for food spoilage and an additional $300 for medicine spoiled due to lack of refrigeration. Commercial customers are eligible for up to $5000 reimbursement for food spoilage.
County Executive Tedesco asks that all utility companies follow suit and renews his call for the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to adopt legislation that makes reimbursement standard practice.
“I would like to thank PSE&G for choosing to take this common sense action that will assist thousands of New Jersey residents at a critical time. This is a great step and I sincerely hope all other utility companies follow suit by putting the priorities of New Jersey residents and businesses first. I am also renewing my call on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to make this show of good will standard practice for future power interruptions,” stated County Executive Jim Tedesco.
July 26,2018
From the Board of Public Utilities
Trenton NJ, Today, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) voted unanimously to accept the findings of an investigative report conducted in direct response to the March 2018 nor’easters that left hundreds of thousands of New Jersey residents without power. As a result, NJBPU added more than 30 required actions by the state’s four electric distribution companies (EDCs). This is in addition to the more than 100 requirements put in place after Hurricane Irene and Superstorm Sandy.
“New Jersey had one of the worst winters on record, but my administration has taken the stance that the prolonged service interruptions were, in many cases, preventable,” said Governor Phil Murphy, who directed the NJBPU to investigate the actions of the EDCs following March nor’easters Riley, Quinn, and Toby to determine lessons learned and to develop best practices moving forward.
“Our processes leading up to, during, and following major weather events must be under constant evaluation to ensure that our residents are safe,” the Governor added.
The NJBPU conducted five public hearings throughout the state and obtained testimony from the public and elected officials. NJBPU staff also analyzed the EDCs’ actions, both individually and collaboratively, to determine whether they complied with the 100 requirements adopted after Hurricane Irene and Superstorm Sandy.
The investigation resulted in an extensive report which summarized staff’s findings and recommended a series of actions, specific to each EDC, in the following areas: Pre-Storm Preparations; Restoration of Service; Communications and Outreach: Winter Storms Riley and Quinn; The EDC’s Response to Winter Storm Toby; and Compliance with Board Orders.
The Board’s vote encompasses all actions that must be taken by utilities to better prepare for any event that may result in widespread periods of service interruption.
“These directives are the result of a thorough investigation and illustrate what actions the EDCs need to take to make sure our residents never have to go through anything like this again,” said NJBPU President Joseph L. Fiordaliso. “I would like to thank Governor Murphy for his leadership on this matter as we move forward to ensure the implementation of the Board’s orders.”
The NJBPU’s vote to accept the staff’s report turned staff’s recommendations into Board requirements. The additional 30 newly ordered requirements, when combined with those previously ordered during Irene and Sandy, will serve to further utility best practices, particularly when faced with issues regarding service interruption.
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January 14,2017
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Ridgewood NJ, Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G) today filed its first regulatory rate review in more than eight years, asking for a small adjustment in electric and gas base delivery rates that would increase overall revenues by approximately 1 percent.
The increase is necessary to recover investments PSE&G made to strengthen its electric and gas distribution systems, making them more reliable and resilient. PSE&G is required to file the rate review as a condition of the approval by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities of the company’s Energy Strong program in 2014.
If approved as filed, the typical combined residential electric and natural gas customer will see an approximate 1 percent increase or about $19.70 in their annual bill. Even with this proposed increase, bills for the typical residential customer are expected to be more than 15 percent lower than they were in 2010.
“Our customer bills are already among the lowest in the state – and that won’t change,” said David Daly, PSE&G president and COO.
“As a result of strong cost control, our residential customer bills are lower today than they were eight years ago,” Daly said. “Together with passing along savings from recent tax law changes, we’ve been able to minimize the impact on our customers.”
Revenues from base rates are used to maintain and improve the electric and gas delivery infrastructure, such as pipes and wires, and provide customer services. Customer bills also contain separate charges for the electric and gas supply that is obtained by PSE&G on behalf of its customers.
“Since our last regulatory rate review in 2010, PSE&G has made significant capital investments to upgrade, modernize, and strengthen our electric and gas systems to make them more reliable and resilient,” Daly said. “Our current electric and gas delivery rates do not reflect all the investments we have made to maintain the safe, highly reliable service our customers have come to expect. This rate review also addresses previously incurred storm costs that had been deferred until this time.”
Proposal includes Green Enabling Mechanism
The rate filing also seeks BPU approval of a rate design change, called the Green Enabling Mechanism (GEM), a proposal to decouple revenues from sales volumes and thereby encourage energy efficiency. If approved, the GEM will remove the incentive to sell more energy and will instead encourage utility investments in energy efficiency, renewables and other clean energy technologies that will ultimately benefit all customers by bringing down bills and reducing emissions.
PSE&G anticipates that new base rates as well as the GEM will take effect October 1, 2018.