TRENTON – Senator John Burzichelli, Senator Andrew Zwicker and Senator Bob Smith reacted to the results of the energy auction conducted by PJM Interconnection that will determine utility costs for the residents of New Jersey for the upcoming delivery year starting in June of 2026.
“Here we go again. Another failed energy auction that will result in another increase in utility bills for New Jersey residents,” said Senator Burzichelli (D-Gloucester/Salem/Cumberland). “We can’t afford auctions that repeat the same mistakes with a system that shortchanges ratepayers. This is more evidence of the need for reforms that bring transparency to the process, accountability for their decisions, and a system that makes ratepayer affordability a priority. Until these reforms are made, we will continue to be held hostage to a failed system.”
“The latest PJM auction is yet another instance of New Jersey ratepayers being punished for the organization’s negligence. Families and small businesses in our state should not be stuck with the bill for decisions made out of the purview of the state’s elected officials by an unaccountable grid operator,” said Senator Zwicker (Middlesex/Mercer/Somerset/Hunterdon). “As electricity prices continue to skyrocket with the development of artificial intelligence data centers across the region, we must continue to push for innovative solutions to meet our growing energy needs, whether that be by deploying advanced transmission technologies to ensure our current generators are as efficient as they can be, requiring data centers to provide their own renewable energy, or getting our pending energy generation projects out of limbo and online as soon as possible. The people of our state deserve access to reliable and affordable energy, and we will do everything in our power to increase the supply and drive down utility costs.”
“The results of PJM’s most recent energy auction reinforce my belief that ratepayers cannot be made to pay for the failures of PJM. PJM’s continued failure to approve projects in its interconnection queue has left the grid unprepared to meet demand, and they are now once again shifting the costs of their failures onto the residents and businesses of New Jersey,” said Senator Bob Smith (D-Middlesex/Somerset), Chair of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee. “As I have said before, New Jerseyans deserve the clean and affordable energy future they have time and time again voted for, and we cannot let that future be sabotaged by the failures of an out-of-state regional grid operator. We will continue to explore pathways to shield New Jerseyans from PJM’s rate hikes, improve our energy capacity, and hold PJM accountable.”
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