NJ Board of Public Utilities Accepts Impact Study

Bottom Line: New Jersey Board of Public Utilities voted to accept the long-awaited Energy Master Plan Ratepayer Impact Study produced by the Brattle Group consulting firm.  The study projected the impact of the state’s Energy Master Plan (EMP) through 2030. The study claims that electrification across all sectors will lead to lower energy bills for customers, assuming new conservation measures and subsidies, rising natural gas utility rates and relatively flat electric rates.

The Brattle study, however, omits discussion of capital costs for equipment conversions, building retrofits and other up-front costs. Read the announcement HERE.

An opinion piece was published in the NJ Spotlight HERE which includes quotes from the NJ Fuel Merchants and the Coalition on Affordable Energy.  Take note of the highlights concerning the report’s lack of discussion on the big-ticket items, with a lot of conditional “may” references regarding projected savings.  For those and other reasons, one BPU commissioner found the report “uninformative,” and opposed the Board’s acceptance of the study. These comments are consistent with NJPGA’s response, which you will read below.

You will also find an opinion piece from the Insider HERE.

NJPGA, with the support of NJ Propane Education and Research Foundation (NJ PERF), responded to the BPU’s decision HERE which calls out omissions and assumptions and “welcomes an overdue discussion of looming consumer costs anticipated from New Jersey’s Energy Master Plan.”  You may also read on the NJPGA Facebook page HERE and at NJ Insider HERE.