New Jersey residents are being squeezed, and not just at the grocery store or the gas station. The monthly electric bill - once a predictable, if annoying, part of household budgeting - is now a source of real financial pressure.
In the past few years, many households in the state have seen their electricity costs rise by 20 percent to 40 percent. While it’s easy to blame inflation, the real reasons run deeper - and they’re tied to how our state manages energy, infrastructure and utility companies.
A major driver is the cost of natural gas. Despite all the talk about clean energy, more than 40 percent of New Jersey’s electricity still comes from gas-fired power plants. That means when natural gas prices spike on the global market - because of supply chain disruptions, international conflict or speculation, utility companies pass those increases directly to you. This volatility makes energy bills unpredictable and often unaffordable.
Then there’s the issue of aging infrastructure. Much of New Jersey’s electrical grid was built decades ago and is overdue for upgrades. Instead of modernizing strategically, utilities have pushed the costs onto consumers. From the wires on your street to the substations in your county, every repair and replacement shows up later in your bill, labeled as a “delivery” or “service” fee.
Add to that the cost of the clean energy transition. New Jersey is pushing to become 100 percent carbon-free by 2035, and that’s a worthy goal. But these projects - solar farms, offshore wind, grid-scale batteries - are expensive. Rather than absorbing the investment gradually, utilities are front-loading the costs. In other words, you’re paying today for systems that may not be fully operational for years.
If you think switching providers might help, think again. In most of the state, residents don’t have meaningful choice in who supplies their electricity. Utilities operate as regional monopolies, and the lack of competition means there’s no incentive to cut prices or improve service.
What’s needed now is policy intervention - bold, fast, and consumer-focused.
In the short term, the state should expand utility assistance programs, not just for low-income residents, but for middle-income families who are increasingly caught in the squeeze. We also need a temporary cap on rate hikes, especially during periods of economic stress. Most importantly, utilities must be forced to disclose exactly how rates are calculated and where the money is going. There’s no excuse for opaque billing from companies profiting from an essential service.
In the medium term, New Jersey must rethink how it regulates utilities. The current system favors profit guarantees for private energy providers at the expense of consumers. Rate-setting needs to be rebalanced with stronger oversight. The state also should back community solar projects and local energy co-ops that give residents more control and potentially lower rates. And we must invest in modernizing transmission infrastructure so we can tap into cheaper renewable energy sources from neighboring states.
In the long run, there’s no way around it: clean energy is the future. Wind and solar can offer price stability, zero fuel costs and significant environmental benefits. But they come with tradeoffs. They’re intermittent, require storage solutions and can take years to build. Now, we’re absorbing those costs upfront - and it’s hurting working families.
That doesn’t mean we should back off from renewables. It means we need to manage the transition better. Smarter public investment, better project planning and a regulatory environment that puts consumers first are key. The state should also explore the idea of public power: municipal or state-run utilities that prioritize affordability and transparency over profit.
At the end of the day, electricity isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity - for work, for school, for life. Yet in one of the wealthiest states in the country, too many residents are having to choose between keeping the lights on and paying for everything else.
If New Jersey is serious about building a fair, sustainable energy future, it needs to stop letting utilities drive the agenda. It’s time to put the people - and their wallets - first.
Thomas M. Sullivan
Newton