New Jersey residents continue to face rising electricity costs, a situation that has drawn attention from state leaders and policy experts. During her campaign for governor, Democrat Mikie Sherrill pledged to address the issue by declaring a state of emergency on utility costs and freezing rates immediately upon taking office.
Clinton J. Andrews, director of the Center for Urban Policy Research at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy at Rutgers University, noted that New Jersey’s energy infrastructure has not kept pace with demand. According to Andrews, this lack of development is a major factor behind recent spikes in utility bills.
Part of the challenge lies with PJM, the regional transmission organization responsible for approving new power generation projects. Andrews explained: “All new generation needs to be approved by PJM before it can be connected.” He added that PJM is struggling with a backlog because there are not enough engineers available to process power flow calculations. “If we worked through the backlog, we would have plenty of generation,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) confirmed these concerns, stating: “PJM faces a backlog of roughly 140 gigawatts of clean‑energy projects stuck in the interconnection queue. Recent reliability rules aimed at ensuring grid stability during extreme weather have also tightened supply.”
Andrews pointed out that energy planning requires balancing future demand projections with appropriate investments in new capacity. Overbuilding can result in unnecessary expenses for ratepayers—a lesson learned when Public Service Electric & Gas Co. canceled an additional reactor at its Hope Creek nuclear plant after investing millions into construction due to reduced demand and high costs.
Finding suitable locations for new nuclear plants remains challenging in densely populated states like New Jersey, which is now part of Governor Sherrill’s broader energy initiative.
The Edward J. Bloustein School plays a significant role in education and research related to public policy and urban planning within Rutgers University. The school offers accredited undergraduate and graduate programs focused on building equitable and sustainable communities through research centers dedicated to transportation, health, and other areas (official website).