Erica Jedynak, New Jersey Policy Institute. – New Jersey Policy Institute/courtesy
New Jersey stands at a pivotal moment in its energy future. For too long, families and businesses across our state have faced rising electricity bills and limited choices.
As a board member of the New Jersey Policy Institute (NJPI), I believe it is time to end the reign of government-sanctioned monopolies providing scarce and expensive energy. Instead, we should chart a bold new course that puts abundant power, both literal and figurative, back into the hands of New Jerseyans.
Every month, residents open their utility bills and feel the squeeze. The average household in New Jersey now pays more than $1,900 a year for electricity, well above the national average. Every part of the flawed energy ecosystem in our state is contributing to blocking the generation, transmission and distribution of power.
New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities President Christine Guhl-Sadovy said this past summer’s 17-20% price hikes were due to “rapidly increasing demand for electricity, coupled with limited supply growth due to lagging new generation interconnection, and flawed market dynamics in the PJM region”. These hikes are the product of monopolization, not a functioning marketplace. Government has decided to control electricity by authorizing only the chosen few legal monopoly utilities.
These hikes are not just numbers on a page. They are real burdens on working families, retirees, and small businesses trying to stay afloat in an already unaffordable state.
On Energy Matters, a NJPI-sponsored public affairs show on ON New Jersey, guests often point to the root causes: outdated infrastructure, regulatory red tape imposed by Governor Murphy and a system that favors monopolies over competition. When government policies pick winners and losers, subsidizing some technologies like offshore wind while banning others, consumers lose. Innovation stalls and prices rise.
But it does not have to be this way.
Imagine New Jersey’s future where power plants are approved in months, not decades. Transmission lines move the cheapest energy to where it is needed most. Neighborhoods can form microgrids and innovators can test new ideas without years of business-crushing litigation. That vision is achievable with the right policy reforms.
Here is a six-point plan to get us there:
- Fast Track Projects: New Jersey should establish a one-stop energy permitting office with hard deadlines. If agencies miss deadlines, the projects move forward. This alone could shave hundreds off household bills by speeding up supply.
- Remove Mandates on New Jerseyans: Sunset costly appliance mandates and fuel bans that raise prices without improving service. Require transparent cost-benefit reviews. Let residents choose the technologies that work best for them.
- Rein in Nuisance Litigation: Cap lawsuits that drag on for years. Set strict filing windows, a single state court venue, and require decisions within 180 days to keep projects moving.
- Neighborhood Microgrids: Enable hospitals, businesses, and neighborhoods to create microgrids that meet safety standards with permits for peer-to-peer sales behind a shared meter or a private distribution loop, so local customers can share power to meet their needs.
- Scoreboard Results: Launch a public-facing energy dashboard with quarterly updates of average household bills, project approvals, and permit waiting times. Transparency builds trust and opportunities for accountability.
- Open the Door to Innovation and Cut Red Tape: Create regulatory sandboxes for new technologies. Approve small-scale pilots quickly, enabling technologies to scale that work and can provide safe, reliable, and cheaper energy.
These are not just theoretical ideas. States that have adopted similar reforms are already seeing results. In New Jersey, implementing this agenda could cut household electricity bills by $400 to $600 per year within a single budget cycle and significantly more in the years to come.
This is about more than energy. When families spend less on electricity, they have more to invest in their futures. When businesses can rely on affordable, reliable power, they grow, hire, and invest here.
New Jersey has an opportunity to lead in advanced nuclear, geothermal, battery storage, and natural gas. With key reforms, our state can be a national leader in energy innovation, reliability, and affordability.
The Garden State deserves energy policy rooted in abundance, not scarcity. It is time for our governor and legislature to embrace market-driven solutions, end monopolistic barriers, and unleash the full potential of our state’s entrepreneurs and engineers.
Erica Jedynak is a Board Member of the New Jersey Policy Institute, a “do-tank” setting out to re-write New Jersey’s story. She resides in Morris County with her family.
