The cost of electricity for New Jersey residents has risen more than 33% in just a two-year span.

As the New Jersey Globe reported, Gov. Mikie Sherrill is taking action to ease the burden. 

What's happening?

The state elected Gov. Sherrill in 2025. Once she took office, she wasted no time making good on her campaign promise to tackle the energy affordability crisis. She declared a state of emergency and signed two executive orders at her inauguration aimed at lowering power costs. 

The first order seeks to provide fast utility payment relief for consumers and prohibits providers from raising prices further. 

The second lays out a plan to deal with the systemic power supply shortage that is driving the soaring prices. It includes building new power sources generated from in-state solar, battery storage, and nuclear energy. 

"We must provide short-term relief and begin long-term reform," Sherrill wrote. 

If you want to shield yourself from high electricity rates, consider switching your home's power over to solar. TCD's partners, like EnergySage, can help you think about the investment, find the best installer, and save up to $10,000 on solar projects.

Why does expensive electricity matter?

Power bills going up means just one more thing stretching people's budgets and making daily life more difficult. 

The reasons behind such dramatic price increases are also important. In New Jersey, part of the supply shortage is due to the enormous demands of artificial intelligence data centers.

One grid operator — PJM — is responsible for powering New Jersey and a dozen other states. The group predicts the data center boom will contribute to peak demand rising 20% by 2030. Meanwhile, it is struggling to maintain its reserve capacity, the New Jersey Globe explained. 

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These trends threaten to push consumer costs even higher and make service more unreliable unless changes are made soon. 

What's being done to lower costs?

Sherrill's executive orders are the first steps toward solving the situation in New Jersey. On top of the new momentum they create for cheaper energy sources like solar, the orders also seek to reform the electric companies and how they treat large power users like data centers. 

"Without the swift addition of new generation … the grid's reliability will be threatened during peak times," Sherrill wrote.

Smart upgrades that slash monthly energy bills

Government support of cheaper energy sources is crucial to lower prices, but you can take matters into your own hands with home solar. Here are some more resources to help you get started: 

• EnergySage can help you save up to $10,000 on installations by curating competitive bids from local installers
• Not ready to spend up front? Palmetto's $0-down LightReach solar leasing program can lower your utility rate by up to 20%
• TCD's Solar Explorer makes it easy to access exclusive offers from preferred partners

Adding energy-efficient appliances to a home powered by solar can lower energy costs even further. For example, check out how Mitsubishi can save you money with an upgraded HVAC system.

Last but not least, there's up to $5,000 in rewards up for grabs in the free Palmetto Home app. You can take simple actions in your life to unlock the rewards and then spend them on home upgrades.

Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices — and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD's exclusive Rewards Club.