State lawmakers in New Jersey are trying to head off another sharp rise in electricity bills.
As NJ Spotlight News detailed, the energy package they just approved aims to add supply, move grid improvements faster, and open a new plug-in solar option to renters looking to lower costs.
What happened?
The outlet reported eight energy bills reached Gov. Mikie Sherrill after legislative sessions that also tackled a $60.7 billion state budget and $360 million in supplemental spending.
The legislative push followed a year in which New Jersey recorded the nation's largest average increase in household electricity bills: roughly 20%. This past January, Sherrill used her inauguration to issue executive orders declaring an energy emergency and seeking an electricity rate freeze for this year, NJ Spotlight News reported.
If enacted, the Garden State Balcony Solar Act would let residents, including renters with balconies, plug in solar panels to replace some of the electricity they would otherwise purchase from utilities.
The idea is already common in parts of Europe, and at least six states adopted comparable laws this year. In April, a Fairleigh Dickinson University poll found that about 8 in 10 registered voters supported balcony solar.
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"Generating clean energy at home is the fastest and most reliable way to protect NJ families from rising energy costs," said Elowyn Corby, senior regional director of the nonprofit Vote Solar Action Fund, according to NJ Spotlight News.
Why does it matter?
Electricity bills have become harder and harder to afford, and New Jersey has been at the forefront of those issues.
Policies that increase energy supply or let residents generate some of their own power could help ease pressure on monthly budgets, particularly during high-demand seasons.
The balcony solar bill could extend some of the benefits of solar power to people who have long had limited access to them. Renters have generally had fewer opportunities to use solar and lower their bills as opposed to homeowners.
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A plug-in setup could offer apartment residents a more practical path to savings without requiring a full rooftop installation.
This proposal is also good news for public health and the climate. Expanding cleaner energy sources can reduce reliance on fossil fuel-burning power plants, which contribute to pollution.
At the same time, increasing local generation and improving transmission planning could help strengthen the grid as electricity demand continues to rise.
What's being done?
Several of the measures target the infrastructure and planning systems operating behind the scenes.
NJ Spotlight News reported that S-1673 would require transmission facilities to participate in PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator. Evergreen Action said the change could save ratepayers $60 million per year.
Another proposal, A-5188, would place automation, storage, and other supplemental transmission projects under state oversight.
NJ Spotlight News reported that S-3939 would allow dual-use solar projects on farmland to join the Community Solar Energy Program.
Under A-4881, known as the Power NJ Act, the publication noted the state's Board of Public Utilities would work with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority to create a program for procuring, evaluating, and approving advanced nuclear energy facilities.
"With both rising costs and increased demand for electricity, New Jersey needs to explore all manners of increasing our production capacity without contributing to climate change," state Sen. Bob Smith, a bill sponsor, commented, according to NJ Spotlight News.
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