New Jersey lawmakers hold hearing to address spike in electric bills
SICKLERVILLE, New Jersey (WPVI) -- New Jersey lawmakers held a hearing Wednesday to address the spike in South Jersey electric bills.
It's an increase that has especially enraged customers of Atlantic City Electric.
The Action News Troubleshooters have been covering the issue since August.
ACE customers have been reporting major sticker shock -- some bills going up 300% to 400%. Some were even 6,000%!
The Troubleshooters have gone to AC Electric for answers, even sitting down with the company's leadership.
On Wednesday, it was lawmakers asking the tough questions.
"Essentially it's saying we used twice as much electricity," said Ryan Moquin of Sicklerville, Camden County.
RELATED: South Jersey consumers complaining of high electric bills from Atlantic City Electric
Moquin and so many other ACE customers, solar and non-solar, are trying to understand their electric bills, but answers that make sense to customers aren't easy to come by.
On Wednesday, the Assembly Telecommunications and Utility Committee held a hearing with South Jersey utility providers and the state Board of Public Utilities.
"Because everyone deserves transparency into what happened last summer. This should be an opportunity to learn what went wrong and fix this immediately," said Assemblywoman Andrea Katz.
As they've told the Troubleshooters and their customers, ACE and other utilities point to warmer weather and higher usage as a major contributing factor to higher bills. There were also rate increases in both supply and distribution.
In his questions Assemblyman Alex Sauickie asked Atlantic City Electric why some of its numbers are higher than Jersey Central Power and Light.
"JCP&L's distribution component was 2.01, yours is 8.2. That's the problem I'm having. Why is yours 8.2 when theirs is one-fourth of the price," asked Sauickie.
"With all due respect, sir, I'd have to see the numbers myself," said Phillip Vavala, the regional president of Atlantic City Electric.
RELATED: Action News Troubleshooters get answers from AC Electric about skyrocketing bills
The same question was posed to AC Electric about the SBC, which stands for the Societal Benefits Charge.
"Why is the Societal Benefits Charge so much higher for Atlantic City?" asked Sauickie.
"I don't have an answer to that," responded Vavala.
But ACE did have an answer when at least two lawmakers asked about their new smart meters.
"Everyone that we sample tested, including those that were identified by customers as a high bill complaint, were tested to be between the BPU standard of 99.7% to 100.3% accuracy," said Vavala.
RELATED: South Jersey congressman calls for investigation into skyrocketing Atlantic City Electric bills
In the meantime, two lawmakers are introducing new legislation aimed at helping consumers. One would ensure customers receive ample notice of high usage early in a billing cycle.
"And empower them to make informed usage decisions to avoid sticker shock at the end of the month," said Assemblyman David Bailey Jr.
The other would require the Board of Public Utilities to consider affordability before approving rate hikes.
"This will be a great first step in bringing costs down," said Katz.
ACE did send us a statement, saying Wednesday's hearing was one of many steps it's taking to educate the public and empower its customers.
Atlantic City Electric Statement
Today, Atlantic City Electric participated in a legislative hearing with the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities (ATU) Committee at the New Jersey State House in Trenton, New Jersey. The purpose of the hearing was to discuss recent bill impacts across the State of New Jersey with assembly committee members. Phil Vavala, Atlantic City Electric's Region President, spoke on behalf of the company, provided testimony and answered questions directly to committee members and other invited guests.
We appreciate the opportunity to speak at today's hearing to address not only the committee's concerns, but also our customers' concerns. We understand the impact of bill fluctuations and that's why we continue this broader effort to lower usage and connect customers to bill assistance resources.
Included in this effort are clean energy solutions for our communities as we see the impacts of more extreme and severe weather across South Jersey due to climate change. We support an approach that advances a clean energy future equitably and that ensures the readiness of the local energy grid for our customers and communities, while continuing our commitments to reliability. We will continue to partner with New Jersey leaders to achieve our collective clean energy and climate goals.
Today's hearing is just one of many steps we are taking to help educate the public and empower our customers. We remain committed to working with elected and local officials to address these challenges in a constructive manner that has our customers' best interest in mind, including through legislative hearings taking place with the ATU Committee, public meetings with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJ BPU) and through other direct outreach with our customers and stakeholders.
New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Statement
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has received outreach from ratepayers regarding increases in their recent summer electric bills. There are several factors that can lend to an increase, especially in the summer.
One recent reason ratepayers may have experienced an increase is that the cost of generating electricity has changed, something that is not unique to New Jersey. Utilities purchase their electricity in the marketplace and there are different market mechanisms that impact the cost of electricity. Details on the prices that went into effect on June 1, 2024, as a result of the electricity auction for Basic Generation are available here.
One of the main drivers in the cost of an electric bill, though, is usage. After a particularly hot and humid summer, we encourage customers to compare their individual usage from month-to-month and year-to-year to determine if higher usage has caused an increase in their bill. In addition to generally higher electric usage in the summer months, the utilities provide information on "heating/cooling degree days" to help customers see the impact weather has on their usage.
If a customer notices an anomaly and cannot determine an explanation, we encourage them to connect with their utility directly or contact the NJBPU's Customer Assistance Division at (800)-624-0241or https://www.nj.gov/bpu/assistance/complaints/. When requested, BPU staff will witness a meter test to ensure that the meter is functioning properly. If it is determined that there is an error with the meter or a billing error in general, customers are entitled to a refund on the amount they were overbilled.
The NJBPU reminds customers who are experiencing trouble paying their bills to contact their utility to set up a deferred payment plan or visit our website to learn about energy assistance programs at https://www.nj.gov/bpu/assistance/programs/. The Board recently announced the Residential Energy Assistance Payment, a one-time bill credit for qualifying ratepayers, funded by unspent New Jersey Clean Energy Program funds to provide relief in the form of a $175 credit for those most in need of assistance.
