RELEASE: As Jersey Utility Bills Increase 40% In a Year, Gottheimer Fights Back With ‘Lower Utility Bills Plan’ 

Above: Gottheimer joins local leaders to take on utility companies charging hardworking families.

FORT LEE, NJ — Today, April 21, 2025, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) announced new action as part of his ‘Lower Utility Bills Plan’ to combat relentless utility price hikes crushing hardworking Jersey families. This comes after the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) approved multiple rate hikes, amounting to a 40% increase on utility bills in one year. 

Gottheimer called out utility monopolies — JCP&L, Orange and Rockland, PSE&G, Atlantic City Electric, and Vineland Municipal Utilities (VMEU) — for failing to keep up with critical infrastructure repairs, causing brownouts throughout the state, delivering subpar service, and jacking up rates on hardworking Jersey families. 

Gottheimer also joined state leaders in calling on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to immediately investigate PJM, the power grid operator responsible for skyrocketing costs, for overpaying at auction for their energy supply, and slammed the Trump Administration’s decision to gut staff at the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the federal program that helps New Jersey’s hardest-pressed families pay for their utility bills.

A recording of the announcement can be found here.

“There is a harsh reality coming at Jersey families on their June utility bills — another outrageous increase on your electric bill. In fact, when you add it up, over the last year, families are looking at a nearly 40 percent increase on their utility bills,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “Right now, too many families are being forced to choose between keeping the lights on and putting food on the table. No one in Jersey, or anywhere across the country, should have to make that choice. We have to give hardworking families a break — not break their bank.” 

Rising utility costs in New Jersey:

• Compared to last year, JCP&L customers will see a 39.7% rate increase, Orange and Rockland customers will see a 37% rate increase, PSE&G customers will see a 38.5% increase, and Atlantic City Electric customers will see a 40.6% increase. 
• The utility companies — JCP&L, Orange and Rockland, PSE&G, Atlantic City Electric, and Vineland Municipal Utilities (VMEU) — effectively operate as monopolies in New Jersey. 
• The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) approved a 40% increase in utility bills over the last year.
  • The average household water and gas bill rose by more than 7% each over the same period.
  • New Jersey’s household bills are already 32% higher than the national average.
• The Trump Administration slashed the entire staff at LIHEAP, jeopardizing assistance that helps nearly 6 million families nationwide and 240,000 households in New Jersey pay their heating and cooling bills.
• PJM, the power grid operator that supplies electricity to 13 states and their electric companies, including New Jersey, has delayed 84 interconnection projects, including 45 solar, 25 battery storage, and 14 offshore wind projects.
  • These delays forced a $12.5 billion increase in auction costs this year and $14.7 billion in total increased costs passed on to Jersey ratepayers.
  • Governor Murphy said last week that PJM created a cost crisis that was “foreseeable and preventable.”

Gottheimer’s new action as part of his ‘Lower Utility Bills Plan’:

• First, Gottheimer is joining the state in calling on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (or FERC) to immediately investigate PJM for skyrocketing costs by overpaying at auction.
• Second, Gottheimer is calling on New Jersey’s utility companies to reverse their insane price increases. 
• Third, Gottheimer is introducing legislation to ensure LIHEAP is fully staffed and equipped to deliver the assistance families rely on, especially as energy costs rise.
  • Gottheimer is calling on HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to immediately rehire LIHEAP staff and work to strengthen and modernize the program. 
• Finally, Gottheimer is fighting to implement his ‘Lower Utility Bills Plan’ announced in December.
  • Gottheimer introduced the Energy Costs Relief Act to provide a refundable tax credit of up to $350 to help offset rising energy costs and put money directly back into families’ pockets. 
  • Gottheimer introduced the Know Your Rates Act, which will require utility companies to directly notify customers if their energy usage rises above their monthly average, so they can adjust before it is too late.
  • Gottheimer helped negotiate, write, and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which has provided New Jersey with significant investment in our electric grid, climate resiliency, and clean energy technology. 
  • Gottheimer also helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which directs $11.4 billion to New Jersey toward clean energy.

Gottheimer was joined by State Senator Gordon Johnson (LD 37), Assemblywoman Shama Haider (LD 37), Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, and Fort Lee Councilman Harvey Sohmer.

Gottheimer’s full remarks as prepared for delivery can be found here:

It’s always good to start your week in Fort Lee. Today, before I talk about the main reason we are here, I want to offer my deepest sympathies to the Catholic community. Throughout his life, Pope Francis consistently reminded us of the importance of kindness and empathy — values that go beyond faith, country, or politics. He led with both heart and conviction to stand up for the poor, fight for human rights, foster unity, and protect our environment — earning him the title of ‘The People’s Pope.’ 

My prayers are with the Catholic community here in New Jersey, and around the world as we honor his incredible legacy. His life reminds us to never stop fighting for our families to live in a better world, and that’s exactly what we are here today to do.

I hate to do this on a Monday when the warm weather is starting to roll in, but, thanks to the utility companies, there is a harsh reality coming at Jersey families on their June utility bills — another outrageous increase on your electric bill. In fact, when you add it up, over the last year, families are looking at a nearly 40 percent increase on their utility bills.  

We are talking about JCP&L, Orange and Rockland, and PSE&G up by here, not to mention Atlantic City Electric and Vineland Municipal Utilities (VMEU) as you go further south.

That’s a joke, especially now when families are already struggling with higher prices on food, insurance, rent, child care, and our out-of-control property taxes — not to mention the higher price Donald Trump’s tariffs have wreaked on everything from coffee to cars to clothing. New Jersey’s household bills are already 32 percent higher than the national average. 

And, many of these companies haven’t kept up with their infrastructure needs, so we’ve had brownouts in all parts of the state. So, it’s not as if all our utility providers in our great state are delivering a top-shelf product. Yet, they’re charging us more right before the summer heat kicks in, when families need the AC to stay cool and safe.

It’s not just electric bills. The average Jersey water and gas bill already increased by more than seven percent each over the last year. Yet somehow, the government body that oversees all of this, the Board of Public Utilities, approved all of these utility bill increases.

To add insult to injury, the Trump Administration just slashed the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, the major federal government program that helps our hardest pressed families pay for some of their utility bills. Yes, Trump literally fired the entire staff, putting the whole program into jeopardy, right as seniors, children, and other lower-income Jersey families are heading into summer. And reports show that President Trump’s proposed budget would gut all funding for LIHEAP — screwing over nearly 6 million families across the country that rely on this program.

Last year, I helped claw back $212 million to New Jersey for LIHEAP to support this lifeline for millions of families struggling with utility bills, helping more than 240,000 households across our state afford their utility bills.

Now, the utility companies, which have a monopoly on delivering electricity to your home or business, claim that the cost of energy is way up. That we just don’t have enough supply here in Jersey to meet the demand. 

Electricity demand in the U.S. is on track to surge fifty percent over the next six years, especially because of AI and all of these new data centers — and, given how AI will transform everything we do, that will only increase. Data centers built in New Jersey today demand twice as much power as just a few years ago. As our own supply goes down, Jersey will be an even larger net importer, relying on more surge capacity from other states, including West Virginia. And that means more dirty coal. The electrification of vehicles and the like are also putting massive demand on the grid.

While that’s true, the utility companies haven’t exactly gone out of their way to push hard for new energy supplies or to make the grid more efficient — and 40 percent in one year doesn’t exactly spell good price management for all the families on the receiving end of this massive price increase. There is another party that can’t escape blame, and that’s where I’m especially focused today. 

PJM, the power grid operator that supplies electricity to 13 states and their electric companies, including ours, has slammed the brakes on new energy supplies since 2021. 84 interconnection projects — including 45 solar, 25 battery storage, and 14 offshore wind projects — would have boosted energy supply, modernized our grid, and lowered electricity bills. In other words, PJM hasn’t focused enough on supply.

To meet growing energy demand, I’ve always supported an all-of-the-above approach to power, and why I’ve been such an ardent champion of new, alternative energy and carbon capture for natural gas. I helped negotiate, write, and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which has provided Jersey with significant investment in our electric grid, climate resiliency, and clean energy technology. And, I worked hard to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which directs 11.4 billion dollars to New Jersey toward clean energy.

Many of PJM’s stalled energy are ones I fought so hard to help fund through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, but PJM is taking up to five years just to add them to the grid. Instead of bringing them online to lower bills for Jersey families, PJM has sat on their hands. 

Why? PJM has been so woefully mismanaged, they’ve been using an outdated system for processing projects that upgrade the grid. It’s no surprise PJM earned a D minus for its interconnection, the worst grade of any grid operator in the country, according to Advanced Energy United’s scorecard. 

These delays forced a 12.5 billion dollar increase in auction costs this year, and now they’re trying to stick Jersey families with the bill for 14.7 billion dollars in total costs. Not only is this unacceptable, but as Governor Murphy rightly said last week, PJM created a cost crisis that was “foreseeable and preventable.”

It’s just not right. With Jersey families already getting crushed by higher costs, we must do everything we can to get utility bills down. We must make Jersey more affordable for families.

That’s why today, I’m announcing new action to fight back against higher utility bills and defend Jersey families from these relentless attacks on their pocketbooks. My Plan to Lower Utility Bills will ensure that just as temperatures are heating up, so is my fight for affordability.

First, as I mentioned, I helped secure critical clean energy investments to increase our energy supply and lower costs. Yet, PJM, the regional grid operator, has failed spectacularly. Instead of expanding capacity, they’ve failed to improve the grid and increase energy supply to keep up with increasing demand — and now utility bills are way up. 

So, I’m joining the state in calling on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (or FERC) to immediately investigate PJM for skyrocketing costs by overpaying at auction. Jersey families shouldn’t have to pay the price of PJM’s jaw-dropping incompetence. I’m fighting to ensure they don’t have to. 

Second, I’m calling on New Jersey’s utility companies to reverse their price increases. Jersey families just can’t afford higher prices now, especially with what folks are facing with higher prices for food, clothing, insurance, childcare — you name it. And Trump’s tariffs are only making things worse, and have gutted people’s retirement savings.

Third, as I mentioned, LIHEAP is a critical lifeline for hundreds of thousands of New Jersey residents who rely on it to keep the heat on in the winter and the AC running in the summer. So, as much as the Trump Administration wants to stick it to children and seniors, I am introducing legislation to ensure the program is fully staffed and equipped to deliver the assistance families rely on — especially as energy costs rise. We already secured the resources in Congress for Jersey families, and we won’t let the administration haphazardly cut assistance for them.

I am also calling on Secretary Kennedy at the Health and Human Services Department, which oversees LIHEAP, to immediately rehire LIHEAP staff and work with us to strengthen and modernize the program. Gutting the LIHEAP staff isn’t about efficiency — it’s just the opposite. It’s more chaos with zero strategy.

Finally, I’m fighting to pass my legislation, the Energy Costs Relief Act, which provides a refundable tax credit of up to $350 to help offset rising energy costs and put money directly back into families’ pockets. 

My Know Your Rates Act will also require utility companies to directly notify customers if their energy usage rises above their monthly average — so they can adjust before it’s too late.

Right now, too many families are being forced to choose between keeping the lights on or putting food on the table. No one in Jersey, or anywhere across the country, should have to make that choice.

We have to give hardworking families a break — not break their bank. 

By working together to get prices down, hold bad actors accountable, and deliver relief to hardworking families, here in the greatest country in the world, I know that our best days will always be ahead of us. God bless you and may God continue to bless the United States of America.

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