New Jersey utility JCP&L has asked the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to approve a $253 million increase in delivery rates. If approved, residential bills would rise an average of 8.8%. The company says the actual impact on bills would be delayed until January 2028. Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed an executive order freezing rates on her first day in office.
Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) has asked the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to approve a $253 million increase in its base delivery rates. If approved, bills would rise an average of 8.5% for all customers and 8.8% for residential customers.
By the company's calculation, a typical household using 767 kilowatt-hours a month, which now pays $162.30 a month, would pay an additional $14.23 a month. That comes to more than $170 a year.
Rates from 2027, impact on bills from 2028
When it announced the filing on Aug. 7, JCP&L said it wanted to give customers time to prepare. The new rates would take effect May 6, 2027, but would not be reflected on actual bills until January 2028, the company said.
The company cited capital investment and storm recovery costs as reasons for the increase. "Deferred restoration costs from more frequent severe storms had already reached $476 million before the July 3-6 storms," it said. It also put forward a plan to spend $6.9 billion over five years to modernize its transmission and distribution network and to trim trees. The company says trees are the leading cause of outages across its 3,200-square-mile service area.
The state is heading the other way
The trend is the opposite. In her inaugural address on Jan. 20, Gov. Sherrill signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency on utility costs, which included a freeze on rate increases. She later announced a utility relief package that includes a $25 electric bill credit per resident.
Three Republican lawmakers representing the 9th Legislative District (state Sen. Carmen Amato and Assembly members Brian Rumpf and Gregory Myhre) have called on the BPU to reject the proposal. "Another utility rate increase is unaffordable, especially for seniors on fixed incomes and low-income households," they said.
Does this affect my home?
JCP&L supplies electricity to 1.2 million customers in 13 New Jersey counties: Burlington, Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren.
Korean American households in Bergen County are not directly affected by this filing. Still, electric rates across New Jersey have remained a point of contention after rising 17% to 20% last year, and the state's freeze applies only through 2027. Rate increase requests from other utilities could follow.
The filing must go through BPU review. The process includes public hearings and a period for public comment, and whether it is approved and the size of any increase could change during the review.