New Jersey State Senator Michael Testa (R-01) and Senator Carmen Amato, Jr. (R-09) released the following statements regarding today’s Committee hearing on soaring energy costs where Democrats, once again, attempted to pass the blame for the skyrocketing energy bills that New Jerseyans are seeing across the state.
“Today’s hearing is just the latest signal that the Democrats’ energy agenda is collapsing under the weight of their own unrealistic promises,” said Sen. Testa. “For years, Republicans have warned that rushing headfirst into aggressive mandates without a plan to maintain reliable energy production would lead to disaster. Democrats gambled on an Energy Disaster Plan that was utopian in ideas but dystopian in results. They had no idea what it would cost New Jersey families or if our outdated grid could even handle it. Now, with energy bills skyrocketing and public outrage escalating, Democrats are scrambling to shift blame and point fingers to save face in an election year. The truth is, these failed policies are the Democrats to own, plain and simple.”
“This hearing confirmed what Republicans have been saying for years: the Democrats’ extreme energy policies were never realistic, and now New Jerseyans are paying the price,” said Sen. Amato. “They bet on alternative energy sources and lost, and now families and businesses are facing massive rate hikes. Instead of taking accountability, they’re playing the blame game to distract from their own failures. The people of New Jersey deserve affordable, reliable energy, not political theater and broken promises.”
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans have introduced multiple pieces of legislation to combat these burdensome energy bills, most notably the “Energy Security and Affordability Act” which would help address these issues head-on by ensuring New Jersey's energy infrastructure is powered by reliable, diverse, and affordable energy sources. The bill aims to protect consumers from future price hikes by requiring the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to take energy security, diversity, and affordability into account when preparing the Energy Master Plan. The bill would also mandate economic and ratepayer impact analyses of energy generation projects before they are approved.
Sen. Testa and Sen. Amato have been relentless fighters for ratepayer justice. Sen. Testa recently introducing legislation, S-4285, to abolish the NJBPU, arguing that the agency has abandoned its duty to protect New Jersey consumers. Earlier this month, Sen. Amato called for the energy sales tax windfall to be returned to ratepayers to help New Jerseyans who are struggling with skyrocketing energy bills.
To speak with Sens. Testa or Amato, contact Kyle Fischer, SRO director of communications, at kfischer@njleg.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment