New Jersey state Senate Republican Leader Anthony M. Bucco (R-25) and Senate Republican Whip Michael Testa (R-1) blasted the one-sided legislative hearing on surging utility costs. Both senators were appointed to the legislative committee following the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities’ (NJBPU) announcement that rates would climb up to 20% starting in June.
Sen. Bucco: “I think what we learned today is that despite the warnings from various industry experts, PJM, and the rate counsel, this failed energy policy from the administration and the Democrat controlled Legislature is causing rates to go up and our residents are going to feel it. You heard the rate counsel say that if these energy prices go so high that people will have to start making decisions that could seriously impact their health. That’s not where New Jersey needs to be, not when these warnings have been given over the last five years, not just by Republicans but by folks who deal with these industries every day.”
Sen. Testa: “So many of us saw what’s happening today from a mile away. We called the Energy Master Plan the Energy ‘Disaster’ Plan, we knew that going all in on offshore wind was a really bad idea, but instead we went with really bad expensive, intermittent forms of energy that are going to be placed on the backs of the taxpayers and the ratepayers of New Jersey. Make no mistake, Governor Murphy and all the members of his cabinet promised every single New Jerseyan that they would make New Jersey the California of the East Coast; well folks the chickens have come home to roost.”
Watch the full response here.
To improve energy costs and safeguard consumers from future NJBPU-approved rate hikes, Senate Republicans introduced the “Energy Security and Affordability Act” (S-2839). This bill would mandate that the NJBPU prioritize in-state energy sources over expensive out-of-state subsidies and would require economic and ratepayer impact analyses for all proposed energy projects.
No comments:
Post a Comment