We’re no closer to an honest answer, Save Jerseyans.
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) dropped its new “ratepayer impact study” on Wednesday with the purported goal of *finally* beginning to put a publicly-disclosed price tag on Phil Murphy’s version of the Green New Deal: his Energy Master Plan.
Critics were quick to point out that the commissioned report appeared to deliberately downplay the ultimate cost with faulty assumptions and a less-than-complete estimate of the cost of electrifying the Garden State.
“The BPU’s new study completely ignores the huge cost of replacing efficient gas furnaces and water heaters with electric appliances both residentially and commercially and the massive premiums customers pay to buy electric vehicles, which can be double the cost of similar models powered by gas and diesel,” said State Senator Anthony Bucco (R-25). “It’s disingenuous to highlight projected energy savings of a few hundred dollars annually for some customers as a result of electrification without accounting for the extra $40,000 or more a typical family might have to spend for a new electric furnace, hot water heater, vehicle, and home charging station. It also defies belief to suggest that low-income families who are living paycheck-to-paycheck will spend thousands to install a heat pump or tens-of-thousands more to buy an electric vehicle as the report suggests is necessary for them to achieve small savings under Governor Murphy’s energy plan.”
“We can’t assume that government incentives or rebates will make these expensive purchases affordable for struggling families. As the ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ was being passed by Congress, for example, EV manufacturers raised their prices to limit the benefit of the legislation’s $7,500 tax credit to end consumers,” Bucco added. “Despite what the Murphy administration might suggest, the BPU’s new report offers no evidence that Governor Murphy’s new energy plan will be anything but an expensive boondoggle for New Jersey families and businesses.”
Click here to view the full report.
The Master Plan was announced almost three years ago and a gubernatorial election transpired without the BPU disclosing the anticipated costs of what will be the largest single tax increase in state history.
Another practical problem: the report’s estimates are expressed in 2020 dollars. After a global pandemic, supply chain crisis and ensuing record inflation, 2020 dollars no longer seem like a logical barometer for the Master Plan’s true financial impact. Other independent studies have estimated the plan’s implementation cost at hundreds of billions of dollars.
“After 933 days, a still hidden first cost study and hundreds of millions of dollars already spent….the Board of Public Utility once again failed to meet the moment,” said Mike Makarski of Affordable Energy for New Jersey, a coalition which has outspokenly criticized the BPU’s process. “Today’s action totally missed the mark and the Board should be embarrassed — instead of clarity, we got the suggestion of another study to look at the actual cost impacts New Jersey residents will face some time in the future.”
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Note: Save Jersey is proud to have Affordable Energy for New Jersey as a sponsor and partner.
