Here we go again, Save Jerseyans.
In 2023, Democrats leaned into “Stay in NJ” property tax rebates in order to shore up their flanks heading into what was expected to be a challenging legislative cycle. Rebates aren’t tax cuts; they’re redistributed funds reallocated for vote-buying and financed by other taxpayers’ contributions.
Flash forward two years and Trenton Democrats are once again playing a game of smoke and mirrors in order to survive another election cycle, this time with the most powerful governorship in the nation on the line. Their immediate plan: attack PJM, blame AI data centers, and – confirmed today – delay planned 17-20% electricity rate hikes which were supposed to be reflected in ratepayers’ statements for the month of June in case all of the scapegoating fails.
Don’t get too excited. Those increases – and the full amount due as a result of them – will be reflected in autumn electric bills (when air conditioners are seeing less usage) and willjust end up being spread out over a longer time span.
The bottom line: it’s still going to suck, just later and longer.
In the interim? It looks like desperate State House majority party members will now steal Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) funds as part of this sad, deceptive effort to stall doomsday and save their seats.
“While delaying these higher bills is better than making people pay right away, it does nothing to solve the underlying issue,” said Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R, NJ-02) in a statement. “Families will still have to pay the full amount, just later. New Jerseyans deserve real, long-lasting relief instead of a temporary solution. What is truly unacceptable is that Atlantic City Electric (ACE) and Exelon continue to rake in profits while passing the burden of rising costs onto hardworking families. Instead of working to lower rates, they invest in unnecessary projects like smart meters, something no one wants, which only increases their profits. Meanwhile, they expect New Jerseyans to pay the bill. Now is the time for these companies to stop making things worse and start being a part of the solution.”
It didn’t have to be this way. Instead of wasting years investing in offshore wind, Democrats could’ve improved our infrastructure and invested in natural gas/nuclear energy solutions which would’ve increased supply and a time when demand in surging.
“I am working at the federal level to implement policies that bring energy costs down and prevent big hikes like this from happening in the first place, but the State needs to start acting on long-term solutions like nuclear and gas,” added Van Drew. “We need to fix the root causes of our energy deficit so we can lower costs and keep power reliable. The people deserve affordable utilities and a plan that actually fixes the problem, not one that just delays it.”
Here at the state level, we need a governor and a legislature with some semblance of a foot in reality in order to keep the lights on. Don’t fall for these games, folks. We should know better by now.
