By Gerry Scharfenberger
The term “sticker shock” used to be reserved for purchases of new cars and large appliances. In 2025 New Jersey, however, it is more associated with opening your monthly utility bill. With the Governor’s fixation on “green energy” and its domination of the state’s most recent energy master plan, these outrageous increases come as no surprise to those of us who have been sounding the alarm over the obsession with eliminating proven energy supplies that are not deemed “clean energy.” To make matters worse, according to Affordable Energy for New Jersey, there has been no quantification as to the cost of the Governor’s Energy Master Plan. Unfortunately, New Jerseyans are finding out the hard way just how costly this plan is.
Saying “I told you so” does not lessen the pain to consumers who are getting hammered with these staggering increases during the peak season for energy usage. However, those of us who could see this coming must now devise a strategy to undo these catastrophic policies and save New Jersey residents from further financial hardship. First, we must look at how we arrived in this predicament.
The manic drive to eliminate the use of fossil fuels has clouded the judgment of many elected officials with policies that have replaced formerly secure energy systems with unproven, unreliable, experimental alternative energies that simply cannot meet the needs of users. Governor Murphy has famously stated that he wants to make New Jersey the “California of the East Coast.” It should be noted that California currently has gas as high as $7 per gallon, rolling brownouts, job-killing regulations, dangerously inadequate water supplies, and so on – hardly a track record to emulate.
New Jersey has begun its path to following California’s energy debacle by steadily shutting down proven energy production facilities, while passing legislation that will make those still in existence difficult, if not impossible to operate. In just the last few years we have seen the closure of six major energy production plants including the Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant, Logan Generating Plant and Chambers Cogeneration Plant among others. Also, recently introduced legislation clearly designed to target the Phillips 66 Plant in Linden and others like it will make it difficult to improve and upgrade the efficiency and safety of the plants. Therein lies the culprit. It’s Economics 101; decreased supplies results in higher prices. Even candidate for governor Mikie Sherrill has plainly stated that the present administration’s green energy policies (which she vows to continue) are going to cost New Jersey ratepayers “an arm and a leg” – an understatement if there ever was one.
The good news is it is not too late to turn things around. Jeanette Hoffman of Energy Matters has reported that nuclear and natural gas have a 95% and 65% reliability rating respectively, while wind and solar have a paltry 30% and 8% reliability rating respectively. Why then, would New Jersey put all its energy eggs in the unreliable supply basket? The first thing to do to stop the disastrous trajectory New Jersey is on is what a growing number of states have already done – eliminate the absurd 2035 electrification mandate. Next, incentivize all forms of energy with special consideration for those proven systems that offer supply, reliability and economy. Finally, look to recommission former plants where favorable location and infrastructure already exists. Dr. Kris Singh of Holtec International recently stated that the Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant would be “an ideal site for installing a new nuclear plant.” Fast tracking these facilities could improve our diminished energy supplies in relatively short order.
New Jersey’s energy crisis could be addressed with a reasonable energy policy based on an “all of the above” standard which centers around proven nuclear and natural gas suppliers supplemented by promising alternative energies. What we don’t need are silly political gimmicks like the insulting, election year $100 “rebate” being proposed by the administration. New Jerseyans deserve an energy policy that is reliable, plentiful, and most importantly, cost effective.
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Gerry Scharfenberger, PhD. is a New Jersey Assemblyman representing the State’s 13th Legislative District.
