Bucco: Murphy Should Heed Rate Counsel’s Concern that Growing Wind Farm Costs Could Lead to Higher Energy Bills for Consumers

Senator Anthony M. Bucco said Governor Phil Murphy should heed the advice of the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel to pump the brakes on wind farm expansions amid mounting costs for developers that will likely translate into higher energy bills for families and businesses.

“The Murphy administration rushed to approve massive wind farms that developers now realize will cost much more to build than expected due to high inflation, rising interest rates, and supply chain disruptions,” said Bucco (R-25). “You can be sure the higher costs for these massive projects will eventually be passed on to consumers in the form of higher energy bills. This is part of the great price New Jersey will pay for Governor Murphy’s push to electrify everything and replace affordable natural gas. It’s another reason to pump the brakes on wind farms and the governor’s increasingly expensive Energy Master Plan.”

According to NJ Spotlight, Brian Lipman, Director of the Division of Rate Counsel, told staff of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities during a stakeholder meeting that New Jersey should consider scaling back new wind farm approvals as costs rise, warning of the impact of “drastically higher energy bills.”

The Division of Rate Counsel is an independent state agency that represents the interests of consumers of electric, natural gas, water/sewer, telecommunications, cable TV service, and insurance. Rate Counsel is a member of several state utility policy-making groups and also represents consumers in setting energy, water, and telecommunications policy.

Bucco said the Rate Counsel’s comments represent another significant concern with Governor Murphy’s expensive energy plan.

Last week, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) shelved a controversial and expensive mandate proposed by the Murphy administration that would have required the electrification of large commercial boilers starting in 2025 under immense opposition from Bucco and others to the multi-billion-dollar cost.

“We continue to learn how Governor Murphy’s energy plan has ignored, hidden, or underestimated the cost of replacing clean natural gas, all of which means higher energy bills for New Jerseyans,” Bucco added. “Our governor may think we need to ‘go green’ at any cost, but that’s not something most New Jersey families can afford.”