BPU gives PSE&G early x-mas gift

paid for by ratepayers, lost jobs, and the environment

Trenton, NJ — Clean Water Action criticized the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) for failing to provide critical ratepayer and environmental protections when it approved the PSE&G nuclear bailout plan earlier this afternoon.

BPU’s action adopts rules for the Zero Emission Credit (ZEC) program to subsidize nuclear plants, who may or may not need it and whose power may or may not be needed. BPU could have but chose not to include ratepayer and environmental protections called for by advocates.

“This turkey was baked before Thanksgiving. BPU advanced rate hikes to fund ZECs before adopting rules governing ZECs. Independent 3rd party experts were denied critical information and ratepayer advocates’ and grid operators’ advice was ignored,” stated Amy Goldsmith, NJ State Director of Clean Water Action.

“BPU’s definition of clean was so narrow it ignored radioactive waste, radioactive emissions, life cycle costs of green house gasses, thermal pollution, excessive water diversions, and alternative green energy solutions that pollute less, cost less and create more jobs than a $300 million / year bailout of nuclear plants that can and should stand or fail on their own,” added Clean Water Action representative David Pringle.

Goldsmith closed by noting wasting $300 million annually will make it that much more difficult to achieve the governor’s goal of 100% clean energy economy wide by 2050.