Mikie Sherrill Slams PJM for Additional Rate Hikes
BLOOMFIELD — Mikie Sherrill released the following statement after PJM — New Jersey’s regional grid operator — announced an additional spike in their energy auction prices today, which will translate to a utility rate increase of up to 5% (or $140 per year) next year, on top of this year’s 20% increase.

“New Jerseyans across our state have been appalled looking at their utility bills this summer because of PJM’s mismanagement of our energy grid and the subsequent spike in utility costs. Today, they added insult to injury as they announced another surge in auction prices, which will increase New Jerseyans’ utility prices once again at the end of 2025. PJM has refused to plug clean, cheap power like solar into the grid while giving preference to coal and oil, and I strongly oppose their actions that are making New Jerseyans pay the price once again.

“While PJM’s mismanagement raises your bills, Jack Ciattarelli is doing everything he can to increase them even more. He is fully supporting Trump’s plan to cancel a huge number of new energy projects, which will kill over 20,000 jobs in New Jersey and raise prices by $240 per year, and he has no plan to lower energy bills or secure energy independence for New Jersey. We can’t afford that nonsense and have no time to waste.

“I’ll be the governor who lowers your energy bills: I’ll cut through red tape to install community solar projects on state properties, capped landfills, and brownfield sites to lower your bills right away. I’ll take on PJM by forcing them to plug solar projects into the grid, fill vacant board positions with people who are accountable to the public, and slash red tape to reduce delays in getting new projects connected to the grid, and I’ll take them to court when they don’t prioritize ratepayers. I’ll make a bold push for energy storage to ensure we are able to deploy renewable power. We also need a reliable source of electricity that can meet our state’s needs for decades to come, and that’s nuclear power. I’ll work with neighboring states to expand safe nuclear power capacity in New Jersey at a low cost, which will provide clean electricity for generations.”