NJBIA Deputy Chief Government Affairs Officer Ray Cantor released the following statement regarding today’s announcement of ratepayer relief by Gov. Phil Murphy, members of his administration and legislative leaders, as well as New Jersey’s energy policies.

“While we appreciate any efforts to reduce energy costs for New Jersey residents and businesses, and some of the criticisms of PJM we heard may be fair, what we did not hear today from our leadership was the undeniable role New Jersey’s energy policy decisions have played in the energy price increases we face today.

“New Jersey, under the governor’s Energy Master Plan, has had a target to achieve 100% clean energy by 2035 mostly through offshore wind, solar expansion and other energy efficiency programs.

“But at the same time, the administration pushed policies that drove up the use of electricity and adopted policies that shut down generation and discouraged the development of clean natural gas facilities and other alternatives such as renewable natural gas.

“From the day the EMP was announced and ever since, we have continuously warned that creating policies that set artificial deadlines for actions and discouraging new generation from sources that include natural gas and nuclear will result in much higher energy prices for our residents and businesses. And here we are.

“We continue to urge the administration and our legislative leadership to be open to a true, all-of-the-above approach for energy generation, which includes natural gas and more nuclear power. We need to be realistic and not ideological when it comes to our energy policy in New Jersey.”