PSEG and Christie Write Subsidy Bill Together: Shameful

New reports are saying that PSEG deliberately held information from the public during their negotiations with the Christie Administration. While working on the $300 million a year nuclear subsidy bill, the company managed to include stipulations to shield the company’s financial information. The bill, S877 (Sweeney) is up for a vote on Thursday in the Senate Environment and Energy committee. Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, released the following statement:

“This report reveals shameful cooperation between PSEG and the Christie Administration. When you write bills behind closed doors, it never benefits the public. It’s how Government sells out the people to Special Interest. In this case, it’s even worse because they want an open-ended subsidy that could cost ratepayers billions of dollars at the expense of renewable energy. Adding the privacy language shielding PSEG’s financials from the public just shows how underhanded of a proposal this is. They want to hide from the public how much they’re going to get fleeced with these subsidies that PSEG doesn’t need in the first place.

“This was not to protect PSEG’s interest, it was to keep the public in the dark. We already know they don’t need the money from this subsidy bill. PSEG could get $800 million in subsidies from Trump’s tax cut. PJM is also looking to give them millions in subsidies. Under energy deregulation these plants also received $2.5 billion dollars in subsidies as Stranded Assets, despite being profitable. PSEG still want to take billions of NJ ratepayer money to subsidize nuclear their power plants that are already making money.

“This article exposes the games being played behind closed doors. PSEG’s nuclear plants aren’t in any jeopardy and don’t need any financial assistance for at least a couple years. All this is about is taking care of stockholders and bondholders. We need an outside, independent audit with a forensic fiscal investigation. We want to make sure we’re not subsidizing nuclear plants, but more importantly that when the plants close, they need to be replaced by renewable energy. The Legislature has no need to push through this bill that will severely interfere with Governor Murphy’s clean energy goals.”

The Senate Environment and Energy Committee will be meeting to hear testimony on this bill at 10 am on Thursday, January 25, 2018 in Committee Room 4, 1st Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ.