Testa, Simonsen & McClellan: Business, Industry, Labor Groups Say Murphy’s Energy Master Plan Is a Disaster Plan

Senator Michael Testa and Assemblymen Erik Simonsen and Antwan McClellan (all R-1) said opposition is growing to Governor Phil Murphy’s Energy Master Plan (EMP), which would cost every New Jersey homeowner tens of thousands of dollars and put residents at risk during emergencies.

“Governor Murphy’s Energy Master Plan could cost every New Jersey resident $52,000, according to an analysis of the massive cost to implement the governor’s green energy scheme,” said Senator Testa. “For many Garden State families, the huge expense of Murphy’s energy plan would prove to be a disaster plan that would saddle them with unbearable costs they cannot afford. It’s nothing less than a hidden green energy tax on New Jerseyans that will cost us hundreds of billions of dollars.”

One group, Affordable Energy for New Jersey (AENJ), calculated the total cost to New Jersey taxpayers for Murphy’s energy plan at $525 billion.

The coalition’s white paper estimates electric bills across the state will skyrocket by $155 billion, the cost of meeting the electric vehicle mandate will reach $176 billion, and electrifying homes, apartments and businesses in the state could exceed $65 billion.

The report from AENJ also raised concerns about the lack of energy redundancy that could impact the ability of New Jerseyans to heat their homes and cook food during power outages if Murphy’s plan for a fully electrified New Jersey is implemented.

“New Jersey is not immune to storms, hurricanes, blizzards, and other natural and manmade events that could knock out power lines or disrupt our electric grid,” said Simonsen. “In some recent storms, including Superstorm Sandy, people lost power to their homes for weeks at a time. During those crises, New Jerseyans learned the value of redundancy and having access to standby generators and non-electric cooking and heating options that continued working while the power lines were down. If Murphy’s full electrification plan is implemented, however, our families will lose those choices and could be left cold, hungry, and in the dark when the next storm hits.”

Currently, 75% of New Jersey homes are heated by natural gas. Governor Murphy’s plan to fully electrify New Jersey would require all of those homes to switch to electric heat at a significant expense to homeowners.

While the governor’s energy plan pegs the cost of converting a home from oil or gas heat to electric in the $4,000 to $7,000 range, SmartHeatNJ says the real out-of-pocket expense averages $20,000, which is just the cost of installing an electric heat pump and not inclusive of other costs related to the plan.

SmartHeatNJ also warned that a full electrification of New Jersey would “strain our already fragile electric grid and lead to increased winter power outages.”

“The fact that we have trusted small business, industry, and labor organizations from across the political spectrum all saying Governor Murphy’s energy plan is unnecessarily dangerous and expensive should raise alarms for every New Jerseyan,” added Assemblyman McClellan. “While Governor Murphy hasn’t been honest about the true cost or risk of his plan, it’s clearly a looming disaster that the Legislature must take steps to reject.”