Ciattarelli says utility price increases have helped his campaign

Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli says rising utility prices in New Jersey have been a help to him politically.

Ciattarelli made the comment to Fox Business host Dagen McDowell during an on-air interview Sept. 27.

Dowel said to Ciattarelli: “This past spring, there was a 17% [electric] rate increase that was passed. How much is that helping you?”

Ciattarelli responded: “It’s a big help. I mean, listen, I wish that New Jerseyans were never getting this pain from their monthly electric bill, Dagen, but you’re spot-on.”

Ciattarelli went on to criticize the administration of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, accusing the governor of shutting down electric generation plants, not expanding nuclear power generation, and not accelerating the use of solar, and said that he “bet it all on wind.”

In January, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum withdrawing all offshore wind leases for further review. In February, Trump’s EPA filed a motion to remand back to the agency for further review the permit for developer Atlantic Shores’ wind project off the coast of Atlantic City, which is estimated to create enough energy for more than 700,000 homes.

“Nobody wants those wind farms off our Jersey Shore. I’m grateful to the president for putting a temporary halt to those wind farms. I’ll make it permanent,” he said. “And we’ll get back to using natural gas to produce the electricity.”

Ciattarelli’s Democratic opponent in the race for governor, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, has already come out with a plan to lower energy costs for New Jersey residents.

Electric bills have indeed surged for New Jerseyans this summer, rising by about 20% on June 1, according to the nonprofit research group Regional Plan Association. The group attributes much of the price increases to declines in supply even as demand has continued to increase in the territory of PJM Interconnection, which supplies power to the entirety of New Jersey as well as to all or part of 12 other states plus the District of Columbia.

In August, Sherrill said that she was prepared to step in to halt electric bill increases.

“Our utility bills have gone up by 20% this summer. New Jerseyans are hurting, and I hear it from families all across the state,” Sherrill said in a press conference Aug. 21 outside the home of Herb and Mary Michitsch in Kenilworth. “On day one, I’m going to declare a state of emergency on utility costs,” she said, adding that she’ll freeze utility rates for a year.

“I’ll massively expand cheaper, cleaner power generation and building an energy arsenal in our state,” she said. “We’re going to cut through red tape and eliminate permitting delays to get that done right now.”

Sherrill said that under her leadership, New Jersey would break new ground on solar and battery storage projects; expand capacity at existing nuclear facilities; make natural gas plants cleaner and more efficient; and demand more transparency from utility companies in the state. She also said she would direct her attorney general to sue PJM and President Donald Trump “to force them to end their mismanagement and get new power added to the grid.”

“My plan is going to deliver immediate relief to New Jersey families by streamlining, modernizing and expanding our energy arsenal, will not only lower energy bills in the immediate future but also create a long-range plan and strategy for driving down costs, increasing production and decreasing carbon emissions across the state, because more power generation means lower bills,” she said.

The current Democratic administration in New Jersey is also already working to reduce electricity costs.

Murphy signed two bills in August intended to address soaring energy costs in the state. Senate Joint Resolution 154 mandates that the state Board of Public Utilities investigate PJM Interconnection’s pricing model, while Assembly Bill 453 instructs utility companies to disclose votes taken at meetings of PJM and its affiliates and whether each vote “furthers the State’s goals of prioritizing the affordability, reliability and sustainability of electricity production, consumption and conservation.”

The first bill requires the Board of Public Utilities to deliver its report on PJM’s pricing model to the governor and the New Jersey Legislature within one year.

“These bills complement our long-term plan of action to hold PJM responsible for hardworking New Jerseyans’ skyrocketing electricity bills and a lack of new energy generation,” Murphy said in a statement. “We are committed to creating a system that is fairer and more transparent for customers and the states that represent them – a necessary change from the opaque practices that have, for too long, defined PJM.”