Nationwide, power prices have risen 6.2 percent over the past year, more than doubling the 2.9 percent inflation rate overall.
In New Jersey, household electricity rates were about 22 percent higher in July than the year before.
In the recent Garden State gubernatorial debate, both candidates mentioned the issue in their opening statements.
“We have an affordability crisis because of property taxes and electricity bills,” Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli said.
“I am laser focused on driving down your costs, making New Jersey more affordable. I’m going to start by declaring a state of emergency on energy costs,” Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill (N.J.) said.
While both candidates say there’s a problem, they have different plans to approach it.
Sherrill has called for using “ratepayer protection funds” as a “temporary financial lifeline to help cover the sudden rise in utility costs” and more broadly to push for the buildout of renewable energy, batteries and energy efficiency upgrades.
Ciattarelli, meanwhile, has called for withdrawing from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, an agreement among Northeast states to cap their emissions. He also said during the debate that he plans to expand nuclear and natural gas plants.
So why are prices so high?
Experts say the rising rates are due to both increased demand from new and planned data centers and not enough supply connecting to the grid to meet that demand.
Frank Felder, principal at Independent Electricity Consultants and former director of the Rutgers Energy Institute said the potential for new, power-hungry data centers to be built is driving up forecasted demand, and therefore electric prices.
“There’s just been a slate of proposed data centers,” he said.
“The proposals can be the size of a large power plant, if not bigger…if you increase demand for … [an] almost fixed supply, then prices go up,” he said.
Read more at TheHill.com.
