Ocean County Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari addressed the state Board of Public Utilities in opposition to a proposed Jersey Central Power & Light rate increase.
Speaking at the September 10 virtual public hearing, Vicari vehemently opposed the 8.5-percent increase, which would hike average bills by almost 9 dollars a month. Vicari said senior citizens and young families cannot afford the rate hike, especially during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
Vicari was also critical of JCP&L’s response following an August tropical storm that left many customers without power for days. He called for the utility to reimburse residents who lost valuable refrigerated food and prescription medicines.
Thank you Joe for all your hard work and especially in the Public Utility area. My personal thanks to the people of Lakewood as well for your support in electing me to the Ocean County Republican Committee to have the pleasure of working with and supporting our great Republican representatives like long time Freehold Director Joe Vicari.
As you know, on 9/18 The BPU will be having a Technical Conference: “Exploration of the Fixed Resource Requirement (“FRR”) Option.” We have to make it clear that the so-called FRR Option is not an option for New Jersey consumers.
In a press release by Todd Snitchler, President and CEO, Electric Power Supply Association he made it clear that the FRR option
which claims to be a way for New Jersey to seize control of its power generation mix when it does the exact opposite: reducing the choices available to state officials and consumers.
By circumventing PJM’s (PJM is a regional transmission organization (RTO) that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia) competitive markets to instead procure power from a small pool of providers, the FRR would raise costs for customers and businesses, and limit the incentives for multiple generators to compete to provide the best solutions to reduce emissions – hampering future progress and the entry of new technologies and renewable resources.
Competitive electricity markets have achieved record low prices, propelled innovation, and accelerated emissions reductions. New Jersey is one of 13 states that, along with the District of Columbia, currently benefit from regional grid operator PJM Interconnection’s markets, where many generators and providers across a broad region offer electricity to keep the lights on at the lowest cost. Since 2005, PJM’s markets and operations have delivered $3.2-4 billion annually in cost savings and driven down emissions by 34% in the PJM footprint – translating to benefits for the ratepayers of New Jersey.
If you think the proposed JCP&L rate increase is tough, by moving to an FRR option with no oversight, the rates will be uncontrollable.