Assembly committee advances bill to fund transmission-scale energy storage, clears related amendment

The Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee on Wednesday amended and released legislation (A5267) directing the Board of Public Utilities to procure transmission-scale energy storage and to use a combination of funding sources — including the societal benefits charge — to pay incentive awards to eligible projects.

The committee also amended and released a separate bill (AB3283) earlier in the hearing. Both measures were amended and released by committee vote.

The measure under discussion, A5267, would create a transmission-scale energy storage procurement program aligned with the BPU’s storage incentive framework and set a first-tranche procurement target tied to $60 million in annual funding from the societal benefits charge. Proponents and utility-scale developers told the committee the measure would furnish market certainty for projects that can provide capacity and grid services quickly, while critics urged stricter cost controls and more oversight of ratepayer-funded incentives.

Caroline Murph, chief operating officer of Rev Renewables, said the bill “will help address electric price volatility and reliability for New Jersey consumers” and praised the BPU’s work on a parallel storage incentive program. Murph and other industry witnesses urged a long-term revenue commitment for awards and a procurement large enough to attract transmission-connected projects. Murph said Rev planned to develop “up to 400 megawatts of transmission connected energy storage in the state,” and told the committee such projects could come online in roughly three years if the policy and funding were in place.

Representatives of Lotus Infrastructure and Jupiter Power made similar points. Tim Gusick of Lotus said repurposing brownfield sites with existing grid connections would speed deployment, and Andy Bowman, chief executive officer of Jupiter Power, said a “15-year term allows us to get better financing, which allows us to offer the…