The New Jersey Senate Economic Growth Committee on a recent day advanced multiple bills and a concurrent resolution addressing electric utility costs, transmission policy and consumer protections, drawing extended testimony from the state rate counsel, utilities and labor and business groups.

Committee members voted to amend and release bills that would require transmission owners to join a regional transmission organization (RTO), create a Public Utility Fair Profit Act to require redistribution of ‘‘excess profits,’’ direct the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to apply the lowest reasonable return on equity when setting utility rates and establish limits on summer termination of service. The committee also amended and released a resolution urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to require a rebid of PJM Interconnection LLC’s 2025–26 base residual auction.

The push reflects heightened concern among lawmakers about sharp increases in electric bills this year and how state policy should respond. Proponents of the bills said they aim to protect ratepayers from what some called unfair charges and to ensure that consumers receive any profits determined to be excessive. Opponents warned the measures could reduce infrastructure investment, threaten reliability and discourage capital needed for grid upgrades.

Brian Littman, director of the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel, testified in support of requiring transmission owners to be members of an RTO. He told the committee that a comparable law in Ohio led to the removal of a 50-basis-point Federal Energy Regulatory Commission incentive adder and that ‘‘this will reduce ROEs by 0.5%, providing significant savings for ratepayers.’’ Littman also said he is ‘‘not aware of any reduction in transmission investment in Ohio’’ following that change.

Christina Farrell, vice president of the New Jersey Utilities Association, opposed the same bill and said requiring mandatory RTO membership could have ‘‘unintended consequences that could decrease the amount of investments made in New Jersey’s in-state electrical infrastructure, threatening utility reliability.’’ Farrell referenced the Federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the voluntary incentive adder that she said helped spur reliability investments after the 2003 Northeast blackout.

Business and labor witnesses offered competing impacts. Ray Cantor of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association said affordability and grid improvements must be balanced and urged caution; Joe Checkley, president of IBEW Local 94, said reduced incentives ‘‘will decrease. It will actually lead to less time spent out on the lines’’ and that fewer capital projects could reduce apprenticeships and jobs.

Utilities and some business groups also opposed other bills in the package. Testimony from New Jersey Utilities Association and industry representatives argued that the existing BPU regulatory process already reviews earnings and investments and that the proposed Public Utility Fair Profit Act and a bill directing BPU to favor the lowest reasonable return on equity could ‘‘discourage investment in in-state utility infrastructure’’ and ‘‘threaten reliability.’’ Those witnesses emphasized that recent bill increases are being driven primarily by supply costs set in regional markets, not by utility profit-making.

Public-service executives acknowledged affordability concerns while urging careful calibration. A senior executive from Public Service Enterprise Group (PSE&G) told the committee the company supports measures to prevent ‘‘excess profits’’ and said the company was prepared to submit amendments to increase transparency and annual review. He said PSE&G seeks to be ‘‘your partner’’ in addressing affordability while preserving a financially healthy utility able to borrow for capital projects.

Lawmakers repeatedly pressed witnesses about the root causes of the recent price spikes. Multiple speakers said state-level solutions to affordability should include increasing in‑state generation and streamlining project interconnection to reduce dependence on regional supply markets. Committee members and witnesses also raised the role of add-on charges and taxes that appear on customer bills, including references to a projected state sales-tax windfall tied to higher bills.

On consumer protections, the committee advanced a bill to limit summer terminations of service, with sponsors working on amendments to mirror existing BPU guidelines and to clarify how notification and enrollment in energy‑watch programs would work. Committee members asked whether a date‑based seasonal protection would be preferable to a temperature threshold, and whether systems could be gamed; sponsors said the bill was under revision.

Formal outcomes recorded in the committee included motions to amend and release the measures. For example, the motion to amend and release the transmission membership bill and its related measures carried in committee. Several bills were described during roll call as ‘‘amended and released’’ by the committee, meaning the committee advanced the measures to the next legislative stage with committee revisions.

Why it matters: New Jersey lawmakers and ratepayer advocates are seeking ways to blunt sharp near‑term increases while preserving the longer‑term grid investments the state says it needs to support electrification and clean energy goals. The debate highlights a central tension: policies that reduce shareholder returns or change statutory incentives may yield modest immediate savings for customers but can affect utilities’ access to capital and thus the pace of grid upgrades and storm hardening.

Next steps: Committee members said additional conversations will continue with sponsors and stakeholders before floor consideration. Several witnesses invited further meetings with legislators and said they would provide data requested by senators on the size of potential savings, investment impacts and the mechanics of BPU rate determinations.

A note on attribution: Quotes are drawn directly from committee testimony and attributed to speakers who appeared before the committee.