Can Sherrill and NJ utilities Align on Lower NJ Electric Bills?

Now that Mikie Sherrill is officially New Jersey's Governor-elect, we can start looking at how her administration will get a handle on New Jersey's skyrocketing electricity costs.

It will take a combination of efforts to bring down electric bills, which have jumped an estimated 22% in the past year.

The Governor-elect says she'll declare a state of emergency to freeze utility costs as soon as she takes office in January.

The state of emergency declaration was a popular campaign promise for Sherrill.

Sherrill also promised to "immediately develop plans for new nuclear capacity" in Salem County.

"I'll sit down with neighboring states to harness economies of scale to build new reactors in our region at a low cost," she said.

Sherrill joined officials from other states who are angry at PJM Interconnection, the country's largest electricity grid operator.

She accused PJM of "mismanagement" and giving preference to coal and oil.

According to the New Jersey Police Perspective, "PJM has three main jobs: transmission planning, managing the energy market, and managing the capacity market, giving PJM significant influence over which energy projects come online, how electricity flows across the region, and ultimately, how much consumers pay."

Atlantic City Electric Vows to Work With Sherrill

Ideally, the governor-elect would get the cooperation of New Jersey's utility companies on high power bills.

On Wednesday, Atlantic City Electric congratulated Sherrill on her election victory and released this statement promising to work with her.

"We are eager to work with Gov.-elect Sherrill on long-term solutions to energy affordability, including community solar, battery storage, and other solutions like regulated generation, which would allow community-minded public utilities like Atlantic City Electric to start generating more power in New Jersey."

"Atlantic City Electric has been part of southern New Jersey’s community fabric for more than 100 years. We understand our communities are struggling with high energy costs because our employees are the neighbors, friends, and families that make up these communities. We will continue to step up and are ready to work hand in hand with Gov.-Elect Sherrill to get energy costs under control for all New Jerseyans."