By Andrew Martins
Staff Writer
PLUMSTED – Municipal officials have formally placed their opposition to proposals from two utility companies on the record.
During a recent meeting, members of the Township Committee passed a resolution stating their opposition to the construction of a natural gas pipeline New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) wants to build through a portion of Ocean County, and a resolution stating their opposition to a rate increase that has been proposed by Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L).
JCP&L is seeking a $142 million increase that would result in a 6 percent rate increase for the average residential customer. If that customer uses 650 kilowatt hours per month, the proposed rate hike would equate to a monthly increase of $5.58 ($70 per year).
JCP&L serves 1.1 million customers in Ocean, Monmouth, Burlington, Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren counties. Plumsted Township is among the communities served by JCP&L.
According to the resolution, Plumsted officials believe the rate increase would impact “seniors on fixed incomes and families struggling to get by,” as well as “small business owners, many of whom are just now beginning to recover from the destruction of superstorm Sandy.”
“People are struggling. To raise the electric bill any more would mean people would have hardship,” Mayor Jack Trotta said. “Even though we have an energy aggregation program in our township, not everybody signed up for that.”
Energy aggregation is an initiative in which a utility’s customers purchase energy as a group at a lower cost than they would receive on an individual basis. Generally, the municipality serves as the conduit for residents and business owners to enter the energy aggregation program. Signing up for the program is not mandatory.
In its filing with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU), which will eventually decide the matter, JCP&L said the additional revenue would fund ongoing tree trimming work, the inspection of power lines, poles and substations, and maintenance for new equipment designed to modernize the electric system.
The filing was made in compliance with a BPU order issued last year. The company has requested that the new rates become effective on Jan. 31, 2017.
Trotta said JCP&L should be able to cover its costs without seeking additional revenue from its customers.
“The purpose of making a profit in a business is to apply those profits back into the business … to make your business more profitable in the future,” he said. “Why do the ratepayers need to pay for them to make improvements to their system? That is already built into their price structure.”
The second issue involves the Southern Reliability Link, a 30-inch-diameter pipeline NJNG wants to build across a portion of south central New Jersey. The BPU has approved the construction of the pipeline from Chesterfield Township in Burlington County to Manchester Township in Ocean County.
Several municipalities have filed a legal action in an attempt to squash the project.
Along its route, the pipeline will pass through portions of Upper Freehold Township in Monmouth County, and Plumsted and Jackson in Ocean County, and other municipalities.
NJNG representatives have said the pipeline will “provide supply diversity and system resiliency, supporting the safe, reliable distribution of natural gas to more than one million people.”
But without anyone in Plumsted who stands to benefit from the NJNG pipeline, Trotta said officials staunchly oppose the project.
Plumsted receives its natural gas service from the Public Service Enterprise Group (formerly the Public Service Electric and Gas Company).
New Jersey Natural Gas “is coming through an area it does not service,” the mayor said. “We will not have any benefit from this line … there is no reason whatsoever for any of us to support this since there is nothing in it for us. Businesses need to consider the people and not just their shareholders.”
Environmental groups are appealing the BPU’s approval of the Southern Reliability Link.
