SENATE, No. 1620

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Senator CARMEN F. AMATO, JR.

District 9 (Ocean)

SYNOPSIS

     Requires public utilities to send certain information concerning rate increases to customers.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

An Act concerning public utility rate increases and supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

     1.    a.  As used in this section:

     “Board” means the Board of Public Utilities or any successor agency.

     “Public utility” has the same meaning as defined in R.S.48:2-13.

     b.    A public utility that has filed a petition with the board to increase an individual rate, joint rate, toll, charge, or schedule thereof shall notify its affected customers of the filing.  The notice shall be included with each customer’s first utility bill following the date of the filing and shall include, but not be limited to:

     (1)   a summary of the contents of the filing;

     (2)   the reasoning for the filing;

     (3)   a statement of the filing’s impact on affected customers;

     (4)   information about any public hearings concerning the filing; and

     (5)   how affected customers can testify in support of or in opposition to the filing.

     c.     A public utility shall allow customers to opt in to receive email notifications containing information about hearings related to petitions filed by the public utility with the board to increase an individual rate, joint rate, toll, charge, or schedule thereof.

     2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

     This bill requires public utilities to inform customers about potential rate increases and how customers can express their support or opposition.  The bill requires a public utility that has filed a petition with the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to increase an individual rate, joint rate, toll, charge, or schedule thereof, to notify its affected customers of the filing.  The notice is to be provided with each customer’s first utility bill following the date of the filing and is required to include, at a minimum:  (1) a summary of the contents of the public utility’s filing; (2) the reasoning for the filing; (3) a statement of the filing’s impact on affected customers; (4) information about any public hearings concerning the filing; and (5) how affected customers can testify in support of or in opposition to the filing.

     The bill also requires public utilities to allow customers to opt in to receive email notifications containing information about hearings related to petitions filed by the public utility with the board to increase an individual rate, joint rate, toll, charge, or schedule thereof.

     With this bill, the sponsor intends to help the public better know the actions taken by utilities and the BPU, the impacts of actions taken by these entities, and how to communicate the customer’s views of the actions with those entities.