Newsroom & Public Notices

Implementing Key Provision of Governor Sherrill’s Executive Order 1

TRENTON, N.J. – (February 19, 2026) – The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) yesterday approved procuring a consultant to examine alternative utility business models as a mechanism to drive down electricity costs for New Jersey customers.

“The BPU is committed to Governor Sherrill’s affordability agenda and is looking at every opportunity to drive down electricity rates,” said NJBPU President Christine Guhl-Sadovy. “This study will result in a concrete plan to address how the utility business model can better serve customers throughout the state.” 

The consultant will evaluate a range of potential regulatory reforms, including performance-based ratemaking — which ties utility profits to outcomes like reliability and customer savings rather than simply how much they spend — as well as multi-year rate plans, reductions to utility returns on equity, least-cost resource testing, and securitization tools. The goal is to identify which combination of changes offers the greatest long-term savings for ratepayers while providing certainty for the industry and encouraging important investments to ensure reliability of the system. 

The study is another pillar of Governor Mikie Sherrill's multi-tiered response to address the electricity affordability crisis. It was ordered by Executive Order 1 (EO1), signed January 20, 2026, and gave the Board 180 days to complete the analysis. 

Electric delivery charges — the portion of the bill covering the poles, wires, and infrastructure that bring power to homes and businesses — have been climbing steadily. Paired with the skyrocketing supply costs related to the PJM capacity auction, bills have become unaffordable for many residents. While the PJM price collar has kept supply rates relatively stable, under Governor Sherrill’s leadership, the BPU is looking at all costs to customers to advance affordability.   

The BPU wants to better understand how much of that increase is driven by the way utilities are currently regulated — and what a different approach might mean for customers' bills in the future. The study will not change rates immediately, instead it is designed to provide concrete, data-driven options to reduce long-term bill pressure while maintaining safe, reliable service, according to EO1. 

This RFQ, approved during the Board’s regularly scheduled Agenda Meeting Wednesday, is part of a broader effort by the Sherrill Administration to tackle rising electric costs on multiple fronts. The resulting study will focus on the longer-term question of whether the underlying business model itself needs to be changed.  

About the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) is a state regulatory authority established to ensure that critical utility services — including electricity, natural gas, water, wastewater, telecommunications, and cable television — are provided safely, reliably, and at reasonable rates to all New Jersey customers. The Board's regulatory mandate emphasizes consumer protection, cost management, and long-term system planning. It also promotes energy efficiency, infrastructure modernization, and policies that balance reliability, affordability, and environmental stewardship to benefit consumers and the environment alike.

For more information about the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, visit www.nj.gov/bpu.