New Jersey Governor’s Electricity Obsession Is a Warning

Executive Order No. 1s aren’t usually directed at electricity bills. But that was how New Jersey’s Governor Mikie Sherrill recently kicked off her tenure. In declaring an emergency on energy costs, she acted quickly on a campaign promise. She also fired a warning shot for utilities around the US.

New Jersey’s households have suffered faster increases in electricity charges than most. The most prominent scapegoat is datacenters linked to artificial intelligence, with their anticipated demand boosting capacity prices on the state’s grid that flow directly into bills. In response, Sherrill proposes an immediate fix in the form of a subsidy, using state funds to offset increases. She has also directed the state regulator to pause or change utilities’ investment plans and review their business model. A separate order calls for building more generating capacity and streamlining permitting.