Listen to this article

In every community I visit across New Jersey, families talk to me about how much harder it’s become to make ends meet. Between housing, taxes, transportation, and now, skyrocketing utility bills, even the most careful budgets are strained. It’s a reality I hear up and down the state, and it demands urgent action.

That’s why the news of a 20% spike in electricity rates this June is so personal for families already struggling to cover basic needs, for seniors on fixed incomes, and for small businesses deciding whether they can keep the lights on.

What makes it worse is knowing that this is happening while President Donald Trump is handing the keys to our energy future to Big Oil and coal CEOs. He’s putting polluters in charge and pushing policies that will drive prices higher, ignore climate threats, and erode our progress toward clean, affordable power.

At a time when our household budgets, our economy and our lungs are all on the line, New Jersey needs a governor who will stand up, take back control and put people, not the oil and coal industry, first.

As your next governor, I’ll act immediately to deliver relief and reform.

Getting back on track

First, we need to shield families from rate spikes like the ones we’ll experience this summer. I’ll work with the Legislature and the Board of Public Utilities to optimize ratepayer protection funds — a temporary financial lifeline to help cover the sudden rise in utility costs. Because no one should be forced to choose between air conditioning and putting food on the table.

That’s the short term fix. From there, we must tackle the root of the problem. The main driver of these price hikes is an electricity supply shortage. New Jersey and the region simply don’t generate enough power, and that’s causing an electric price spike. That’s unacceptable — and it’s fixable. New, clean power sources are ready and waiting to come online to our grid, and they will immediately begin to bring down energy costs (it’s simple supply and demand) and clean our air.

I will take control when it comes to energy policy in New Jersey and get us back on the right track to reducing energy costs. Energy markets are volatile by nature. Rather than letting markets control New Jersey, I plan to use the power of the governor to take back control of our utility bills. These current cost levels are simply unacceptable, and I have an aggressive and achievable action plan to take this on.

Under my leadership, New Jersey will build a clean, resilient energy future that lowers costs and puts us back in charge. That means innovating, investing in homegrown, affordable clean energy sources, and using every tool available to stabilize our grid and cut utility bills.

We’ll start by increasing our commitment and tapping into clean and affordable energy like never before:

• Expanding community solar projects on warehouses and commercial space will bring clean energy to apartment residents, urban neighborhoods, and many others.
• Solar fields on landfills, brownfields, parking lots, and quarries will transform underutilized space into affordable power sources.
• A bold push for energy storage will ensure we capture and use renewable power when it’s needed most.
• Growing our investment in energy efficiency, especially during peak hours, to help families and businesses lower their bills while easing pressure on the grid.

We’ll also embrace innovations that worked in other states, but are underutilized in New Jersey:

• “Nega-watts” – incentivizing customers to reduce energy usage during peak hours – will ease demand and lower costs for all utility customers.
• Repowering existing generation sites to get more and cleaner power from these locations.
• Supporting the development of technologically advanced, clean, and low-cost generation sources. These can bring even more clean generation supply and jobs while reducing the
  cost of energy.
• More and faster electric vehicle chargers, which work with the grid, so people can feel secure making their next car purchase an electric vehicle.

These steps aren’t just possible. They’re squarely within New Jersey’s control. We have the tools. And we will do all of this in partnership with New Jersey’s unions, creating good union jobs in building, operating, and maintaining this clean energy infrastructure.

What we need is leadership.

And we need it on the regional level, too. Right now, decisions that impact our utility bills are made by PJM, the multistate grid operator, and they haven’t prioritized New Jersey’s needs. That will change. As governor, I’ll demand accountability from PJM and our state Board of Public Utilities to realign energy policy with the interests of New Jersey families. I’ll also work together with neighboring governors to develop a long-term strategy for safe nuclear power to further expand clean energy generation.

Won’t be turned around

And I’ll keep fighting Washington. I’ve already taken on the Trump administration’s assaults on clean energy and environmental protections as a member of Congress. Now, with Trump openly working to put oil and coal back in charge at the expense of our health and economic future, we need governors who won’t blink.

I won’t back down. I never have. And I never will.

My training in the Navy taught me that leadership means finding a way or making one when faced with a challenge. New Jersey deserves nothing less. We can’t make life more affordable in New Jersey without tackling the high cost of energy. We can’t tackle climate change and clean our air if we’re still tethered to yesterday’s fuels and technologies.

The state that cracks the code on clean energy generation will be the state that leads the future.

New technologies, such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, require significant power generation and are contributing to increased demand. New Jersey has always been a center of the innovation economy. By boosting clean energy sources and storage, we will position our state, our businesses, and our workforce to take full advantage of these opportunities and drive economic growth.

This isn’t just about energy or economic policies. It’s about what kind of state we want to live in and what kind of future we want to leave our children.

This is our chance to build a cleaner, more affordable, more resilient New Jersey. As your governor, I’ll bring urgency, vision, and the guts to stand up to anyone who puts profit ahead of you.

U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill represents the 11th District and is running as the potential Democratic gubernatorial candidate in New Jersey.