Pablo Willis, Pablo.Willis@Sierraclub.org
Click here to review Sierra Club’s Comments
Trenton, New Jersey - Today, the Sierra Club submitted reply comments to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, detailing the fairest path forward for consumers and the state’s climate commitments after the recent federal intervention in the PJM capacity market. The Sierra Club claimed that the PJM capacity market will be governed by rules that are specifically designed to prevent New Jersey from realizing its clean energy goals, while forcing consumers to pay twice for capacity. In order to protect New Jersey’s interests, the Sierra Club recommended the board prepare the state’s utilities to exit the PJM capacity market using the Fixed Resource Requirement (FRR) option.
“It’s critical that the Board of Public Utilities recognize that MOPR poses an enormous threat to New Jersey’s bold climate commitments and could needlessly raise utility bills for vulnerable residents, said Jeff Tittel, Executive Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. Despite the many bad faith attacks and outright misrepresentations, the FRR option is the only realistic option to protect New Jersey from the potentially disastrous effects of MOPR.”
Sierra Club argued that critics of using the FRR option rely on overly optimistic assumptions and offer no alternatives that would safeguard New Jersey’s residents or the state’s clean energy goals from PJM’s new, pro-fossil fuel rules. Other critics have leveled dishonest attacks falsely claiming the FRR option is a rejection of markets and completely separates the state’s utilities from PJM. The FRR would simply allow New Jersey utilities to buy their own capacity directly from power sources.
“The Board should design the FRR in a way that protects against potential pitfalls and calculates the serious savings to consumers that affordable clean energy can bring,” Tittel said.
In order to secure the cost-saving benefits to New Jersey residents, the Sierra Club advocated for a policy design proposed by the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. This approach would require the Board to issue an RFP for bids to supply New Jersey’s capacity obligation outside of the PJM capacity market. If the bid prices are acceptable, then New Jersey would accept the bids and choose to leave the capacity market. This process would assure stakeholders and give residents an understanding of the significant savings they stand to gain from using affordable clean energy under the FRR option.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.