Assemblyman
Joseph Cryan (D-20), Deputy Majority Leader and chair of the Democratic
State Committee, joined a coalition of consumer, environmental and
business organizations today to announce that a majority of the New
Jersey assembly are co-sponsors of a resolution calling on the New
Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to reject Exelon's proposed
takeover of PSEG. Support for the senate’s companion bill is building.
In Maryland, legislative action recently derailed Florida Power and
Light (FPL)'s proposed takeover of Constellation Energy.
The
legislators oppose the takeover because it would give Exelon enough
market power to raise electricity rates across the state, cut jobs, and
reduce reliability and quality of service. Today's announcement is
particularly timely in light of the fact that the federal Department of
Justice (DOJ) released a woefully inadequate consent decree with Exelon
last week.
“As
a member of the ‘People’s House,’ we have a responsibility to debate
the merits of the current proposed merger so that the residents of New
Jersey are made aware of all the aspects – good and bad – of the
proposed deal,” said Assemblyman Cryan. “Any debate about a merger that
can affect the energy costs of every New Jersey homeowner and business
must take into consideration the concerns of the sponsors, which
include: market share, jobs and customer service. As legislators, we
have a responsibility to weigh in on issues that affect the entire
state.”
Assemblyman
Cryan, Deputy Minority Leader Kevin O'Toole (R-40), Majority Leader
Bonnie Watson-Coleman (D-15), Assemblyman Joseph Malone (R-30) and
Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein (D-14) introduced assembly resolution
(AR185) in the end of May. Since then, thirty-eight of their colleagues
have joined them as co-sponsors. Senator Gill (D-34), Senator Connors
(R-9), Senator Weinberg (D-37) and Senator Ciesla (R-10) introduced an
identical resolution (SR60/58) in the state senate, and five of their
colleagues have joined them as co-sponsors.
“Even
during the height of budget negotiations, legislators are speaking out
about this critical issue to ensure New Jersey ratepayers are
protected,” said Suzanne Leta, Energy Advocate for the New Jersey
Public Interest Research Group (NJPIRG).
According
to testimony from the BPU's staff expert, the takeover would give
Exelon enough market power to cost New Jersey consumers as much as $2.3
billion annually, an average increase of $45 a month or $540 a year on
the typical electric bill for residential ratepayers. The DOJ consent
decree with Exelon fails to resolve market power for a host of reasons,
including the fact that Exelon would not be required to sell nearly
enough power plants in the regional electricity grid. Fortunately for
New Jersey consumers, the BPU is the final decision-maker. If the BPU
rejects this takeover it is effectively stonewalled.
“New Jerseyans just can’t afford to be bullied into higher bills,” said Ev Liebman of New Jersey Citizen Action.
“Nor
can New Jersey businesses,” added Hal Bozarth of the Chemistry Council.
“The cost to live and do business in the state is too high. We have
already lost too many manufacturing jobs in the state from the high
cost of electricity.”
The
forty-three legislators sponsoring AR185 include twenty-nine Democrats
and fourteen Republicans, more than enough votes to pass the resolution
through the state assembly. The companion resolution in the senate,
SR60/58, has nine bi-partisan co-sponsors, nearly half the votes it
needs to pass.
“It’s
very important for legislators to stand up for ratepayers and the
people of New Jersey, and the BPU should take notice of how important
this is,” said Jeff Tittel of the Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter.
“By
law, the BPU must reject the takeover unless it provides positive
benefits to New Jersey in terms of rates, competition, jobs and the
provision of safe, adequate and proper service," explained Leta. “This
takeover clearly fails that test.”
Sponsors of AR185
Cryan, Joseph as Primary Sponsor
O'Toole, Kevin J. as Primary Sponsor
Watson Coleman, Bonnie as Primary Sponsor
Malone, Joseph R. as Primary Sponsor
Greenstein, Linda R. as Primary Sponsor
Cruz-Perez, Nilsa as Co-Sponsor
Schaer, Gary S. as Co-Sponsor
Stender, Linda as Co-Sponsor
Sires, Albio as Co-Sponsor
Manzo, Louis M. as Co-Sponsor
Beck, Jennifer as Co-Sponsor
Wolfe, David W. as Co-Sponsor
Voss, Joan M. as Co-Sponsor
Oliver, Sheila Y. as Co-Sponsor
Rumpf, Brian E. as Co-Sponsor
Moriarty, Paul D. as Co-Sponsor
Hackett, Mims as Co-Sponsor
Gusciora, Reed as Co-Sponsor
Pou, Nellie as Co-Sponsor
Vas, Joseph as Co-Sponsor
Truitt, Oadline D. as Co-Sponsor
Vandervalk, Charlotte as Co-Sponsor
Wisniewski, John S. as Co-Sponsor
McKeon, John F. as Co-Sponsor
Epps, Charles T. as Co-Sponsor
Vainieri Huttle, Valerie as Co-Sponsor
Mayer, David R. as Co-Sponsor
Connors, Christopher J. as Co-Sponsor
Steele, Alfred E. as Co-Sponsor
Munoz, Eric as Co-Sponsor
Diegnan, Patrick J. as Co-Sponsor
Russo, David C. as Co-Sponsor
Gordon, Robert M. as Co-Sponsor
Panter, Michael J. as Co-Sponsor
Scalera, Frederick as Co-Sponsor
Prieto, Vincent as Co-Sponsor
Quigley, Joan M. as Co-Sponsor
Thompson, Samuel D. as Co-Sponsor
Baroni, Bill as Co-Sponsor
Holzapfel, James W. as Co-Sponsor
Lampitt, Pamela R. as Co-Sponsor
Handlin, Amy H. as Co-Sponsor
Corodemus, Steve as Co-Sponsor
Sponsors of SR60/58
Gill, Nia H. as Primary Sponsor
Weinberg, Loretta as Primary Sponsor
Connors, Leonard T. as Primary Sponsor
Ciesla, Andrew R. as Primary Sponsor
Inverso, Peter A. as Co-Sponsor
Karcher, Ellen as Co-Sponsor
Vitale, Joseph F. as Co-Sponsor
Buono, Barbara as Co-Sponsor
Scutari, Nicholas P. as Co-Sponsor
