According to a recent survey, respondents in New Jersey blame utility corporations and Governor Phil Murphy for the state’s rising electricity costs this summer.
In a survey of New Jersey’s registered voters conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University, 26% of participants blamed utility providers, 19% blamed Governor Murphy, and 10% blamed energy producers for the rise in power prices.
About one-third of Democrats blamed power providers, while roughly half of Republicans blamed Murphy, a Democrat, or the Democratic-controlled state Legislature. Twenty-two percent of Democratic respondents attributed the majority of the blame on the federal government. In collaboration with the Fuel Merchants Association of New Jersey, the survey was conducted.
The extremely high cost of power is caused by a number of variables.
This year, the cost of power has increased. Rates have increased by more than 800% for PJM Interconnection LLC, a grid operator that provides electricity to 13 states. Rate increases by local carriers ranged from 17% to 20%, and they took effect on June 1.
PJM has been under fire from a number of New Jersey Democratic officials for the growing cost of electricity.
This summer, New Jersey has also had higher-than-normal temperatures, which has increased the electrical use of air-cooling systems.
Given the high energy requirements of AI and cryptocurrency data centers, the survey found varying preferences for energy sources: About one-third of those surveyed said they would rather use nuclear power to meet demand, while 29% said they would rather use natural gas facilities. Data centers shouldn’t be constructed at this time, according to 25% of respondents.
According to the poll, Republicans favor nuclear and natural gas, while Democrats often favor green energy initiatives.
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Rebecca Heath
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