For decades, New Jersey benefited from one of the most reliable and strategically
located energy systems in the country. Our state helped power the economic engine of
the Northeast through a balanced mix of nuclear energy, natural gas infrastructure,
transmission investment, and access to regional power markets.
Today, however, the warning signs are becoming impossible to ignore.
New Jersey is facing a real electricity supply crunch. Acting now is the most practical
way to protect reliability, keep bills affordable, and remain economically competitive.
The challenge is straightforward: demand is rising rapidly, while the state has failed to
replace enough around-the-clock generation capacity to meet future needs.
The reality is simple: demand is outpacing supply — and the gap is growing.
That demand growth is being driven by multiple forces happening simultaneously
across New Jersey and the broader PJM region:
- Artificial intelligence and data centers
- Advanced manufacturing and biotechnology;
- Electrification of transportation and buildings;
- Logistics, warehousing, and digital infrastructure growth how many of us get
packages delivered from our smartphones?; - Population increases and expanding energy use — how many of us have
smartphones?
At the same time, New Jersey has retired or pushed out significant amounts of in-state
generation without replacing it with sufficient 24/7 baseload power resources.
The numbers tell the story clearly:
Since 2020, New Jersey’s population has grown by approximately 259,000 residents.
And New Jersey has not built a new baseload power plant since the mid-2010s.
As of 2025, New Jersey had more than 266,000 electric and hybrid vehicles registered
statewide.
A single full EV charge can consume approximately 60–350 kWh — equivalent to nearly
two weeks of electricity use for a typical household according to the USDOE and EPA.
Across the PJM region, tightening supply is already translating into higher prices,
congestion costs, and growing reliability concerns.
This is fundamentally a supply challenge — and it requires a supply solution.
New Jersey cannot regulate its way out of this problem. We cannot subsidize our way
out of it either. At some point, policymakers must confront a basic reality: we need to
build power plants again.
That means embracing an all-of-the-above energy strategy centered on reliability,
affordability and economic growth. It means recognizing that intermittent resources
alone cannot support a modern industrial economy that increasingly depends on
constant, uninterrupted power availability.
The states that build energy infrastructure will be the states that attract jobs,
manufacturing, data infrastructure, and technological innovation — unleashing the
economic engines necessary to build modern, advanced economies capable of
supporting future generations.
Just look around the country.
Large-scale data centers now require massive amounts of electricity per campus —
effectively becoming small cities of energy demand. Semiconductor manufacturing,
robotics, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and advanced logistics systems all depend on
dependable 24/7 power. Robots, like the ones in Jersey City, require electricity to
deliver food to the door.
These projects also generate enormous economic value. Major facilities often support
hundreds of construction jobs, in New Jersey union jobs, during development and
create long-term operational careers afterward.
If New Jersey wants to compete for these industries — while simultaneously lowering
electric costs and protecting grid reliability — we must build the infrastructure to support
them.
That starts with new generation.
Nuclear energy already supplies roughly 40% of New Jersey’s electricity and remains
one of the most reliable forms of large-scale generation in the world. Salem and Hope
Creek have anchored New Jersey’s grid for decades while supporting thousands of
family-sustaining jobs.
Advanced nuclear technologies offer New Jersey a major opportunity to strengthen its
long-term energy future. These projects can provide reliable baseload generation with
enhanced safety features, long operating lifespans, and dependable power for industrial
loads, data infrastructure, and critical facilities.
But nuclear alone is not enough.
New Jersey should also support:
- Highly efficient natural gas generation;
- Fuel cells;
- Combined heat and power systems;
- Battery storage;
- Transmission and distribution upgrades.
Natural gas continues to heat approximately 75% of homes in New Jersey and remains
critical to grid reliability throughout New Jersey and PJM. Modern natural gas facilities are
significantly cleaner and more efficient than older generation units and provide the
flexible power needed to stabilize the system during periods of high demand.
This is not an ideological conversation. It is a reality conversation.
Modern economies require enormous amounts of energy. The more advanced society
becomes, the more electricity it consumes. AI does not run on slogans. Manufacturing
does not run on press releases. Hospitals, schools, ports, warehouses, transit systems,
and homes require dependable energy every second of every day.
New Jersey must also remain competitive regionally. If neighboring states continue
building generation while New Jersey falls behind, we will become increasingly
dependent on imported electricity and increasingly vulnerable to transmission
congestion costs, regional market volatility, and decisions made outside our borders.
The map we provided is a good example of what is happening now.
New Jersey should not aspire to become merely an energy pass-through state.
We should aspire to lead.
Fortunately, New Jersey already has the workforce, infrastructure, engineering
expertise, research institutions, utilities, and skilled trades necessary to succeed.
The question is whether policymakers are willing to match the urgency of the moment.
Building major energy infrastructure takes years. Permitting, financing, transmission
planning, interconnection studies, workforce development, and supply chains cannot
happen overnight. The decisions made today will determine whether New Jersey has
enough affordable and reliable electricity in the 2030s and beyond.
The time for serious planning — and serious building — is now.
New Jersey needs a comprehensive strategy focused on:
- Expanding in-state generation;
- Modernizing transmission and distribution infrastructure;
- Streamlining permitting and interconnection timelines;
- Supporting long-term investment in reliable energy resources;
- Advancing next-generation nuclear development;
- Protecting affordability and reliability for consumers and businesses.
The future economy will belong to places with abundant, reliable, and affordable energy.
New Jersey should be one of them.
Erick Ford, a VP at Stevens & Lee Public Affairs, is the president of the New Jersey
Energy Policy Coalition
