By now, everyone in the state should have received an energy bill with a shockingly high increase.
The only uncertainty: Who is to blame?
According to an FDU Poll released Thursday, respondents seemed to blame who they disagree with.
Simply put, Republicans – likely annoyed that Democrats serve as governor and the leaders of both legislative houses — blame those two areas, with a combined 51% saying they are the cause.
Democrats — likely more supportive of elected officials in Trenton — blamed utility companies and the federal government, with a combined 53% choosing one of those two options.
Dan Cassino, a professor of government and politics at Fairleigh Dickinson University, and the executive director of the FDU Poll, said he results show the uncertainty around the issue.
“The bottom line is that people in New Jersey don’t really know why their electric bills are going up, so they’re blaming whoever they don’t like,” said Cassino. “Republicans blame Democrats in state government; Democrats blame Trump and what they see as greedy companies.”
The poll was conducted in partnership with the Fuel Merchants Association of New Jersey.
While Democratic leaders in the state — including Gov. Murphy, State Senate President Nicholas Scutari, and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin — have spoken out against grid operator PJM, a provider of power generated in other states, blaming it for price hikes, voters tend to blame utility companies and politicians for their increased bills.
When asked who is most responsible for the price hikes, 26 percent name utility companies; 19 percent blamed Murphy. Just 10 percent say that energy producers are at fault.
“The narrative about these price increases is still very much up in the air,” Cassino said.
“But the fact that we’re not seeing movement in how people view the supply side of the issue points to a real lack of leadership on these matters.”
Revisiting questions first asked in February, the survey asked about energy production preferences in two different contexts. First, respondents were asked about what should be done to meet the demands of data centers and other projects being built in the state.
Then, they were asked about energy production in the context of home technology seen as environmentally friendly, like heat pumps and electric cars.
“The state legislature can write checks to ease the shock of higher bills, but the only long-term solutions are reduced usage or increased capacity,” Cassino said. “And right now, there’s no consensus on how to get that extra capacity.”
To meet the energy demands of data centers for cryptocurrencies and AI which have been touted by the Murphy administration as being linked to economic development in the state, 34 percent of respondents say that the state should get more energy from nuclear power and 29 percent prefer more natural gas plants. One-quarter (25 percent) said that we just shouldn’t be building these kinds of data centers right now.
These figures are very similar to when the same question was asked in February of this year.
Since February, support for nuclear and natural gas plants among voters overall have remained stable, but there has been a six-point increase in the proportion of voters who say that the state should forego these kinds of investments (from 19 percent in February to 25 percent now).
The comparison with February also shows a seven-point increase among Democrats in support for more power from natural gas plants (from 22 percent in February to 29 percent now). At the same time, independents became less likely to say that they support building more natural gas plants, with support moving from natural gas plants to just not building these kinds of data centers.
Eric DeGesero, EVP of the Fuel Merchants Association of New Jersey, said the poll shows the electorate’s wants.
“Politicians can say whatever they want, but the public continues to support an all of the above energy policy,” he said. “Green power isn’t being artificially kept off the grid; it’s just too unreliable right now to be the center of any energy plan. We’ll see what the public thinks after a summer of record high electric bills.”
