Why is my New Jersey electric bill so high?

Seven things push New Jersey bills up. Most high bills come from one cause, or two together. Find the row that matches what you see on your bill. Then read that part of this page.

Get your last bill and one older bill from a different month. A bill from the same month last year works best. Weather is then about the same. Your utility's name is at the top. If you are not sure which one it is, our New Jersey page shows who serves which towns. Then look for these three lines.

1. 1
   Check the days.

   A bill that covers more days uses more power. Compare kWh per day, not just the total.

2. 2
   Compare kWh.

   Higher? Read "Did you use more power?".

3. 3
   Compare the supply line.

   Higher per kWh, with the same kWh? Read the supply price part.

4. 4
   Compare the delivery line.

   Higher in a summer month? Read the summer delivery part.

5. 5
   Look for a missing credit and a supplier's name.

   Then check the meter and the add-on lines.

This splits the jump between the two bills into more power and a higher price. It is an estimate from the numbers you type. It cannot see credits, late fees, a budget-plan catch-up or an estimated read, which are covered below.

Compare the kWh on both bills. If the newer number is higher, you used more power. That may be the whole story.

By EIA data, the average New Jersey home used about 670 kWh a month in 2025. That is less than Pennsylvania and the U.S. average. Many homes here are smaller, and few heat with electricity. So a bill far above 670 kWh points to a cause worth finding.

What usually pushes use up:

• Cooling. Air conditioners run longer in a hot July.
• Electric heat. Heat pumps and space heaters in a cold January.
• Hot water. An electric water heater, or a heating element that is stuck on.
• A new load. An EV charger, a hot tub or a dehumidifier.
• More people home. Remote work, guests or kids on break.

If your kWh did not go up, keep reading. The cause is then a price, a credit or a charge.

If the bill covers June to September, it may be. All four utilities charge more to deliver power in those months, at least for the kWh above 600. At PSE&G, delivery costs more per kWh from June to September than from October to May. The first 600 kWh cost 8.39¢ for delivery in summer and 4.87¢ in the other eight months. These are PSE&G's own tariff rates, with sales tax, effective Oct. 1, 2026.

Atlantic City Electric also has summer and winter delivery rates. Its summer rate is 9.50¢ for the first 750 kWh and 11.16¢ above that. Its winter rate is 8.65¢. Those rates are from ACE's tariff sheet effective Oct. 1, 2026, and they include sales tax.

JCP&L prices summer by block. The first 600 kWh cost 2.02¢ from June to September, less than the 3.31¢ of the other months. Every kWh above 600 costs 7.98¢. By our math, a home that uses more than about 765 kWh pays more for delivery in summer than in winter. Orange and Rockland (RECO) charges 6.89¢ for the first 600 kWh all year, and 8.67¢ above 600 kWh from June to September. Both are from tariff sheets in force since July 2026 and include sales tax.

What does that mean in dollars? Use 800 kWh at PSE&G. In winter, delivery for those kWh costs about $39 plus the $6 monthly charge. In summer it costs about $68 plus the same $6. That is about $29 more for delivery alone, with the same kWh. At 800 kWh the same math gives about $8 more in summer at ACE and about $2 more at JCP&L. At RECO the change is about 1.8¢ for each kWh above 600. All of this is our math from the tariffs.

The flat monthly charge does not change with the season: $6.00 at PSE&G and RECO, $6.75 at ACE and $4.27 at JCP&L. RECO's tariff also lists a credit of 1.42¢ a kWh (1.78¢ above 600 kWh in summer) that lowers its rates, and the table leaves it out.

This is the first thing to check in a hot-weather jump. Your kWh also rises in summer, so the two stack.

Add-on charges

Every NJ bill also has small per-kWh add-ons. At PSE&G, the Societal Benefits Charge pays for energy-efficiency and aid programs. It is 1.0443¢ a kWh in the Oct. 1, 2026 tariff. These lines change when the BPU approves a change. You cannot shop them. If one line is new on your bill, the utility's bill guide explains it.

Look at the month your bill jumped. Your supply price comes from a state auction held each February, and new prices start June 1. The auction buys power for three years, but only about one-third of it each time. So each year's price blends three auctions.

Two recent Junes were very different. In June 2025, the BPU projected typical bills to rise 17.23% to 20.20%. It said the main cause was the July 2024 capacity auction run by PJM, the regional grid manager. FirstEnergy said a typical JCP&L home at 777 kWh saw a 19.9% rise.

In June 2026, bills barely moved. The BPU's estimate for a home using 650 kWh a month:

So if your bill jumped after June 2025, the supply reset was a likely cause. If it jumped after June 2026, look at the other causes. The price printed on your bill can also change on Oct. 1. The price to compare is 19.79¢ at PSE&G (since October 1, 2026) and 17.05¢ at JCP&L (since October 1, 2026). Why the price rose is in our New Jersey rates guide.

Several one-time credits hit NJ bills in 2025 and 2026. When one stops, your bill looks higher even if nothing else changed.

1. July and August 2025Two $30 bill reductions at all four utilities. The BPU said the $60 would be recovered on bills over the next six months. PSE&G's tariff shows it as a $10 monthly charge from September 2025 to February 2026, and RECO's tariff does too.
2. August 2025 to February 2026Residential Energy Assistance Payment credits of $25 a month for eligible homes.
3. September and October 2025Two $50 credits, called Residential Universal Bill Credits, for more than 3.6 million accounts.
4. August 2026One flat $25 credit for every home account at the four utilities, funded at $170.8 million.

Missing credits explain a step up, not a slow climb. Check the month a credit appeared on your old bill and the month it did not. The governor also announced up to $150 more for lower and moderate income homes through the REAP program. Ask your utility if you qualify.

Look for a company name other than your utility. If one appears, that company sells you the power. Its price replaces your utility's supply price.

• Check the end date. If a contract ends and you do not sign a renewal, it moves to month to month at the current terms. The supplier must warn you at least 30 days ahead.
• Compare it with the default price. Put the supplier's price per kWh, tax included, next to your utility's price to compare. If it is higher, you can leave.
• Know the rules to cancel. You have 7 calendar days from the confirmation notice to cancel a new contract through your utility.
• Town programs. About 64,000 home accounts are in a town energy program. Your town picks the supplier, and you are in unless you opted out within 30 days of the notice. You can leave later with 30 days' notice and no penalty.
• Switching takes time. A change can take one or two billing cycles to show on the bill.

If you buy power from your utility, the plan finder on this page shows what suppliers charge in your ZIP. Check the term and the fees before you sign. Paying extra for a green plan? Check that it adds more than the renewable energy every supplier must already buy.

Some bills are estimates, not real meter readings. They say "estimated" on the bill. A catch-up charge follows when the real read shows more use. Check that the bill shows your address and your meter number, and that the read dates make sense.

If you think the bill is wrong, you have rights. These come from the BPU.

Fix the cause you found. Only some causes can be shopped away. The table shows the best move for each one.

A lower bill often means switching your supply, if your price is not the best one. Compare any offer with your utility's price to compare, tax included. NJ rules say a supplier offer should include sales tax so the two are comparable. Here is where every utility's price stands.

If the bill is more than you can pay, ask for help before you fall behind.