How NJ’s Gubernatorial Candidates Plan to Take on State’s Energy Crisis

By Anthony Birritteri, Editor-in-Chief, and Jim Pytell, Managing Editor On Oct 29, 2025

New Jersey’s high energy costs remain one of the major issues in the state’s gubernatorial race – which is now just six days away – with both candidates highlighting rising utility bills as a top concern for residents that needs to be addressed immediately upon taking office. At the second day of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association’s (NJBIA) Energy & Environmental Policy Forum, Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, and Senator Vin Gopal (D) – who represented Democratic candidate Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill – shared their visions for how to best tackle the state’s energy crisis.

On Day One of his administration, Ciattarelli said he would re-establish a Department of Energy within his cabinet, something that hasn’t been in place since the administration of Gov. Tom Kean Sr.

The reason for doing so, according to Ciattarelli, is that energy policy should not be coming from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities or the state Department of Environmental Protection. “These are regulatory agencies, and there is a conflict of interest when an agency [such as the NJBPU] is putting forth energy policy,” Ciattarelli said. “I want [a Department of Energy] that is only thinking about energy policy. I don’t need 100 to 200 people. I need no more than a dozen people who work in close partnership with the executive branch.”

Caittarelli’s energy policy would include an executive order to pull the state out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). He calls the program a carbon tax policy that has failed New Jersey. “The air is no cleaner, [the cost of] electricity is higher than it has ever been, and ratepayer dollars are going to other states to improve their grids and not ours,” he said, adding that by pulling out of RGGI, ratepayers, including homeowners and businesses, would save $300 million to $500 million per year, while keeping energy investments in the state.

Those investments would include more natural gas plants generating electricity, Ciattarelli said. “Over the last eight years, we have closed six different electric generation plants. We have an unofficial moratorium on existing plants that burn natural gas to produce electricity, many of which are not operating at full capacity. Let’s get them up to full capacity,” he said. “Let’s put shovels in the ground for three to four new natural gas plants. And let’s put the shovel in the ground for a fourth nuclear reactor in South Jersey where the current three nuclear plants are producing 40% of our electricity with zero carbon emissions.”

Ciattarelli also calls for accelerating the installation of solar arrays on warehouse rooftops across the state because the solar industry is being challenged on permits by certain municipalities, not to mention experiencing DEP permitting delays. “The warehouses are already there. This is prime real estate for solar arrays and there are no NIMBY (not in my back yard) issues with this,” he said.
What Ciattarelli doesn’t want to see are windmills. “I do not believe they are cost-effective, 100% reliable, and I believe they will never meet our energy needs,” he said.

He also would get rid of the state’s EV mandate that would fully take effect by 2035, adding, “I’m not going to tell you what car you have to buy, or how to heat your home, or what appliance you have to buy. The markets will dictate that,” he said.

Overall, Ciattarelli said he is for rational transition regarding New Jersey’s energy future.

“Carbon capture, fusion energy, micro-modular nuclear, hydrogen cell technology … it will all be here eventually,” he said.

Senator Vin Gopal (D) said that a primary focus for Sherrill, who has committed to declaring a State of Emergency on utility costs to freeze rate hikes on Day One, will be figuring out how to make government more efficient and transparent, particularly in the energy sector.

He said that Sherrill wants to eliminate red tape and permitting delays, and afford people the ability to be able to see in real time where they are in an application process.

“There should be no reason when somebody is involved in a permit process with NJDEP that they don’t understand exactly where they are every step of the way, just by logging on, and understanding what the next steps are,” Gopal said. “They should also not be waiting three or six months before they get a response.”

He said that Sherrill will also require more transparency from the state’s utility companies, including PSE&G, JCP&L, Atlantic City Electric, and Rockland Electric, as well as New Jersey’s grid operator, PJM.

On PJM, Sherrill has committed to instructing her new attorney general to take the grid operator to court in coordination with other governors in the region.

“This will force [PJM] to enter into a plan that’s going to develop cheaper, cleaner energy sources, and to connect new power generation to New Jersey’s grid immediately,” according to Gopal.

The senator added that Sherrill also plans to massively increase New Jersey’s power generation.

“Mikie is committed to immediately breaking ground on new solar and battery storage projects, expediting capacity upgrades at existing nuclear plants, and streamlining the modernization of existing natural gas facilities to make them cleaner and more efficient,” Gopal said, adding that these things will lower costs, reduce carbon emissions, and boost reliability and energy independence.

On solar in particular, Gopal said that while it is the fastest energy source to build and the cheapest form of power generation nationwide, there are still a lot of roadblocks and interconnection delays that are preventing the state from hitting its goals in this area.

“Mikie is very committed to cutting through that red tape and making sure that those things happen as we try to expand the solar industry,” Gopal said.

He added that on Day One, Sherrill will also develop plans for a new nuclear power plant in Salem County.

“New Jerseyans saw a 20% increase in their utility rates this summer, and we all know how unacceptable that is,” Gopal said. “We know how hard it is now for every New Jerseyan regardless of where they live in the state or what income level they are. We know how hard things are, whether it’s everyday costs, schooling, food, and especially utility costs.”

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