New Jersey's first summer shutoff program runs through August. Regional grid auctions show data center demand driving capacity costs up.
New Jersey's first Summer Termination Program became active June 15 and runs through August 31, preventing utilities from cutting electric, water and sewer service to eligible households. The state joined 26 others and the District of Columbia in offering summer shutoff protections, according to a release from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities published June 18. The same release cited extreme heat as the cause of nearly 200 deaths among New Jersey residents from 2000 to 2020. The Winter Termination Program protected 283,738 customers in the 2024-2025 season.
The program applies to residential electric, water and sewer accounts. Tahesha Way signed the bill on September 24, 2025, while Phil Murphy was overseas on official business in India. The program took effect for the first time on June 15, 2026. State Senator Raj Mukherji (D, 3rd District) served as prime sponsor.
Customers must contact their utility to request protection, either verbally or by filing a self-certification form. Utilities may ask for documentation of participation in a qualifying assistance program. NJ 211 lists Atlantic City Electric, PSE&G, JCP&L and Rockland Electric as participating companies. The BPU release also says municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives can sign up, though their active participation has not been verified.
The program protects households from disconnection. It does not lower the rates that make bills unpayable. Auction results from PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator serving New Jersey, showed capacity prices climbing and reserve margins falling below target levels. The operator's planning documents and the PJM Independent Market Monitor separately identified data center demand as the primary driver of load growth.
Governor Mikie Sherrill's office cited the climbing prices as exceeding 800 percent in Executive Order No. 1, which she signed January 20, 2026.
Data Center Demand Drove Capacity Prices Up
New Jersey electric rates increased 16.9% in 2025, according to a U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee fact sheet released in March 2026—more than 2.5 times the national average of 6.4%. Residential electricity prices increased at least 33% from June 2023 to June 2025, according to Executive Order No. 1.
PJM Interconnection operates the transmission grid across 13 states, including New Jersey. It runs annual capacity auctions that determine payments to power plants for available capacity. Those costs reach residential electric bills through utility rate cases the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approves. Enel North America analysis documented PJM capacity auction prices at $28.92 per megawatt-day for 2024-2025, $269.92 for 2025-2026 and $329.17 for 2026-2027.
PJM planning documents identified data center demand as the primary driver of the 5,250-megawatt forecast peak load increase. The Independent Market Monitor found in its January 5, 2026 analysis that data center load contributed $23.1 billion to capacity market revenues across the three auctions.
Sherrill Ordered Bill Credits, Drafted Data Center Regulations
Governor Sherrill signed Executive Order No. 1 on January 20, 2026, declaring a statewide emergency over electricity affordability. The order directs the BPU to issue Residential Universal Bill Credits no later than July 1, 2026. As part of that directive, the BPU sent a Request for Information to Atlantic City Electric, PSE&G, JCP&L and Rockland Electric on February 4, 2026, requiring comprehensive grid plans within 30 days.
That revenue impact and the $386 million Residential Universal no Bill Credit program operate at vastly different scales — the credits address existing bill stress while the auction results project cost pressure across current and future delivery years.
The August 13, 2025 order establishing the Residential Universal Bill Credit program put two $50 credits on each residential electricity bill in September and October 2025. Executive Order No. 1 mandates a subsequent round of credits no later than July 1, 2026.
Sherrill also announced a plan to regulate the data centers driving the cost pressure. On May 27, 2026, her office released a "Comprehensive Plan to regulate data centers" described as the first statewide approach to data center regulation. According to the release, the plan would make data centers pay for their own infrastructure, require energy and water reports twice yearly, set community benefit rules, and create local jobs. The plan follows pending legislation S731/A796, which would make utilities set pricing for large-load data centers, according to a Saul Ewing LLP alert dated June 1, 2026.
Vineland Residents Sued over Data Center Noise
Local resistance has grown alongside the grid stress, as NJBallot reported earlier. So has regulatory pressure and litigation. Cumberland County health officials issued a Notice of Violation to a DataOne USA LLC facility in Vineland for noise in March. Residents filed a federal lawsuit over the site in May.
WHYY reported: "Ratepayers protected by the Summer Termination Program will be responsible for their unpaid bills when the program wraps up for the summer season."
The protection ends August 31. The debt does not.
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Sources
• Enel North America, "PJM BRA Analysis," Enel North America (2025)
• Governor Mikie Sherrill, "Comprehensive Plan to Regulate Data Centers," Office of the Governor (May 27, 2026)
• Governor Mikie Sherrill, "Executive Order No. 1," State of New Jersey (January 20, 2026)
• New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, "Request for Information," NJBPU Press Release (February 4, 2026)
• New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, "Residential Universal Bill Credit Order," NJBPU (August 13, 2025)
• New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, "Summer Termination Program," NJBPU Press Release (June 18, 2026)
• New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, "Winter Termination Program Expansion," NJBPU Press Release (November 14, 2025)
• NJ 211, "Summer Termination Program Participating Companies," NJ 211 (2026)
• PJM Independent Market Monitor, "Analysis of the 2027/2028 RPM Base Residual Auction Part A," Monitoring Analytics (January 5, 2026)
• PJM Interconnection, "2026-2027 Base Residual Auction Report," PJM (2025)
• PJM Interconnection, "2027-2028 Planning Period Parameters for Base Residual Auction," PJM (2025)
• PJM Interconnection, "Base Residual Auction Results," PJM Press Release (December 17, 2025)
• RTO Insider, "PJM Capacity Auction Clears at Max Price," RTO Insider (December 17, 2025)
• Saul Ewing LLP, "Data Center Alert," Saul Ewing LLP (June 1, 2026)
• U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, "State-by-State Electricity Cost Increases," JEC Fact Sheet (March 5, 2026)
• WHYY News, "New Jersey Launches Summer Termination Program," WHYY News (June 26, 2026)