Representatives of the four utility companies that distribute gas and electricity to homes and businesses across New Jersey addressed joint legislative committees as part of an ongoing investigation into why energy prices are set to spike in about a month.

“We recognize that our customers have faced and are facing rising energy costs due to multiple factors. They include wholesale energy supply prices, higher costs driven by the PJM capacity auction, and extreme weather conditions that have driven up electricity demand,” said Teresa Reed of JCP&L.

The price increase is “no surprise,” Phil Vavala of Atlantic City Electric Company. “New Jersey has serious adequacy issues. Recent and anticipated PJM capacity auction results, local generation retirements, and the urgent need for new transmission projects, and the prospects of additional new large-load customers have highlighted these concerns,” Vavala said.

PJM Interconnection sets energy prices across 13 states through auctions. The result of the last auction means that customers’ bills are set to increase by 17% to 25%, depending on their energy provider.

With no new energy sources, like wind energy, coming online in the state, plus a nuclear generator shutting down in the last decade, the state is struggling to meet its energy demands.

Republicans continue to blame Gov. Phil Murphy’s Energy Master Plan and asked why the utilities hadn’t offered solutions earlier.

“It’s no secret to us that solutions do come with a fair amount of political debate that the companies are reluctant to get directly involved in, and we prefer to be professionals giving advice, and not partisans giving advice, to the best of our ability,” said Rick Thigpen of PSEG.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities asked the utilities to defer the increases until October, when energy prices tend to drop due to the cooler weather. Republicans say that’s just kicking the can down the road.

The four companies, PSE&G, Atlantic City Electric, JCP&L and Rockland Electric, said they’re still developing a proposal for what that deferment would look like.

Lyle Rawlings owns a solar company in Flemington, says the rules guiding the auction are to blame for the price increase.

Murphy has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to investigate the auction process.

This report is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.